The Team: A Shout-Out to Support Staff

The lawyers and articling students at McCague Borlack (MB) were recently asked to provide annual reviews for support staff. This exercise made me think of all the different people that have helped me during the time that I have been here.

As lawyers will likely tell you, law school does not accurately reflect the actual practice of law. There is a steep learning curve as you figure out the ins and outs of this new profession.

When I first started working at MB, I felt like I knew absolutely nothing about practicing law. Sure, I had learned legal principles in school and I felt I had a basic understanding of different areas of law. However, when I first started, I quickly realized I knew nothing about the day-to-day operations of a law firm. Today, I no longer feel completely like a fish out of water, and the support staff that we were asked to review are a big part of the reason why.

As an articling student, you expect to learn a lot from the lawyers you work with, and you do. But you also learn and receive a lot of support from their assistants, the law clerks, and other office staff.

Everything I have done while working at MB has been a new experience. For example, serving people with pleadings and drafting the corresponding affidavits of service, booking motions, and making undertaking charts were all things that I had never done. These are also things that the very experienced staff at MB have done many times before.

As I was asked to do each of these things, I reached out to assistants, clerks and other staff for help. They were all so kind, helping me whenever I required support in a specific area. I learned that, depending on the task, these are the people I should be reaching out to first. These individuals have a significant amount of knowledge and they are always willing to share. I also realized how big their roles are at MB and the importance of teamwork in the legal profession.

I have been able to see firsthand how a team takes carriage of a file, and how it belongs to more people than just the assigned lawyer.

While working here, I have been able to observe how closely everyone works together. I have seen how lawyers and assistants work together on files and, more often than not, how assistants know as much about files as the lawyer assigned to them. The same applies to law clerks, who often work on files from beginning to end. I have been able to see firsthand how a team takes carriage of a file, and how it belongs to more people than just the assigned lawyer.

This same kind of team effort can often be seen at MB during “emergency situations”, such as when a file comes in with a looming limitation period. Everyone comes together to ensure that everything is prepared properly and on time. I have seen assistants, clerks, and lawyers step up to roles that they would not typically have in order to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

This teamwork applies to the overall MB structure as well. Despite having offices in four different cities, lawyers in different offices continue to work together. Everyone works and communicates as a team, which allows MB to represent its clients in the best possible way.

By Jessica M.

Team Player

The most common advice I received since entering law school has been to be a team player. The phrase “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link”, became more cliché every time I heard it. I knew that teamwork would be important, but I had no idea how valuable cooperation and comradery would become.

Asking questions is imperative to producing quality work efficiently...

The seven of us students, five in Toronto and two in Ottawa, began our first-day meeting in a boardroom. “Good morning”, we all echoed. Our team had met after months of anticipation. Together we learned about docketing, motions, research and everything else we need to know in order to successfully “McCague”. Lawyers entered and left our progressively less nervous boardroom to teach us new lessons - leaving us with knowledge, wisdom, and mostly, lots to think about. I learned quickly that the team I envisioned was composed of more than the summer students battling the tasks thrown our way. Everyone at the firm has a different, but important role, we rely on each other and succeed together.

After training, we received our first assignments, and naturally had lots of questions. We freely turn to each other for input and advice — without which, we would be far more confused and less productive. While we have a great support system amongst ourselves, we save the tougher and substantive questions for the lawyers, especially the ones who gave us the assignments! Initially, I was concerned about asking too many questions, despite being assured that questions are important and encouraged. However, once I spoke one-on-one with more of my colleagues, my concerns disappeared. I learned from various lawyers that asking questions is imperative to producing quality work efficiently. One lawyer told me that it is a waste of time to sit at a desk staring at the screen and waiting for the answers to magically appear. Of course, she was absolutely correct.

While asking questions is encouraged, I, just like everyone else at the firm, still respect my colleagues’ time. Consequently, I try to never ask the same question twice. To accomplish this, I write down all the tips and explanations I am given. I now have a collection of notes with instructions from others pinned on the walls around my desk. By the end of the first day, I created an excel sheet with the instructions I was given for each task. Following the spirit of the firm, which emphasises teamwork, the summer students have decided to put our notes together and create a database with basic guides to our assignments.

The second week is coming to a close and we already have a variety of assignments to complete. The students have all agreed that one of the biggest highlights of our time so far is the diverse set of tasks that we were given. Drafting initial reports, pleadings, motion records, affidavit of documents, and damages briefs are just some of the new things we are working on, and we love it.

