Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50905
Putting in that extra eff ort will hope- fully be enough to lead to an articling position. If so, your goal should be to gain real practice experience and learn what it's like to go to court or carry out a transaction, without the added respon- sibility of being the main lawyer on the fi le, says Raphaël. Th at's when fi rms get an even better picture of which law stu- dents are highly skilled, hard-working, dedicated, and team players. "We want to be partners with those people," she says. "You want to have fun working with the people. You want to feel that they're there when you have an emer- gency, that they're there when you go to court and need last-minute research. You want to feel that they're passionate about their work, basically." Know what it takes Just as fi rms evaluate their law students, so too should students size up their law fi rm. MacKay encourages articling stu- dents to get a feel for the fi rm's culture. It's also important to consider whether you are getting an opportunity to learn and participate. "Always be assessing your place in the fi rm," she says. "Know that there's a game to be played, and [ask if] you like the game and the players." Law students should also be determin- ing whether the fi rm they are with has strong leadership and a good reputation within the industry, and whether they feel proud to be part of it. Aſt er all, part- ners buy a share in their fi rm's brand. It would certainly be unwise to invest years of your time building alliances and good- will within a fi rm that you don't believe in, and don't really want to be a part of throughout your career. If the fi rm you're with is the right fi t and you decide to strive for partnership, it's time to get familiar with the rules. Each fi rm has its own criteria for de- termining whether an associate will be invited to the partnership. For example, Cairns says Parlee McLaws typically " There's lots of rewards to it, but in law now I think partnership is no longer the be-all and end-all for lawyers. There are lots of other paths or courses that people can take and do just fine. begins considering lawyers aſt er seven years of practice. Candidates must sub- mit an application form supported by a summary of their accomplishments. Th ose are weighed against a series of objective criteria based upon fi nancial performance over a three-year period. Th e fi rm's existing partners will also consider a long list of subjective factors, such as candidates' general fi t with the fi rm and the type of partners they are likely to become. Blakes has two to three pages of cri- teria that weigh into a partnership off er, says Christopher. Th e factors are gen- erally aimed at determining a lawyer's ability to "contribute," he says. Th at can be demonstrated by everything from the types of clients the lawyer has been re- tained by, the amount of billable hours he or she has amassed, contributions to individual practice groups, leadership skills, or work on fi rm administration tasks. "You don't have to have a stable of clients," says Christopher. "Th ere are plenty of people who've been made general partners who might have a very modest client stable, if any. But they bring other things to the table, and they have the skill set in which to develop that at a later time, and that may be the bigger key; that they are contributors and you can see them being a contribu- tor in diff erent ways over the course of their tenure." Th ere is no doubt that it is impera- tive for young lawyers to read up on the fi xed set of criteria that will deter- mine whether they will be invited to — Jerri Cairns, Parlee McLaws LLP the partnership. But it can all get quite overwhelming. Th at's why Christopher encourages them to consider a simpler approach. "When I was a student, part- nership seemed like this mysterious goal, I didn't know how to get there or what it was. At the end of the day, when I refl ect upon it, when I was coming to work every day I was just being diligent. Common sense every day isn't the worst thing in the world. It actually works out more oſt en than not." Cairns, who has been practising for more than 20 years, agrees that young lawyers should avoid getting too caught up in the race for partnership. "It's a long road, and it's very important to have good peer contacts and a good support group, whether they be in the law or from family or friends," she says. "It's a very rewarding career, but there are challenges and all of the support and the networking that you have available to you as a student, or as an associate lawyer, is invaluable." Th ose words of advice would certainly seem to resonate with Black. She admits her life has not been altered much by her rise to McInnes Cooper's partnership ranks. "Surprisingly, there has not been a signifi cant day-to-day change at all," she says. But it has certainly changed her out- look on practice and perhaps added some depth of meaning to her daily activities. "I just fi nd that you're more aware of the eff ects of your actions on the group, and the eff ects of the group on your practice personally — how everyone works to- gether to a common goal." ■ C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS F ALL 2010 19 "