Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50905
BY ROBERT TODD F or McInnes Cooper's Heather Black, being welcomed to her fi rm's partnership on Jan. 1 this year was far more than a boost to her pocketbook; it was a watershed moment in her legal ca- reer. "It sort of signifi es the end of your adolescence as a lawyer," says the Fredericton, N.B., corporate and commercial law practitioner. She compares the feeling of being ticket, as long as they keep their heads down and avoid catastrophic mistakes on the job. To the contrary, legal indus- try insiders say the path to partnership is a far more nuanced journey than many students believe, and it's crucial to start off on the right foot. Develop a rapport Karen MacKay, president of Toronto consultancy Phoenix Legal Inc., says The path to SO YOU'RE IN LAW SCHOOL, BETTER START PLANNING THE FUTURE OF YOUR CAREER NOW. 4STUDENTS IS HERE TO HELP YOU ALONG THE WAY. named a partner to a "big birthday," and emphasizes the hard work and sacrifi ce in the decade following her 2001 call to the bar that paved the way. She admits her willingness to show complete dedication — includ- ing time away from her young family — played a big role in her ascension to the partnership ranks. Law students striving to reach what many consider the pinnacle of legal practice and become partners are sure- ly not surprised to hear they will have to work hard to realize that dream. However, some may have the mistaken view that landing a summer position or articling spot amounts to a golden it's important for articling students to shed any feelings of entitlement early on and assume they will not receive a hire-back off er. And apart from the obvious need to develop razor-sharp legal skills, she says they should dedi- cate themselves to cultivating relation- ships within the fi rm. "Your fi rst cli- ents are the partners in the fi rm and the senior associates in the fi rm," says MacKay. "So act like a colleague and contribute to the fi le, and deliver really good client service, and take the time to talk to people. Th at's step one." Chris Christopher, a partner who leads Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP's Calgary students committee, agrees that 16 F A L L 2010 C ANADIAN Lawy er 4STUDENTS to gain partners' favour. He suggests some students may be manifesting caricatures of lawyers they've seen on television, but whose behaviour runs counter to most fi rms' approach to the law. Students working at fi rms who display poor teamwork may never get a shot at becoming associates, let alone partners. "Th at is an early indi- cator that there's probably something wrong, and they may not fi t in, at least [in] our particular model," he says. "We defi nitely want people who are team players." Th at is not to suggest a winning per- sonality will off set inferior legal skills. What it does mean is that students must developing rapport with other lawyers is vital. "If you can envision that your clients are the people that you're directly working with, that's a good skill-set building tool that you can carry on when you're dealing with clients," he says. Yet some students go too far with their desire to please. Christopher occasionally comes across students who show "destructive competitive" tendencies with their peers in eff orts