Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50901
I saw a guy pull a knife on a bus driver . . . there were some interventions, we did what we needed to do to defuse the situation." Ghebrehariat was called to court, but, as the man pleaded guilty, didn't need to take the stand. This experience further pointed him to a career in law. "The whole situation was . . . full of drama," he says, smiling. "And as an actor, I like drama." Witnessing the courtroom proceedings, Ghebrehariat realized his interests in acting and philosophy could come together with a career in law. "The courtroom seemed like a very theatrical place, but at the same time connecting and making a difference in people's lives," he says. "I thought, this is interesting, I think I'll see what this is like." He applied to law school and was admit- ted to the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law. But it was not all sunshine and roses. Ghebrehariat pauses and looks out the large windows at the snow outside. People are walking briskly by, bundled against the chill. He's thinking about the moment when questions stormed back into his life. At the start of his second year of law school, he wanted to quit. But in the end, it was theatre that brought him back to the courts. While at a conference in Montreal, Ghebrehariat visited his former theatre school. A teacher there invited him to join a workshop in Toronto. They were doing a "very legal play" called Out the Window, about the death of Otto Vass, a 55-year-old man who died in August 2000 following a struggle with Toronto police officers out- side a convenience store. "This was the first time since coming to law school that law and theatre really came together," he says. "And it was great." He stayed in law school, developing a fondness for labour law. Ghebrehariat followed his perfor- mance in Out the Window with the lead role in the controversial Homegrown. Written by a law school graduate, and based on her interactions with Shareef Abdelhaleem, Homegrown was widely criticized for its apparent sympathy for the Toronto 18. Newspapers blasted it as terror propaganda; Prime Minister Ste- phen Harper declared his disapproval for its alleged glorification of terrorism — all before the play had even opened. Homegrown premiered the same week Ghebrehariat had his articling interviews. "My face was on the cover [of the Toronto Sun] and it says 'DEVIL' right across my chest," he says, laughing and shaking his head. "I thought, 'this is bad timing.'" Be- cause of the media attention, Homegrown was sold out opening night, and nearly ev- ery performance aſter that. "There's noth- ing like having your face on the cover of a newspaper," he laughs. "It was a good way to get my name and my face out there." Ghebrehariat's first interview — which he went to with a full beard — was the position he ended up taking. "I'll be ar- ticling at a firm called Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish, and they do work around justice in the workplace," he says. "They hired me even though the Toronto Sun called me the devil." Ghebrehariat is also preparing for the Wilson Moot competition. "Acting expe- rience definitely comes in handy," he says. "Especially when I'm arguing cases or moots in front of judges!" ■ Some of us were just born to litigate. If you want to attend trials, appeals, motions, and arbitrations make sure you apply to Lenczner Slaght. We are Toronto's premier litigation firm. Do your due diligence on our website. SEE YOU IN COURT litigate.com Untitled-1 1 C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS SPRING 2011 23 2/22/11 2:54:34 PM