Yousef E.

Reality Check: With OCIs around the corner...

I thought I would take the time to write a blog that touches on my OCI experience and give you a glimpse of reality now that I am midway through the summer. I still get chills reminiscing about all of the stress and excitement during the summer and fall of 2015.

I wanted an experience where I was able to work hands-on with files and gain exposure to different areas of law.

During applications for OCIs, I read, for what seemed like days, about all of the opportunities that firms are willing to offer their summers students. I learned very quickly from past summer students that not all of these touted opportunities are a reality. Many students spoke of doing one single task for the entire summer, whether it was endless research or summarizing records all day long. I did not want this to happen to me. I wanted an experience where I was able to work hands-on with files and gain exposure to different areas of law. Without sending caution to the wind, I spoke further with some students who expressed their array of learning experiences at one firm, in particular, McCague Borlack, and I thought to myself, 'this firm sounds like a perfect fit for me!'

Needleless to say, after 7.5 weeks I can confirm that the student experience and opportunities that MB promotes for its summer students, is bang on. In less than two months, not only have I had the opportunity to work closely with partners on files, but I have also had carriage of my own small claims court files and even became published! How is this possible in only 7.5 weeks? The key is the firm’s teamwork mentality; working closely with lawyers has given me the opportunity to have real responsibility. The firm really does promote a “learn through experience” environment.

Throughout the summer I have been assigned an assortment of tasks, some with tight deadlines and some with deadlines that will outlive my summer here. I have been able to attend court proceedings and watch my work be put into action. I’ve even performed some delivery law, which provides students with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the court system.

The atmosphere at McCague Borlack definitely centres on training students and giving us the tools we need to prepare for articling. I can see why MB prides itself on the work quality of their young lawyers since they are not only shown the ropes but also given the opportunity to test them out.

Melissa P.

Why I chose MB as “my” firm

It’s hard to believe that our summer term at MB is coming to an end. Time honestly flew by. It seems like it was just a few days ago when I wrote my first blog describing my first two weeks at the firm. In this blog, I write about four qualities of MB that have re-affirmed my decision to choose MB as “my” firm.

...four qualities of MB that have re-affirmed my decision to choose MB as “my” firm.

Varied Work

In my previous blog, I wrote about MB’s desire to get its students involved as much as possible. Due to this exposure, students get the opportunity to work on different types of assignments and expand their knowledge. For example, during my summer term, I had the opportunity to attend court for a preliminary hearing; went to a mediation during which parties actually reached an agreement and settled; attended several interesting discoveries, one of which was very heated; drafted several motions and had the chance to watch some get argued in court; commenced actions; amended claims; prepared damages briefs and conducted research.

In addition to different types of work handed down to students, our group was also exposed to various industries that our clients, namely insurance companies, are involved in. Such exposure always provided new learning opportunities and made work more interesting.

Teamwork

Teamwork is perhaps one of the greatest qualities of MB. During my term here, I have felt comfortable enough to ask questions and seek help from my colleagues regardless of their “rank” within the firm. Not only are the people here very easy to approach, but also based on my experience, they are willing to go out of their way to help. This collegial environment is evident amongst our own student group. Despite the fact that we have had a busy – and sometimes stressful – time here at MB, our group has stuck together like a true team, often giving a helping hand to team members that may be swamped with work so that deadlines can be met. I truly appreciate this quality amongst our team and believe that credit must be given to our Student Committee for selecting such an amazing group.

Hire-Back Rates

If you have visited the student program section of our website, you may have noticed MB’s emphasis on its hire-back rates. This is not just a slogan or a marketing strategy; it is the way of life here at MB. In fact, so long as you work hard and show your dedication to learning, not getting hired back as an articling student or a first-year associate is an anomaly. This relieves the student from having to stress about a future position with the firm, and instead allows them to focus on their professional development.

Work-Life Balance

Working at MB provides an opportunity to work at a large “Bay Street” firm without having to give up your work-life balance. While as summer students we occasionally had to stay at the office late into the night or come in on a weekend or two to catch up on some work, we don’t work the crazy hours that students at other big firms do. Fortunately, at MB there is no expectation for students to stay late or come in on the weekends to show face. This not only allows students to have a life outside of work, but also positively affects the quality of work by students as they are not over worked.

While there are many reasons that make MB a great firm to work at, the ones mentioned above are the MB qualities that I most appreciate about the firm. These are the qualities that have re-affirmed my decision of choosing MB as “my” firm.

Navid G.