RSS FeedThese Days the Slaves Fight Back
The Seven Sister law firm Davies LLP ran the above ad in several issues of Obiter Dicta, Osgoode Hall’s law student magazine, the last one running on January 9, 2012. The law firm is known for working its law students and associates exceptionally hard, earning it the informal nickname, “Slavies.”
As you can imagine, outrage ensued. Especially worth reading is Osgoode Hall’s Kisha Munroe, who stated in a letter to Obiter Dicta on January 16, 2012,
That Davies saw fit to run an ad invoking the shameful, genocidal, dehumanizing practice of forced, unpaid, lifelong labour and suffering that was essential to the power the Western world now enjoys is despicable.
What is even more offensive is that the legacy of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, is still alive and well with regard to disparities in access to employment, education, wealth and justice that the descendants of slaves still suffer. It is beyond distasteful for them to jokingly compare the rarified privilege (however rigorous) of working at a Bay Street lawfirm with this history.
To their credit, Davies LLP did print an apology in the paper,
…
The intent of the advertisement was instead to try to suggest that the nickname students have used for our firm for many, many years should not dissuade students from considering applying to us for summer or articling positions. We were aiming for some selfdeprecating humour. It did not occur to our team that we would be seen as making light of slavery, rather than simply poking fun at ourselves. Obviously it should have.
We thank those who brought this to our attention and accept their criticism. We sincerely apologize to those who were offended. We will not run the advertisement again.
Frances Mahil
Director, Student Affairs
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
No public apology is available yet on the Davies website. Yes, this is an issue that concerns and has offended a much broader audience than just Osgoode Hall.
The fact that this occurred in the first place does highlight the insensitivity and insularity that exists in Canada’s “top” law firms. I can already hear the voices of many lawyers I know dismissively saying that those offended are “too sensitive.” In fact Andrew Emery, another 2L at Osgoode, already wrote in to the paper,
There is nothing offensive about playing on the perception that Davies students work like slaves. It is as offensive as just saying the word “slave”. Just saying a word doesn’t make it offen sive. The joke is so mild even my Grandma could laugh at it and she thinks women shouldn’t show their elbows on television.
The lack of sensitivity by major law firms, especially at the decision making level, should actually be used to hold them accountable. Apparently Davies LLP was not concerned enough about dissuading minority students from applying to summer or articling positions. And rather than realizing that the strenuous hours and unrealistic work assignments that have fostered the negative reputation should be an incentive to change the firm culture and create better internal supports, the firm still thinks it’s reasonable to flaunt this reputation as “learning experience” akin to “slavery.”
Davies does have a “diversity page” on their site which states,
The creativity and different perspectives that are brought to our practice by lawyers from diverse backgrounds and communities have helped to define who we are as a firm today, and we believe that they will continue to be key factors that enable us to endure as market leaders in our chosen areas of practice.
Their NALP profile states under “diversity,”
Our goal is to recruit, hire, retain and promote exceptional students and lawyers who share Davies’ commitment to excellence…
It continues,
Our goal is to hire exceptional students who share our commitment to excellence. We are committed to our student program as the primary source of new lawyers and hire back students anticipating they will become partners of the firm very early in their career. This early partnership structure is unique among law firms and we have a very high ratio of partners to associates. As a result, very early in their careers our talented young lawyers learn to act like owners, rather than employees, and to view the firm’s relationships with its clients from that perspective.
Unlike many American law firms, Canadian ones are highly resistant to releasing statistics about their associate and partner diversity. Of course you don’t need much time to flip through a website to get an idea of what kind of diversity they have. And as well all should know, the real issue of law firms diversity has a lot more to do with retention than it does recruitment. Nobody announces it on their departure, but the insensitivities of law firm culture is one of the primary reasons why minority lawyers don’t feel fully accepted, can’t be completely productive, and ultimately choose to find more comfortable work environments.
But aside from dissuading law students and even lateral hires, there could be other implications for insensitivity by law firms. Some clients in the American legal context have historically demanded proof that a legal team will have sufficient diversity. In-house counsel of minority backgrounds may opt to choose another large law firm to do their legal work instead.
