A Supreme Court hearing can be an intense experience for a lawyer. Gwenyth Stadig was in the room in January for the TWU hearings to support her spouse, and talks about what it was like.

When you’ve been freshly called to the Bar, do you have anything to leverage when negotiating the terms of your first job in a law firm? James Careless says it’s possible.

There are a lot of things to think about when you’re breaking out on your own, not least of which is the appropriate business structure for your new firm. Ann Macaulay looks at a few options here, but the people she spoke with make a case for the professional corporation.

Myths about what to expect in your first year of practice abound. You’ll work 800-hour weeks! You’ll be treated like dirt! Law school teaches you everything you need to know! Um … no. James Careless debunks these and several others.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, there are more things you can do with a law degree, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your law firm philosophy. Candice Pollack, a Young Lawyers member-at-large, gives some tips for finding a post-law-school career that you’ll love.

Can you serve justice and make enough to pay off your student loans besides? Noel Semple, a professor at the University of Windsor, thinks so. He calls it hitting the sweet spot of professionalism, quality and accessibility.

Most young lawyers will be the person carrying the files in the back of the shot while the partner talks about a case with the media. But it pays to be media-ready these days – being able to provide relevant information in a compelling way (without giving away the store, of course) can help you and your firm build profile in a competitive market.

Just because you’ve graduated from law school doesn’t mean you have nothing left to learn about your chosen profession. Outside of accredited professional development courses one good way to stay abreast of legal developments is to pop in your earbuds and check out a podcast. We have some suggestions.

University of Windsor assistant law professor Noel Semple believes it’s possible to provide access to justice while providing high quality legal work and being profitable to boot. He’s written about how innovation helps you hit that sweet spot in a book published earlier this year by the CBA.

Even when the law firm is keeping you busy, it pays both professionally and personally to look at taking on a little outside work. Volunteering to sit on a board can connect you to your community, give you valuable insight into areas outside your specialty – and on top of that, it’s great for networking.