In early April, I had the pleasure of taking a break from studying for exams by visiting Power Sustainable, an asset management company. Spending the day with members of its in-house counsel team was very enriching. Many of the lawyers at Power Sustainable are McGill graduates who kindly shared their advice for managing life during – and after – law school:
- To maximize your McGill degree, don’t stress too much during school about passing the bar. Choose classes based on the interests you would like to pursue, not because you think they will cover testable material for bar exams. The time will come to be preoccupied with the bar, but that shouldn’t happen during school!
- Mentally prepare yourself to learn a lot on the job as a young lawyer. The learning curve can be steep, but the skills you gain in your formative years practicing law will be immensely valuable. You will become so much more skilled at everything from writing a good email to conducting legal research, and develop soft skills to use during negotiations with clients and other parties.
- Don’t get too caught up in legalese when you start working. It is vital to communicate things in terms that clients will understand because not every client will have a sophisticated understanding of legal concepts. It is your job as a lawyer to guide them through complex legal issues and proceedings at their own pace.
Delia Cristea was particularly inspiring to shadow. A 2007 graduate from McGill University with incredible experience on her CV, she impressed upon me the importance of learning to deal with chaos as a lawyer. Chaos, in Delia’s view, is somewhat unavoidable in the legal profession. Often the difference between being successful or not depends on the extent to which you can embrace, manage, and structure the chaos. Something that helps is working on a great team that supports its members day in and day out.
I also saw firsthand the importance of being forward-looking to Delia. I knew the stereotype going into my shadowing day that working in-house can be dull and monotonous, but the atmosphere at Power Sustainable was anything but. Delia is constantly pushing herself and her team to be the best they can be, which requires thinking ahead in a rapidly changing industry. Delia is constantly collaborating with her team to figure out how to be proactive and stay well-equipped to handle any challenges they encounter.
I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity through the CDO’s Day in the Life Shadowing Program. It is an excellent initiative that I would recommend to all McGill students who want to gain insight into the day-to-day activities of lawyers!