In other words, there are financial consequences to these poor decisions. And although the managing partner may not be able to identify on a budget why some clients are choosing alternative service providers or explain recruitment issues, it is worth noting: in today’s world, the “slaves” actually fight back.
How law students can boost their job prospects with a good online profile
Recently Alexandra Kozlov wrote a great article for Canadian Lawyer 4Students on how law students can boost their job prospects with a good online profile.
You can read the article on the Canadian Lawyer 4Students site or on my blog: Simon Says.
LSUC Consultation on Articling
We have all complained at some point about the articling process. Well here’s your opportunity to do something about it if you’re in Ontario. The Articling Task Force, created by the Law Society of Upper Canada to address the articling crisis, is holding a series of consultations. Information on how to attend is included below.
Former Ontario Bar Association (OBA) President Lee Akazaki is also soliciting your input in a poll on his new site. Here are the results at the time of posting:
The Virtual Lawyer
So, you’ve slogged your way through law school and you survived the Bar exam. And, perhaps only now you’re realizing even the 75th percentile doesn’t add up to an office, much less a corner office, and all those pamphlets you read three years ago were a bit of a hoodwink.
Instead of remaining virtually a lawyer after law school (i.e., all that fresh-minted lawyer status without that lawyer job), maybe you should start thinking of a life as a virtual lawyer.
If you’ve got the GPA and a nice internship or two under your belt, then this information is not for you. In fact, you’re probably so deep in your firm’s pocket you don’t have time for this kind of light reading, or you’re using the four free hours you have a week to spend your outrageous paycheck.
For the rest of us, though, the explosive growth of ecommerce has sowed a fertile land where we can plant a virtual shingle, or contract our work out to digital firms.
Web sites like LegalZoom.com are getting the jump on providing people with legal documents that enable them to handle their legal affairs pro se – without attorneys. Considering this shift toward legal autonomy, it pays for attorneys to think about ways to attract Internet clientele to their services via the Internet.
And, Web businesses are catching on.
Employment hubs like Elance.com have set aside specific areas for online legal services. Here, clients can post their legal issues and potential legal representatives bid to win contracts on those services. It is revolutionizing the way people think about approaching the legal industry.
Imagine – instead of calling Ajax Legal Services and setting up an appointment (which hopefully includes a free consultation), clients just describe what they need and let lawyers bid each other out.
So, you say to yourself, “That sounds horrible. Why would I want to waste my time achieving the lowest bid to do a ton of legal work?” The answer is – what else are you doing?
While law school grads in Canada face a different environment than US law grads, numbers from the US legal market suggest new lawyers still face challenges in finding legal employment after graduation. A Northwestern Law Study found that 15,000 legal jobs at large US law firms have vanished since 2008. And according to a report by the National Association for Legal Career Professionals on fall 2010 law school recruiting, “entry-level recruiting volumes have not returned to anything like the levels measured before the recession”.
The short story is you’ve got to gut it out and get with the times if you really want to practice law. And now, the virtual route is just as viable as the traditional route if you’re willing to face the competition and do your time in the trenches.
What about jurisdiction and providing legal services across state lines, you ask? That’s a good question. You can be on the cutting edge, and companies like DirectLaw.com are paving the way.
If you’re unconvinced, use the most valuable skill you likely learned in law school – networking – and coordinate with other disenfranchised attorneys to organize your own multi-jurisdictional conglomerate.
It’s not impossible. It’s the future.
James Madeiros is a recent law school grad and staff writer at Criminal Justice Degree Schools, a resource site for criminal justice degrees and careers.
How to land a Job after Law School
A Glimpse into Future Recruitment: Got Game?
You may think that I’m playing with you, but a Dutch law firm – Houthoff Buruma – uses “The Game” to separate the wheat from the chaff in terms of graduating law students in the Netherlands.
Response to Law School, A Losing Game
Susan Cartier Liebel of Solo Practice University has responded to the New York Times pieces, ‘Is Law School A Losing Game?‘ with a podcast interview of Rachel Rodgers and Jack Whittington.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Clinical Legal Education
In the Conference on Canadian Clinical Legal Education conducted by Western Law Professor and Director of Community Legal Services, Douglas Ferguson, that took place on 22nd and 23rd of October 2010, the emphasis was on ways to prepare the law students for the professional world through establishing a more extensive and perhaps mandatory clinical program. In a private discussion that I had with Professor Ferguson, he expressed concern over the fact that compared with many other professional students such as medical and dental, who rigorously undergo a pattern of practical education, law students are graduating rather unprepared for the real world.
