After OCIs

Laura Berger wrote a great post about interview week last year, which includes comments on what to do if you don’t receive a position: http://ultravires.ca/2012/10/how-to-keep-your-cool-during-interview-week/

 

She also added a postscript for our benefit now, 1 year later:

(a) I have the best articling position in the province. Maybe the country. Maybe the world.

(b) Absolutely everybody I know found an articling position by graduation. Many of my friends – who are generally articling for smaller firms or government – got their jobs during the August articling recruit or even later. At this point, everyone is enjoying articling life… i.e. working ’round the clock, making some mistakes, learning a zillion new things, and somehow surviving

(c) Also, everyone passed the bar exams.

Conclusion? Everything works out in the end, so folks should just make themselves a mai tai and relax.

How to Succeed at Articling: Installment 4

How to Succeed at Articling


(or “How to Not Collapse Before You’re Called to the Bar”)

Author: Anna Cooper

The CDO in coordination with HWSAC organized a panel called “The Articling Process: What Can I Ask For?” Deborah Glatter, Director of Professional Development and Student Programs at Cassels Brock, and Doron Gold, a full-time Staff Clinician at Homewood Human Solutions (the provider of the Ontario legal profession’s new Member Assistance Program), came and answered our toughest questions with a surprising level of candor. What follows is a summary of the critical advice they had to share with us, replete with substantial additions from yours truly. 

INSTALLMENT IV

Rule Number 5: Start External, Move Internal.

From listening to Doron Gold and Deborah Glatter, I gained this overarching picture:

1. When you are starting to struggle, reach out outside the firm. Call a trusted legal mentor who has your best interest in mind. Set up an appointment with your counselor. Or maybe talk to a fellow articling student. Call Homewood* – they are a free, 24/7 service, which is completely confidential. Do not let your problems build in silence.

2. If your work product is suffering, you need to talk to someone in your firm. Why not just hide your problems from your employer? Especially when it could mean betraying weakness and making yourself seem like a less appealing candidate? Because that would mean you don’t understand Rule 6.

Rule Number 6: Understand that there is a Risk to Not Talking

Deborah Glatter stressed that if your work product is suffering during articling, it is going to be a problem. Hiding the reason why will not help you; it just means your firm will be more likely to conclude that you cannot be depended upon.  There comes a point where you might as well open up about what you are going through and what you need because:

(a) At least this gives your firm context for why your work is suffering.

(b) In some cases it will trigger their duty to accommodate whatever you are going through.

(c)  Heck, they might actually be compassionate and supportive.

Another risk of not opening up? You keep your job. Both Deborah Glatter and Doron Gold said there comes a time when the appropriate question isn’t “how do I keep my job?” but “why would I want to?” If your work environment is terribly unsupportive, maybe you should start planning your exit strategy rather than planning your seven-year-partnership-track-survival-plan.

Opening up does not have to mean giving all the gratuitous details. It may even mean bending the truth a bit. The sad reality is that legal culture is still far more accepting of physical problems than mental or emotional ones. The point is, at some point, you are going to have to admit to something, because there are going to be consequences – and you might as well try and shape them rather than waiting in fear and self-loathing for the blade to fall.

If you are searching for guidance on how to open up, this is when seeking supports outside your firm can come in handy. Call your mentors, call you friends, call Homewood. Just go outside your head.

A few other things to know:

(1) Everyone thinks they know less than everyone else, especially when they are articling. As Doron said, “If you walk around thinking you are the freak amongst all these stars you are going to wear out really quickly;” so take a deep breath and realize that everyone feels like a fraud.

(2) Don’t spend yourself in a to a corner. One of the most common reasons I have heard for why young lawyers do not change careers when they are unhappy is they have already bought the car, the condo, the life, and now they have to keep working their corporate job to pay for it.

(3) Try and approach articling with curiosity rather than fear. Be curious about whether this is the career for you. Be curious about what your skills are, and what environments you thrive in. Approaching articling as some ultimate assessment of your value as a person is a really dangerous thing to do. If you fail articling you do not fail life. Actually, you may fail articling because you are amazing at life.

(4) Finally: it is just articling! I know many of us will lose all perspective in the coming year, if we haven’t already. When it is 4:00am and you have barely slept in days and you have convinced yourself that the assignment you are working on is the most important thing in the universe, in no small part because some partner has basically told you as much, I hope you will pause and remember this glorious, humbling truth: you are wrong. The world does not turn on you. Call someone who cares about you. Call someone you trust. Call Homewood.

(*For more information on Homewood Human Solutions and the new Member Assistance Program go to: http://www.homewoodhumansolutions.com/MSA/lawsocietyuppercanada)

How to Succeed at Articling: Installment 3

How to Succeed at Articling


(or “How to Not Collapse Before You’re Called to the Bar”)

Author: Anna Cooper

The CDO in coordination with HWSAC organized a panel called “The Articling Process: What Can I Ask For?” Deborah Glatter, Director of Professional Development and Student Programs at Cassels Brock, and Doron Gold, a full-time Staff Clinician at Homewood Human Solutions (the provider of the Ontario legal profession’s new Member Assistance Program), came and answered our toughest questions with a surprising level of candor. What follows is a summary of the critical advice they had to share with us, replete with substantial additions from yours truly. 

