How I survived My Busiest Week of Articling (so far)

The articling experience is about learning to become a practicing lawyer and a significant part of it involves developing time management skills. This is critical for a litigator. What I am quickly realizing is that while you can try to formulate a plan to divide your tasks a few days ahead, it can often change so quickly. The key is to adjust and recognize that at McCague Borlack, you have a team of people ready to assist you.

"Our common goal is to always get the job done for the benefit of the client."

In the 8 to 10 months of an articling student’s term, there is bound to be at least one week where everything seems to come all at once. Last week just happened to be one of those weeks for me.

On Monday, I had come in early to plan out my weekly schedule. The prior week, I received numerous rush assignments. So naturally, the assignments I had planned on finishing way in advance had to be done this week instead. Thus, my schedule already had to shift from the start.

I created what I thought was the perfect schedule in which I would meet all my deadlines with time to spare. However, all of a sudden mid-week, a variety of new tasks came in on files I had worked on previously and needed to be addressed on an urgent basis. All my careful planning had to be set aside to complete these more urgent and interesting new matters.

Fortunately at MB, we have a student director, lawyers, and fellow students who understand that a litigation file can have many twists and turns and are always available to assist and work as a team for a common goal. With their help, I was able to meet all my deadlines and finish the tasks I planned for the week.

Lessons learned

The biggest lesson I learned from my busiest week is how to better manage my time and plan around unexpected rush assignments, as you never know when they will come. I will do this in the future by scheduling to finish the assignments I receive way in advance of the actual deadline if possible and being honest with the lawyers upfront about my capacity to deliver the assignment within their preferred deadline.

I also learned that fellow articling students can be your biggest resource during the articling term as they have been there for me when I needed them the most. I am so grateful to be able to have other articling students to reach out to for help during my busiest times. I could not wish for a better group of students to have been able to share this experience with. 

by Dominique M.

Taking a Lesson from Jon Snow

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” – Socrates

Also known as the Socratic paradox, this principle allegedly uttered by the Greek philosopher Socrates is a great lesson in humility, critical reflection, and—when using it as an excuse for the C-minus grade you got in one of your courses—self-referential humour.

Unlike my fellow articling students, I’m brand-spankin' new. I don’t just mean that I’m new to McCague Borlack... I’m new to the practice of law itself. That’s right, articling is my very first venture into the legal profession as a (now graduated) law student, after forgoing the traditional summer student placements during the completion of my JD.

While this has certainly been a learning curve for all of us students, it goes without saying that the articling experience has been quite different for me compared to my colleagues. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s harder or more challenging, it’s just different.

For starters, given my severe lack of prior firm experience and having taken no particularly relevant elective courses in law school, I knew nothing.

Honestly, that might be generous. I probably knew less than nothing, which is an even greater (or lesser?) amount of nothing than our old pal Jon Snow from Game of Thrones knew. It’s a weird flex, but I’ll tell you why it’s OK.

It’s because I knew that I knew nothing.

To know that you know nothing is incredibly humbling, especially in an industry that radiates (perhaps a little too much) confidence. It gave me no reason to inflate my ego or pretend to be someone I wasn’t because I knew that any attempts at the sort would immediately be recognized for what it was… BS. In that regard, it definitely wouldn’t have served me well to act like I knew how to do a task that I was assigned when I didn’t, lest I wanted to face the wrath of angry lawyers impatiently waiting for the drafted AODs or memos they asked for weeks ago.

But really, knowing that I knew nothing was an opportunity. It was an opportunity that allowed me to learn, ask questions, and grow, both inwardly and outwardly.

A month and a half into articling, I can positively say that I know more now than I did when I started. But at the same time, I recognize that I still know nothing. Because total knowledge isn’t achievable. There’s no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow because rainbows, fun fact, are a full circle. Knowledge is an endless journey that one must strive to retain, as there is always something new to learn. Suffice it to say, I look forward to seeing where this journey takes me next.

By Matt D. 

…And We’re Back - WFH vs. In-office experience

  

"They say articling is like riding a bike. Okay, maybe no one says that but so far it’s been true."