Recently, the Law School Survey of Students Engagement (LSSSE) released the reports of its 2010 survey that gathered information from students of 77 Canadian and American law schools on how they felt about the quality of education they were getting. The results of this survey reflect Professor Ferguson’s concern. About half of the students felt that they were not inadequately prepared for the practice. “Predictably perhaps, the study found that students with practical experience in clinics or pro bono work were more likely than other students to report that their law schools provided adequate professional preparation…” Other factors that were found to have a positive impact on the overall development of students included interaction with the faculty. More specifically the report outlines that engaging in discussions with professors regarding the assignments, talking about job search activities or even talking to them through email, result into a more positive impact on the professional development of law students.
How to Stay Healthy (and Sane) as a Law Student
Much has been written about succeeding in law school, but not as much has been said about remaining healthy and sane while succeeding. Having just finished my first law school exams this past December, I thought it beneficial to engage in much needed reflection on study habits and things that worked and did not work for me in my last semester. In recalling and pondering my previous exam and study strategies and the effectiveness thereof, what stuck me most was the considerable physiological and physical toll that the stress of exams had on my body. Coincidentally, I recently stumbled upon an old blog post from Adam Letourneau, which reminded me and should remind all of us that it makes no sense to sacrifice health for wealth now in order to spend my wealth to regain my health in future. Health is wealth and whatever stress-reducing routine we practice now as students will be much more easily carried forward when we are lawyers. Although he writes from the perspective of an established lawyer, his tips are attributable to the life of a law student and many of them have worked for me personally in times past:
Lately, I have been pushing hard, trying to make everything work at the firm, trying to become accredited as a mediator and arbitrator, trying to keep my publishing house on track (we just signed 3 new authors), and coping with having four children. At work , we are trying to focus our practice towards 2 or 3 areas, rather than being a general practice. It’s really paying off, especially as we forge strong relationships with business partners. We are also opening up a mediation/arbitration/coaching centre in our law office, and that is really exciting. The world is my oyster, so to speak.
However, all of this takes its toll. I went out for supper a couple weeks ago with some classmates. They seemed genuinely tired of the lawyer life. Long hours, high demands, boredom, difficulty with senior lawyers, etc. My demands are not quite the same. I do have stress, the requirement of a steep learning curve, high customer service expectations, and the challenge of keeping a full staff.
I thought I would comment on how I cope with the stress.
I work as little as possible. For me, that means a 40-50 hour work week, usually closer to the former. I learned early on in my practice that anything more for me, personally, brings with it too high a cost, to health, to mind and to my relationships. When I am at work, I try to work really hard, really fast, and really smart.
I manage my time like a freak! Every morning, I review my week’s goals (which I set out on Monday morning). I review my daily affirmations (I have 7 goals that I repeat to myself 3 times each day). I then do up my daily task list, reviewing the previous day’s list and accomplishments. I then prioritize that list. Then, I set aside some time to check and respond to emails, to return phone messages, and to get updates or update my staff. Once I am satisfied that the day is set out properly, I start to attack my list. I try to avoid interruptions, using my staff to screen calls, mail, faxes, etc. I try not to move down the list until the top priority items are completed. If I think that an item is just not going to happen, I make a note on my list, and then move on. I review the list at the end of each day (giving myself a grade out of 5), and then try to leave work at work.
I treat staff like gold, or at least the best that I can. Only my wife is more important to my success when compared to my legal assistants/paralegals. They make my world go round. I offer bonusses, flexibility, encouragement, and I share my thoughts, feelings and expectations with them as much as possible.
I do yoga. My wife is a yoga instructor, so that is a huge bonus. I attend her class once as week, and try to incorporate stretching, and some meditation throughout the week.
I sleep! Hardly ever less than 7 hours per night. More often closer to 8. I should try to get to bed earlier, but it’s hard with kids.
I exercise. At least 3 times a week, I hit the gym, strap on the running shoes, or do some other form of rigorous activity.
