Family Matters

Articling is not only about academic learning. It is also about learning about people; how to be a part of a team, how to be inclusive, and how to remain positive, even during stressful times.

"While in trial for four weeks, my learning of the above expanded ten-fold."

Walking to court each morning, you can never really know what to expect for the day, especially as an articling student. All you can expect is a long day. After spending 7 hours in court each day, we would come back to the office, ready to complete any work necessary for the next day in court, which usually involved late nights, early mornings, and plenty of coffee. Weekends were not safe and too much pizza was consumed. Usually, under these circumstances, people would succumb to the pressure and long hours and begin to feel defeated. I can honestly say though that this was not my experience.

Working with Charlene Kavanagh and Christopher Macaulay was such a pleasure. They included me in everything they could to contribute to my learning and created such invaluable learning opportunities for me, even when they had their own insurmountable workloads (I even sat at the Counsel’s table up front). We always made sure to check in with each other, fill in for each other when required, and get in those necessary laughs to lift us back up. Most importantly, we trusted each other. It really felt like a “we leave no person behind” kind of team. I could not have asked for more during my first trial experience and I have to say that this experience solidifies for me why McCague is such a great firm to work at as a student.

Kyle, Carly & Brittany are all smiles after coming
back from the Supreme Court of Canada

While they created these learning opportunities for me, Carly and I paid it forward to a partner’s son. During a "take your kid to work day", Carly and I took James Brown’s son, Kyle, to the Supreme Court of Canada while Uber Technologies Inc., et al. v. David Heller (Ontario) was being heard; a very topical case for the time. He had a great time learning about the law and at the Supreme Court of Canada, no less. This reminded me of the time I visited the Brampton Superior Court of Justice while taking a law course in high school. That experience, among others, helped steer me towards law.

Ultimately, I decided to write this blog to stress how important it is to treat the people you work with as a family and how that mindset affects the way you work together, your productivity and your success as a firm. McCague has that recipe for success. They know that family matters.

by Brittany

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

matters are very often resolved without judicial intervention, sometimes on the eve of a motion or trial...

As articling students, we often assist on motions or trials that require several hours of preparation before a hearing date. We conduct our research, draft our materials, and wait with anticipation for the hearing date that took months or years to obtain. However, these matters are very often resolved without judicial intervention, sometimes on the eve of a motion or trial. Even if the result is advantageous, the anti-climax, at times, can be quite disappointing.

As is often the case with the litigants themselves, we wanted our day in court. It is sometimes difficult to keep our eyes on the prize; we won without having to go through the risk of the motion or trial. This completely reasonable intellectual rationalization offers little comfort to an articling student, whose time and effort seems to have been for naught.

I have found solace in another, equally valid rationalization; the positive result or resolution would never have been possible without the preparation for the motion or trial. One’s strategic position can be significantly altered when an opposing party reads well-researched, well-written materials. At that point, a master or judge may no longer be necessary.

Therefore, while the drama may be somewhat muted, I have learned to take an advantageous result obtained before a motion or trial as what it is: a win that was earned.

Eric K.

Ready, Set, Go: Trial Time

It all started with a simple, unassuming email from a Senior Lawyer, “Come see me when you have a chance please.” It quickly went uphill from there. The lawyer indicated that he had a small claims court file that had gone to multiple settlement conferences and none of the three parties were willing to budge. “It’s going to trial in 2 months” he said, “Do you want to handle it?” Unsure whether or not this was a rhetorical question I emphatically answered with a “Yes!” After all, this is what we live for.

This is both the best and worst part of trial preparation....

I quickly took the file and began looking through it to understand what was going on. It’s difficult to pick up a file that has been ongoing for almost two years and try to understand everything that has happened. Also, this file was fairly technical and quite complicated, but that didn't bother me.

Trial preparation starts long before trial.
All documents that you are relying on, as well as a list of proposed witnesses, must be served 30 days prior to trial. This means that you have to start gathering your documents and building your case well in advance of that deadline. I tediously gathered all the documents that helped my position and drafted a brief that presented them in a manner that was easy to follow and in support of my arguments. As the deadline for service approached I finalized and sent my document brief and list of proposed witnesses to the opposing parties. Shortly thereafter, an Offer to Settle went out, so that you can take advantage of the cost consequences in the event of a successful trial.

That’s when the heat gets turned up.
When all parties are able to see the documents being relied on by the other parties, and their cases become clearer, you can’t help but compare it to your case and wonder how you will fair at trial. This is both the best and worst part of trial preparation. This is also followed by many rounds of conference calls with opposing counsel trying to narrow the issues for trial and trying to build up your case while looking for insight into theirs.

Its crunch time.
Before you know it, trial is a week away. You’re now fine tuning your trial strategy, preparing your questions for your own, and adverse witnesses, preparing your opening statement and going over your documents to make sure you won’t be surprised at trial.

Then, 3 days before trial, when you’re at the peak of preparation, you get “the call”. The plaintiff accepted the defendants’ offers to settle. Case settled. Trial cancelled. A part of you is disappointed that you didn’t get to go to trial and test your ability to effectively argue your position before a trier of fact. However, your client is thrilled that the matter was able to settle without the uncertainty, and cost, of going to trial; and at the end of the day, that’s the most important part!

David O.