Having returned to the office, I'm surprised at how much I’ve retained from my summer student experience.

After being completely remote for the past two years, I am excited to say that the articling program is nearly entirely in person! Going into the office every day means that we finally get to put faces to names, and it has also provided a new avenue of getting work outside the list serve. Lawyers can now drop by our desk which increases the flow and variety of the type of files and assignments we receive. Already, it has made a difference in building relationships and receiving guidance from the lawyers when you can just pop by their office. 

In the few weeks since articling started, I’ve had a diverse array of assignments including drafting statements of claim, motion records, and preparing affidavit of documents just to name a few. Similarly, I’ve received work in various practice areas including construction, subrogation and defence work. Compared to the summer term, I am noticing more opportunities to stay involved with files longer. Given that articling is ten months compared to three in the summer, assignments now come with follow-up assignments. This often includes research, communicating with opposing counsel, or the opportunity to assist with further drafting assignments. It has been an amazing experience to begin to see a file through from start to finish. 

It is safe to say, the articling program at MB is full of hands-on work, and we will not spend the entire year doing research assignments. While the pace of articling moves faster than being a summer student some things remain the same. Namely, our biweekly student check-in meetings and the students from different offices still enjoy getting together for Friday lunch over zoom!

 One month down, nine to go!

by Winona F.

Articling Students 2022

Welcome back to our summer students of 2021 who are now our articling students 2022 - Anita Zamani, Winona Fitch, Alexandria Bonney, Dominique Mesina and one new face Matt DeSumma. To read their bios see our student page.

Learning the Law, and the Trade

During my summer at MB, I was actively involved in several Small Claims Court files (topics of the files mentioned in this post have been changed due to confidentiality concerns). This was an interesting experience, but also a difficult one. 

To be involved in a Small Claims Court file, charged with reviewing the evidence and assisting in the matter, was a daunting task. However, what I soon found more daunting was the knowledge required to complete the claim.

In one file, the matter concerned technical issues in a certain trade. Claims of negligence, improper workmanship, and general inefficiencies were thrown around. I may be pretty handy with repairs at home, but the skill with which these individuals were working, the specificity and specialization of their trade, it was something I had absolutely no knowledge of. Law school had prepared me to know the standard of care, but the details of that standard, the specificity of it in person, in this specific trade, was something I knew nothing about.

This was magnified in another case that demanded specific performance. We knew what the client had to do. We could name it, inform the client that it needed to be done, and we could supervise as they conducted the work. We even knew what it would be like when it was finished. We knew point A (where we were) and point B (what it would look like when the task was completed). But, in a very real sense, I had no idea how exactly to get from point A to point B.

My knowledge of the steps required to complete the specific performance was derived from the information provided to me by the client, and the evidence accumulated during the progress of the claim. It goes without question that I familiarized myself with the legal boundaries involved in the claim, but oftentimes, it seems the law establishes these boundaries without defining the specific steps required. So, sure, I could say with confidence that the client could not leave all the excess drywall in the middle of the road. However, if they told me that removing it with an electrical knife was more efficient than a sledgehammer, I wouldn’t be able to disagree in any meaningful way.

When we encountered difficulties in undertaking a specific method of performance, it was the client who suggested an alternative method. Of course, we did our due diligence on the legal impacts of this method, and we made all necessary inquiries. But when there were no legal issues, it was the client who was the expert on the matter, and it was our position to watch them do their work.

I never believed as a lawyer that I would be the master of all knowledge. Hell, I doubt I will even come close to mastering one area of law. But, to me, it was amazing to see that the law truly operates at the nexus of everything else. With a claim involving electrical work, a lawyer need not be an electrician, but having any knowledge of electrician work is quite the asset. With personal injury claims, lawyers are not doctors, but I was amazed at the breadth of my colleagues’ knowledge on medical matters (and their ability to read a doctor's handwriting!) This experience, more than any other, really hammered home the idea that it is a litigator’s position to guide the parties through the legal system, not to engage in their work.

by Max G.