Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50905
DANIELLE TRAUB, McCarthy Tétrault LLP Practising on Bay Street + PROS: • Bay Street boasts some of the most complex cases and transactions in the profession, making it a great place to learn the ropes of legal practice and the optimal training ground for young lawyers. • Bay Street fi rms off er extensive resources that can be invaluable to one's practice. On a day-to-day basis, I rely on our corporate search group, the library team, our state- of-the-art technical systems, and our 24-hour document- processing team (to name only a few). Th is reliable sup- port system ensures I make the most of my time without getting buried in administration. • I was thrilled to discover that big fi rms also have big hearts. McCarthys has an extensive pro bono program that involves students and lawyers at all levels of practice, giving us an op- portunity to use our skills to give back to our community. - CONS: • Working in the epicentre of Ca- nadian commerce can also have its disadvantages. Being tightly tied to the health of the economy, the workload on Bay Street can ebb and fl ow with economic fl ux. • One in a billion, that's the feeling one might have on Bay Street. With so many people working together on so many matters, it can be diffi cult to fi nd one's place. My solution was working at a fi rm with a true emphasis on mentoring. • Not surprisingly, the big fi les of Bay Street demand true commitment. And since the billable hour is the inven- tory of the legal profession, pressure exists to put in one's time — literally. Th ankfully, the excitement of the work oſt en makes the time commitment worthwhile. It's in the blood. Litigation, that is. If you've realized that litigation is your destiny, there's a good chance you belong here.We're in the trenches every day - at motions, applications, trials, arbitrations, administrative hearings and appeals. Find out everything you need to know about joining us as a student on our website. SEE YOU IN COURT litigate.com Untitled-1 1 C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS F ALL 2010 39 7/27/10 11:51:17 AM CONS PROS &