Canadian Lawyer 4Students

REFERENCE/ LAW LIBRARIAN MANAGING PARTNER CORPORATE SECRETARY WHAT'S NAME? Cutline. NAVIGATING THE LAW FIRM AND CORPORATE LEGAL DEPARTMENT ECOSYSTEMS. EQUITY PARTNER CHAIRMAN from the junior partner or paralegals you may be assigned to work with on a regular basis, there is a whole eco- system of people that help make a law fi rm or corporate legal department run smoothly day to day. Here's a sampling of the people you may encounter in your days as a student. A s an articling or summer student, you may fi nd your- self working long days and late nights with your sleeves rolled up alongside a variety of legal professionals. Apart fi rm visionary. Much like the president and chief executive offi cer of a company, this person is responsible for providing leadership, strategy, and direction to the fi rm. Th ere may be one in each regional LAW FIRM CHAIRMAN/CHAIRWOMAN: Th is is the law BY JENNIFER BROWN or international offi ce of the fi rm and they are the governing face of the fi rm. Th ey are less involved in daily operations be- cause they are more focused on strategy and business development of new clients in areas such as global initiatives. Th is person may still oversee a practice area in a critical role within the fi rm handling top clients. Th ey follow the legal trends and decide what needs to be addressed from a strategy perspective whether it' a new offi ce or practice group expansion. Th ey may also be responsible for spear- heading mergers or contemplating inter- national expansion. s to open MANAGING DIRECTOR: Th ink of this per- son as the one responsible for managing all non-practising matters at the law fi rm but may in fact be a trained lawyer. In some fi rms this person is close to being a chief operating offi cer. Th ey may also be involved in business development and marketing. If you're an articling student you may want to get in the good books of this person as they may be the one who determines if you get hired back. MANAGING PARTNER: Th is is the highest formal job title given to a senior partner in charge of a fi rm' ment, and day-to-day operations. Similarly, this "Grand Poobah or Poo- s overall practice, manage- bess" manages the fi rm, its lawyers, their clients, and everything that comes with that large portfolio including many busi- ness aspects of running the fi rm. Depend- ing on the size of the fi rm, they may also be responsible for a practice area and act as lead lawyer on a number of critical fi les. Th is person handles internal partnership issues, discipline matters, brings in new partners, makes major staffi ng decisions, and handles banking relationships. Th ey C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS FALL 2012 7 ASSOCIATE LAW CLERK GENERAL COUNSEL CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER IN A OF COUNSEL PARTNER MANAGING DIRECTOR

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