The transition from life as a law student to an articling student comes with a steep learning curve.
In my first three weeks with multiple assignments on the go at once and field trips scheduled by mentoring lawyers, and Ashley Faust, Student Director, I realized staying organized is crucial for both my success as an articling student and the success of the firm’s clients. These are the methods that have helped me stay organized.
Recording Assignment Details – Immediately!
At MB, our main source of assignments is the “list”, an email group where lawyers send tasks to all articling students. The firm is busy, so the list often moves quickly. To keep track of all my assignments, when a new assignment comes in, I immediately record important details on a spreadsheet provided by Ashley, including a breakdown of the tasks to be completed, the assigning lawyer, the client file number, and the due date. I then track my progress using a light system: green indicates I’m currently working on the assignment, yellow indicates I am awaiting feedback on the draft I’ve submitted, and red indicates my work has been approved. This system helps me manage deadlines to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.
Filing Emails
Whether it is messages from lawyers and clients, conflict checks, or updates about firm social events, managing the high volume of emails is challenging. To help stay organized, I create separate email folders for each new assignment. This allows me to file related emails into the appropriate folder, ensuring that all correspondence for an assignment is neatly recorded and easily accessible.>
Diarize Field Trips & Due Dates
MB prioritizes hands-on learning for articling students, so we attend several “field trips”. In the first few weeks of the articling term, I’ve already been scheduled to attend a mediation, an examination for discovery, a pre-trial conference, a motion, and an application. Using Outlook calendar, I diarize my field trips and set up reminders 3-4 days in advance. This gives me time to contact the lawyer for instructions and to review the file before attending. Proper scheduling allows me to organize assignment due dates around these field trips.
Establishing good habits as an articling student will make me more successful as a lawyer -- when organization and time management are even more crucial. After all, failing to keep track of deadlines as a lawyer could result in serious consequences, such as missed limitation periods, or a client being noted in default. Being organized also helps reduce stress because I know everything is accounted for and I have ample time to complete my assignments.
However, no matter how hard I try to stay organized, I know things will come up to throw my plans out of whack. In those situations, it is extremely comforting to have a supportive MB team around me. Whether it is reaching out to Ashley for advice on managing competing deadlines or calling over the cubicle to ask another articling student for assistance, I know there will always be someone ready and willing to help in any way they can.
by Draeden L.