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.

This is Sparta!!!

Before attending law school, the thought of working at a Bay Street firm the size of MB was only a dream and nothing more – but here I am, a month later, and I still can’t believe this feeling of energy and excitement.

At the end of the work day... you realize you would not trade this profession for any other out there.

Every morning is the same for me – I wake up, eat my breakfast and take the same route to work. However, every evening is different – I might leave the office at 6:00 p.m. with time to socialize or stay until 11:00 p.m. with barely enough time to get home and sleep. Whichever it is, at the end of the day when I walk out of the Exchange Tower onto the busy street filled with honking taxis, enormous skyscrapers, and various people hurrying to their next destination point, I realize I would not trade this profession for any other out there.

Now let’s talk about the variety of the work itself. One day, I get to work on settling a small claims file that is worth a couple thousand dollars, the next, be assisting a partner on a matter that is worth millions; I might work on a subrogation file, assist a lawyer on a labour and employment file or tag along to mediation on an accident benefits file.

The work itself is distributed in three ways:

The Rotation List
This default way is, just as the name suggests, the law students are rotated in as the work assignments flood the e-mail account.

The Walk-In
This second way means that you did work for a lawyer, while in rotation, and they liked it and now request you directly, either because you are already familiar with the file or you are just so good at what you do!

Area of Interest
For the purpose of this blog I will call this third way “area of interest” which means that you found a specific area of law interesting and you approached lawyers from that practice asking them to keep you in mind for any upcoming assignments.

When Worlds Collide
So what happens when I am next in line on the rotation list, a walk-in assigns me a task directly, and three lawyers are e-mailing me with "area of interest" assignments, and all are due that same day? At that point excitement really kicks in and you jump on your desk and scream at the top of your lungs – “THIS IS SPARTA!!!” … Well kind of...  or maybe you don't jump on your desk and, okay you just whisper lightly under your breath – but you get the point.

The assignments are interesting, complex, and each unique in its own way. The lawyers are supportive, encouraging, and really take the time to explain the context of the file before leaving you to work on it by yourself. The only scary part about this summer experience is when you begin to realize just how much you like the work, the people, and the lifestyle at MB.

Bogdan M.