Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50903
Practising in Vancouver JASON TARNOW, Tarnow & Co. + PROS: • I was born and raised in Vancouver, I went abroad and got the travel- ling bug dealt with. I always knew I was coming back home. Even when I was studying overseas at the University of Manchester, I knew I was coming back to practise in the city I was raised in. I just love Vancouver, it's got a lot to off er. It is obviously an exciting time here with the Olympics and all the de- velopment that is going on leading up to it. I like the climate too, I lived in Halifax for a year . . . I went to school at Dalhousie, the winters there were too much for me as well. Here in Vancouver we have it pretty mild. RISE IN THE EAST... • Th e criminal bar has been extreme- ly accommodating to me. I'm a younger guy and there have been times where I was running around in the courthouse with my head cut off not knowing where to go and the criminal bar was extreme- ly friendly. If you are in over your head on a serious fi le you can pick up the phone and ask senior coun- sel their two cents on what to do. • I did a secondment at a full-service, civil-law type fi rm and I found it to be a little more cutthroat. It just wasn't as friendly. In the criminal bar you go to war in the court- room and then you go for a beer aſt erwards. Collegiality is second to none. Th e senior lawyers have been kind and accommodating to me and I learned more from them than I did in any classroom. ...SHINE OUT WEST. - CONS: Bull, Housser & Tupper gives law students from across Canada the opportunity to excel in an environment combining challenging legal work and Vancouver's unmatched natural splendour. Learn more at www.bhtstudent.com • One thing that has been tough in my fi rst year of practice is the cut- backs to legal aid. Being a junior lawyer I do a lot of legal aid fi les. Legal aid has made some signifi - cant cutbacks to the funding and it is tough for a lawyer to get on his feet and get a full clientele go- ing when legal aid refuses to cover many people charged with crimes. Th e legal aid funding in B.C. is pretty awful actually. Especially when you have to consider run- ning a business and paying back student loans, that has been a challenge. • Th e Crown always has unlimited resources, that has been a chal- lenge, a bit of a learning curve. 34 SEPTEMBER 2009 C ANADIAN Lawy er 4STUDENTS Bull.indd 1 7/24/08 10:16:19 AM