I practice my faith. I go to church regularly. I volunteer regularly. I read uplifting articles, books, and scriptures regularly. I read scriptures and pray with my family every day. I meditate on the larger picture often, praying at least three times each day.
I eat really well. My wife is a fantastic cook. Different members of our family have different food sensitivites or allergies, so we don’t eat much wheat, milk or sugar. My kids can’t eat sugar, so I eat less as a result. We eat a lot of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, etc. We eat few saturated fats or “other” foods. We all take our vitamins each day.
I am a very motivated person, not unlike most in the legal profession. Please don’t think that my comments above are meant to make me look like like a perfected being. I am by no means near perfection. These things have developed over time. I have failed at each of them on many occassions. However, my intention is to master these things so that I can maintain my health, my career, my sanity, and my family over the next 2-3 decades. My friends do often ask me how I accomplish so much with so many challenges and so little time. It is through this formation of habits, through an attempt towards self-mastery, that I find the energy, the drive, and the love for my life.
The above habits may be beneficial to you as you prepare for law school, as you push your way through law school, or as you establish yourself as a lawyer. I wish you the best of luck.
If there is something that you do to help you cope, please let all of us know. We can all stand to learn something new, positive and helpful.
Managing Client Expectations – The Manifesto
Susan Cartier Liebel has this draft of a manifesto to help manage client expectations:
ATTORNEY/CLIENT EXPECTATIONS
What You Can Expect From Us
Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You. Unless absolutely necessary, we reserve our weekends for our families and private pursuits. Therefore, it is not our policy to work on Saturday, Sunday or legal holidays and we do not provide emergency numbers for these times. Periodically, and truly for our own convenience, we may look at and answer your email over the weekend, but this is generally the exception and should not to be relied upon by you that we are accessible on weekends.
We’ve Never Met A Perfect Person. Have You? We’re great, but please do not think we are perfect. We are very competent attorneys and paralegals, but occasionally we may make a mistake. We will correct a mistake if we find it or if you point it out. Just as you would not want to be yelled at or accused of not doing your job or insulted because of the mistake, please give us the same respect.
Don’t Call Us. We’ll Call You. We always return phone calls, generally in the order they are received and based on the ‘legal’ urgency of the situation. If you leave a message, trust your message will be passed on to the attorney and returned within one business day, either by the attorney or our support staff. Knowing this, we ask you to please not call multiple times in a day. During working hours, e-mail is the quickest way to express yourself and get the response you need from an attorney.
Don’t Come A Knockin’. In this law firm, our attorneys primarily work by appointment. Please do not show up at our offices to speak with an attorney without an appointment as we may not be as welcoming as you would like or expect. You’re entitled to our full attention and this is why we’ll gladly schedule an appointment as appropriate.
Want To Save Money? Please utilize our paralegals to answer your questions and give you status reports. Our paralegals are very experienced and can, most of the time, respond to your request. Our paralegals are billed at less than than 50% of what the attorneys charge so take advantage of their experience and knowledge. If you are not satisfied with the response or we determine your request requires a response by the attorney we’ll certainly handle accordingly. It’s not that we don’t like talking with you or wouldn’t love to bill you more attorney time, but do you really want to give us more money than necessary?
Is it realistic? How would clients react?
T I M E – the treasure that will measure…
If there is one word that distinguishes a simple undergraduate degree from a law degree, then that word is TIME.
As a newly minted law student, never before has time appeared so essential, so vital, and so treasured. The extra second or two of sleep after a long night of dense reading can seem like an eternity in the comfort of one’s bed.
In the classroom setting, if one loses focus for just a single second or just between the “tick” and the “tock,” then you may miss the ratio of an important case or fail to comprehend the professor’s explanation of a key theory. The great coefficient of human efforts does not ignore law students or legal professionals.
Looking ahead, time may become our friend or foe, as we write down how we spent our billable hour. In fact, our worth may one day be appraised by these “billable hours.” Whether one is working, listening, or studying, time always seems to transform into the one treasure that will measure who we are and what we will become.
