When I originally looked at firms participating in the Ottawa recruitment, the first quality that stood out about MB was their commitment to students for hands-on participation in all areas of civil litigation. This was reiterated in every step of the interview process starting with OCI’s and all the way to in-firm interviews.
Everyone kept going on about the ‘field trips’.
While this was an intriguing aspect and something that certainly drew me to the firm, I still never expected to have so many ‘field trips’ available to me in my summer term (and it’s not even over yet!)
During our first week, Ashley, the Student Director, set up guided visits to the Ottawa and Toronto courthouse libraries. By the end of the second week, she had started coordinating appearances so that we could witness various steps in the civil litigation process!
My first ‘field trip’ – assigned to me from “The List” – was a two-day examination for discoveries on a commercial litigation file. I had no expectation of how the two days would go, and although it was much faster-paced than I had expected, I still learned a lot about the process. Then, I had the opportunity to attend discoveries for an MVA file. Having previously attended the commercial lit discovery, I thought I knew what I was walking into. But because it was another lawyer and a different type of law, it was completely different than the first one!
I have also had the opportunity to attend a mediation, where I spoke directly with an adjuster from an insurance company about their role in the process. I've also sat in on calls with clients when they’re being prepared for discoveries, and I have attended case conferences with judges!
Seeing how different lawyers approach various steps of the litigation process has been an unforgettable start to my legal career and an invaluable and unique way to learn about the legal profession. One of my biggest takeaways so far this summer is that every ‘field trip’ is different, and I will undoubtedly learn something new from each one I attend!
by Lauren M.