It is truly a
pleasure to provide the inaugural articling student post for the McCague
Borlack (MB) student blog. Having
“summered” here and now amidst articling I feel confident that I can not only
accurately represent the student experience but perhaps more importantly convey
what it’s like to be part of the MB family.
My fellow articling students and I are excited at the chance of sharing
real-time updates and information as to the happenings at our litigation firm. But as the first of many posts to come, I
feel it incumbent upon myself to share what I believe to be the deeper truth
about MB. More specifically, my personal
opinion is that the articling experience at MB is best defined by challenge,
growth and family.
The moment you
walk in the door as an articling student is a moment you accept the many
challenges that await you. We all
expected that the practice of law would require a tremendous amount of
dedication, hard work and perseverance and MB is no exception. As articling students, we are entrusted with
tremendous responsibility and the firm relies on our ability to rise to the
challenge. Any given week could involve
attending and advocating at a settlement conference, arguing a motion (or two)
and drafting a mediation memorandum, wait…that was last week. Variety is the spice of life and thankfully
each and every day is absolutely unique.
One day you’re a research scholar of subrogation law, the next you’re arguing
a contentious motion in Small Claims Court (true story). One day you’re formulating written argument
for factum materials and the very next day you’re in Superior Court before a
master. You get the point. Before my
time at MB, I never truly grasped the meaning of the word “carriage”. But as the firm entrusts all of its articling
students with “carriage” of their own files (this is huge), the word now is all
too meaningful. Carriage means analyzing
a file, drafting a defence, assessing damages and a whole lot more. Having your own files is the epitome of
challenge, thrill and excitement and is the nexus in which all your hard work
comes together. I’m sure I speak for all
articling students when I say “challenge accepted!”
It’s always
been a closely held belief of mine that subsequent to any challenge comes
personal growth and development. Working
at MB demands much from you and as a result, you demand a lot from yourself
(this is a good thing). Working on a
wide variety of tasks has increased my capacity to multi-task, organize my
time, meet deadlines and work efficiently.
Not only are complex undertakings becoming more and more routine, but I also find
that my ability to manage novel tasks has vastly improved. I’ve learned that knowing the answer isn’t nearly
as important as one’s ability to be resourceful and find the answer. As such, I am certain that with each passing
day not only do we gain knowledge and experience but perhaps most importantly
we increase our capacity as lawyers.
What may surprise many is that I could not fully
convey my articling experience without speaking about the sense of family and
the strong bonds that are created when working at MB. The firm’s positive culture has helped to
facilitate and foster lifelong friendships, not only between the 7 articling
students but between the students and the entire firm. This supportive culture is essential to an
articling student’s success. “Open Door
Policy” is by no means an exaggeration and many a time I find myself seeking
the assistance of associates and partners; just today I sought the support of
roughly 8 different associates for a variety of reasons and was welcomed by
each and every one of them. Though the
work we receive is very fulfilling, it is the people in the firm that make the
experience dynamic, exciting and dare I say fun. Articling at MB is more than an opportunity
to learn but rather an invitation into a welcoming and supportive family.
by FB