Oh The Places You’ll Go!

In the previous blogs, my esteemed colleagues have given you a glimpse of the kind of work we do as articling students at MB. What they haven’t told you is that our files often lead us to new and exciting places…and I’m not trying to be flowery or intellectual - I mean geographically.  

STOP. Hammer time! 

Yesterday, I embarked on a journey to the bustling metropolis of Hamilton for a settlement conference for one of MY files. The “Hammer” as it is fondly called, is a city I had not yet had the pleasure of visiting. While I don’t have too much to report in terms of the aesthetics of the city (my apologies to the proud Hamiltonians), the experience as a whole was very positive. The settlement conference was for a professional negligence action involving an insurance broker. Although the matter didn’t settle, I had the opportunity to advocate on behalf of my client (who was in attendance), engage in negotiations with the opposition, and receive positive feedback from the Deputy Judge. All in all – a good day.  

As this is a blog about our travels, before writing, I took a quick poll of the rest of the articling students and together we have collectively travelled to more than 25 different cities/towns in the last 8 months! The Hammer, the ‘Shwa, Burlington, Cobourg, Bancroft, Nappanee, to name a few…  

Perhaps the common theme in all of our blogs is one of journey. Together the 7 of us have journeyed from our positions as summer students to our new adventures as articling students. We have gone from knowing very little and knowing only each other, to becoming a real part of the MB family and slowly but surely, learning the ropes. This year we excitedly welcomed another member to our articling team as the firm opened a new office in Ottawa. As MB continues to grow, so too do our horizons – both in terms of geography, as well as our exposure to different practice areas and legal experiences. I offer a shameless plug for a firm I am truly proud to be a part of…we are indeed reaching new heights.  

Indeed, what better time to reflect on our journey than now as we turn the corner into the hire-back season. In a few short months, we will join the ranks of our much-admired associates and start a whole new journey…optimistically…at MB…*wink*wink…*nudge*nudge.  

As an end to this blog, I leave you with a little excerpt from a book we are all quite fond of here in the “student bunker”; an ode to all the places we’ll go…  

Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And you are the guy who'll decide where to go… 

OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

                                                         - Dr. Seuss -

VS