For those law students vexed with their skilled procrastination tendencies (practice truly does make perfect) and who would like to turn a new page in their lives, then seek out and learn how to wrestle with time, so you can pin it to your wall (literally and figuratively). For those individuals still procrastinating after reading the previous sentence or who are genuinely interested in learning about the real oxygen of a law student’s life, this video will certainly be useful:
OCI Fever
I decided to write a note because there is a lot of tension going around Macdonald Hall and elsewhere. Apparently OCI fever is rampant and has taken many victims. My purpose in writing this is fourfold: I want to congratulate people; encourage others; express some concern; and finally, I want to challenge everyone with a few thoughts. This was originally just going to be a facebook note, so bear with me.
1. Amazing
If you have gotten emails about OCI interviews, that is great! I am really happy for you. You’ve worked hard and the work is now paying off. You should be proud of yourself and you should be happy. But remember, your peers are also bright, hard-working students and they will end up being your colleagues. Treat them with respect and keep in mind that because a firm wants to interview you does not mean you are inherently better than anyone else. I’m not saying that to take away from your accomplishment, just a reminder to stay humble (not an easy task, I know from experience). Life has a way of keeping us humble when we start to think too much of ourselves. We’ve heard about more than one student that had 17 interviews, and many in-firms and ended up jobless last summer. But again – I’m proud of you and excited that you’ve got this great opportunity in front of you – enjoy it.
2. Depressing
IT SUCKS! I’ve already gotten 3 rejection emails, *BUT* I’m not going to go around law school moping. I realize that it’s disappointing (I’m disappointed), but it’s NOT the end of the world! Rejection is difficult to stomach and your feelings are legitimate, but remind yourself of the broader perspective. You are a successful student – getting into law school is not easy. Did you know that most people in law school are in the 98+ percentile of intelligence? You have been blessed with brains, wits and a solid work ethic, not to mention all the other things you have like money, a good education, a supportive family/community, good friends, health, a great country, etc. You will eventually get a job. It might not be the one you thought you wanted, but there is something out there for you that you will LOVE. Don’t give up on that hope, and don’t break down because it’s not easy to get there. You’re in law school, you’re not a quitter!! Don’t let things that are entirely out of your control make you go off the deep end! You can still do this.
3. Ridiculous
You are NOT what you do. Why are you making your worth contingent on how many firms want to interview you? Let me tell you a story:
Once upon a time there was a law student who grew up extremely poor and who had gotten into law school on a whim with no undergraduate degree. He applied to all the Wall Street firms and was one of two students from Harvard left without a job. But he joined a couple of his friends as an associate and they started a firm. They took any work they could get and started into an area of law that was untouched by the big Wall Street firms, and they hit on something big. Do you know who that lawyer is? It’s Joe Flom – and his partners were Marshall Skadden and Leslie Arps – perhaps you’ve heard of them?
OK, that’s a nice story, but what’s the point? Life won’t always make you a big star, but maybe being a star isn’t the point. WHY ARE YOU VALUABLE? This is a question you need to find the answer to. If you’re going to base your value on your job, your salary, your age, your looks, your pro bono efforts, your fame, your athletic abilities – then you need to face the fact that at some point in the future you will lose that thing and you will be left without definition. You will be like a Michael Jordan unable to compete in the NBA, or a washed up movie star, and it will break you. You HAVE to find something outside of this earthly place to stake your identity on, or it – like everything else in this world has a habit of doing – will die.
Michael Jordan’s life isn’t valuable because he can play basketball, and YOUR value is not related to your interview count. It’s not about what you do, it’s about who you ARE. Life is about so much more than Bay Street. We all know this, but we seem to have forgotten.
4. Challenge
Those of you in the first category – I realize you’re thrilled, and that’s great. But if you were at a funeral, would you go up to the family of the deceased and tell them exciting news? Probably not.
Those of you in the second category – if you received some horrible news, would you think the best time to tell your friend would be their birthday party? Might be a bit of a buzzkill.
We essentially live together, and we all need other people to help us when things are rough and to celebrate when times are good. Let’s ALL be a little more sensitive to other peoples’ feelings – whether happy or sad – and be encouraging no matter what the circumstances. Let’s be excited for those with interviews, and let’s comfort those who are going through disappointment. Let’s stop making inappropriate value judgements and maybe talk about something else? I can suggest a few topics if that’s an issue…
~ Joy
