Today
Today

Book review: The Curmedgeon

  • June 11, 2014
  • Lois Casaleggi

The conventional wisdom is that law school teaches you to think like a lawyer but doesn’t teach you how to be a lawyer. In The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law, Mark Herrmann has stepped into the shoes of The Curmudgeon—an experienced lawyer who is not afraid to be direct with his audience—to provide a handbook to fill that void.

Now what do I do? How to succeed as an associate

  • June 10, 2014
  • Alison Arnot

Most articling students obsess over “getting hired back,” and devote all their energies to that end. But those who succeed rarely give much thought to the more formidable, long-term task ahead of them: practising law as an associate.

Young Rainmakers: Law Firms Must Look to the Next Generation

  • June 10, 2014
  • Janet Ellen Raasch

The financial health of most law firms relies on the efforts of a few rainmakers – lawyers who are able to keep the new-business pipeline flowing while their colleagues focus on the practice of law. Who will make the rain fall at these firms when it comes time for the traditional rainmakers to retire or move on?

Law librarianship: It’s all about legal information

  • June 01, 2014
  • Kim Nayyer

Kim Nayyer started out as a legal researcher – it’s what she likes to do, figuring out legal puzzles. The practise of law, on the other hand, didn’t really appeal. She parlayed her passion and her experience into legal librarianship, and hasn’t looked back. Yes, it can mean less money than a lawyer earns, and yes, you might have to invest in some further education, but it can be a rewarding profession, she says.

Legal locums for new lawyers

  • June 01, 2014
  • Becky Rynor

The legal marketplace may be approaching saturation in some fields and some places, but that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible for a young lawyer to catch a break. Legal locums are becoming more common, as a two-way solution: for law firms, particularly small and solo, to augment their practice to handle an overflow of work or a temporary absence, and young lawyers looking to gain paid experience, writes Becky Rynor.

Go north, young lawyers: Articling in northern and rural communities helps students launch their careers

  • June 01, 2014
  • Carolynne Burkholder-James

Do you imagine that life stops at the limits of Canada’s large southern cities? Or that a place without streetlights is a place without civilization? Well, maybe working in northern cities or rural communities isn’t for you. But for people with ambition and imagination – and maybe a sense of adventure – practising law in what some describe as a “blighted hinterland” has rich rewards.

Outsource Administrative Tasks by Hiring a Virtual Assistant

  • May 22, 2014
  • Edward Poll

Law firms of every size and lawyers in every practice area face increasing client pressure to build greater value and increased efficiency into the legal services cost structure. One result is the growing popularity of administrative service outsourcing.