Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50904
what kind of practice I really wanted — a people practice or paper practice," says McNeil. Of the four required ro- tations, she spent one in business, one in bankruptcy, and two in an extended litigation/employment and labour law rotation. At the end of the 10 months, her choice was clear: "I chose the people practice." Now an associate in McCarthys' la- bour and employment group, McNeil is the first to tout the benefits of being a student at a big firm. "The variety and structure of the rotations allows you to try different things in a safe environ- ment. You're able to explore a variety of interests and sink your teeth into them for two to three months. The big-firm experience gives you the chance to try something random, like broadcasting law. If I had worked at a boutique securi- ties firm, I never would have 'discovered' labour law. And while that would have been fine, I now know that it wouldn't have been right for me." Laleh Moshiri, the director of pro- fessional development at Borden Lad- ner Gervais LLP, echoes this sentiment. "Our priority is to expose students to a number of different areas, since what you study in school is often very differ- ent from what you end up practising." To this end, in addition to rotations through its practice groups, BLG also of- fers students client secondments, as well as rotations to different offices in Can- ada. For example, students in Toronto could work in the energy law group of BLG's Calgary office. At big firms, there are also big benefits. In addition to the weekly training work- shops, extensive mentoring programs, and prestige that will stay on your CV forever, there's the compensation. The 2008 Toronto law student application book indicates that summer and arti- cling students at Toronto's big firms can look forward to at least $1,300 per week in addition to such perks as articling bo- nuses, gym memberships, and, in some cases, benefit plans. "No one pays better than Bay Street for student jobs," says McNeil. "How many 25 year olds do you know who make that kind of money?" However, these benefits don't come without a price. "There's lots of work," says Moshiri. "Lots of interesting high- end legal work, but lots of it." For stu- dents, this means long hours, and often a substantial work-life imbalance. Mc- Neil admits to working evenings and weekends as a student, but says she still made it up to the cottage now and then. "It's just a new lifestyle. Students have to understand that law is a service industry and clients have expectations." But at least one Bay Street alumnus who worked in both a big and small firm has doubts about his big-firm experi- ence. "The thing with being a student at a big firm is that they only teach you how to build Cadillacs, because that's what their clients demand and that's what their clients can afford," says the Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP summer, articling, and associate alumnus, who preferred not to be named. "Once you get out there, you realize two things — one, that not everyone needs a Cadillac, and, two, that even if they did, not ev- eryone can afford one." 26 S EPTEMBER 2008 C ANADIAN Lawy er 4STUDENTS