Canadian Lawyer 4Students

MARTIN PERELMUTER PRESIDENT, SPEAKERS' SPOTLIGHT who participate in conferences and events around the world. after completing his Ba in economics at age 20, he wasn't ready to start working full time, so he decided to go to law school. He articled at Goodmans LLP and was hired back as an associate. He stayed at the firm for about two years until he realized that he couldn't see himself practising law for the rest of his life. So in 1995, both he and his wife quit their jobs and started Speakers' Spotlight. the decision wasn't an easy one to make. "the S thing that i struggled with was i put all this time in school and i articled and i was hired back, and i was told that you can be a great lawyer if you keep work- ing hard at it. So there's all these pressures, whether it's parents or friends or peer pressure or colleagues, that are telling you to just keep doing this because you're going to be successful," says Perelmuter. "i guess the question is what's the definition of suc- cess? and if it's compensation and prestige and things, then those needs can be met — especially in a larger law firm — but if the work isn't meaningful to you, at the end of the day you're not going to be happy. the thing that i learned is just understanding what makes me tick. i could have probably saved my- self a lot of stress at the time." Perelmuter says he learned a lot from his time at Goodmans and many of the skills he picked up have helped him succeed as an entrepreneur, such as criti- cal thinking, organization, and discipline. He encour- ages law students to do an articling term if they can. "i think if someone absolutely knows they have no interest in practising law, they just want the degree and go on to do something else, [articling is] probably not necessary," he suggests. "But if you have even an inkling that this is something that you'd want to do, then i think that it's a great way to get exposure to what it's like." ometimes the bad experiences can lead you to the right career, says Martin Perelmuter, president of Speakers' Spotlight, an agency that represents high-profile public speakers "I GUESS THE QUESTION IS WHAT'S THE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS? AND IF IT'S COMPENSATION AND PRESTIGE AND THINGS, THEN THOSE NEEDS CAN BE MET — ESPECIALLY IN A LARGER LAW FIRM — BUT IF THE WORK ISN'T MEANINGFUL TO YOU, AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE HAPPY." C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS S PRING 2012 15 *

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