INSTALLMENT 3

Once Articling Begins

If you are struggling on the job, follow these rules:

Rule Number 1: Do the Basics

You know those things that you have heard about a million times? The building blocks of health and wellness? DO THEM. Eat healthy. Sleep enough. Exercise daily.

Also, do things that make you happy. Doron Gold said “do things that feed your soul” but I was worried you would all write me off as a touchy feely granola hippie if I just said that. The point is this: health is not just about reducing stressors it is also about increasing resiliency. Engaging in activities that bring you a deep sense of meaning and satisfaction is restorative; it makes you more resilient.

Rule Number 2: Get a Sense of Your Firm

While there are some generalities about the treatment articling students receive from different types of employers, there are no rules. Young lawyers have been known to receive unexpectedly empathetic and accommodating treatment on Bay Street and have suffered constructive dismissal after opening up about their needs to government employers.

You need to use your eyes, ears and intuitions to get a sense of the environment you are in. What you should do when you are struggling largely depends on who you are surrounded by. There are no hard and fast rules. Besides these Rules of course… these Rules are flawless.

Rule Number 3: Do Not Isolate

“A lawyer or law student left alone with their own brain is a dangerous person… they will spin out these stories of doom.” ~ Doron Gold

In other words:

You + Your Brain + Lots of Thinking and Alone Time ≠ Greatest Problem Solving Team Ever.

If you are struggling you need to talk to someone, sooner rather than later. Who? See Rule 5.

Rule Number 4: Do Not Wait For Crisis

Doron said that the vast majority of the calls he has gotten over the years he has worked at Homewood are from people standing on the precipice. He would really like that to change.

People resist seeking help for all kinds of reasons, not least of which are denial, and self-judgment. In an ideal universe we would all just accept that we are flawed human beings who will have struggles and need help time to time.

When you have stopped sleeping, are having panic attacks, fear you’re about to be fired, and are on the verge of losing your spouse, it is a lot harder for anyone to get you back on track.

Stay tuned for the rest of the rules in Installment IV! 

How to Succeed at Articling: Installment 2

How to Succeed at Articling
(or “How to Not Collapse Before You’re Called to the Bar”)

Author: Anna Cooper

The CDO in coordination with HWSAC organized a panel called “The Articling Process: What Can I Ask For?” Deborah Glatter, Director of Professional Development and Student Programs at Cassels Brock, and Doron Gold, a full-time Staff Clinician at Homewood Human Solutions (the provider of the Ontario legal profession’s new Member Assistance Program), came and answered our toughest questions with a surprising level of candor. What follows is a summary of the critical advice they had to share with us, replete with substantial additions from yours truly. 

INSTALLMENT II

Before Articling Begins

Firstly you need to understand that whoever you are now, that is who you will be when you article. Whatever you struggle with, it is coming with you. And likely the stress will make it worse.

Think you have some weaknesses? Worry that there are parts of you that may not thrive within what Doron Gold calls “the articling construct”? Instead of holding your breath and hoping your fears go away, take some time to work on you. Take time to put supports in place. What keeps you calm? What keeps you grounded? How you can build these things up around you before you start articling?

Doron strongly recommended learning mindfulness meditation now. It will lower your anxiety, raise your capacity to deal with stress, increase your productivity and help you sleep. There is so much research on the efficacy of this it is obscene.

Importantly, decide what you are going to do if it does not work out. This is not about giving up before you begin. This is about broadening your perspective before panic sets in. People tend to make better decision when they don’t feel trapped; so sit down and ask yourself the tough questions. If it isn’t working out, what is my plan B? How could I navigate transitioning to another firm? What else could I do with my law degree? How could I manage my debt in a lower paying firm?

Doron added that “those who have less to lose are typically much more compelling.” Knowing what your out is can lend you confidence in advocating for yourself. Desperation is rarely attractive, to you or anyone else.

What should you do if you are struggling on the job? Look forward to Installment III, running tomorrow.

How to Succeed at Articling: Installment 1

How to Succeed at Articling
(or “How to Not Collapse Before You’re Called to the Bar”)

Author: Anna Cooper

The CDO in coordination with HWSAC organized a panel called “The Articling Process: What Can I Ask For?” Deborah Glatter, Director of Professional Development and Student Programs at Cassels Brock, and Doron Gold, a full-time Staff Clinician at Homewood Human Solutions (the provider of the Ontario legal profession’s new Member Assistance Program), came and answered our toughest questions with a surprising level of candor. What follows is a summary of the critical advice they had to share with us, replete with substantial additions from yours truly. 

INSTALLMENT I

Here is the tough truth: articling can be hell.

Articling students have a range of difficulties to contend with. Some struggle with neglectful firms who treat them like cheap labour and generally ignore them for 6 months. Others have principles who are downright abusive. You may feel pitted against your fellow articling students, and not trust them enough to ask for support. Two months in you might realize you do not want to be a lawyer at all, which can be a crushing realization. Or maybe you just find working 80-hour-weeks doing work you don’t fundamentally believe in soul destroying… who knows.

Add to this that legal employers can have a fairly blunt approach to assessing their articling students. Deborah Glatter, Director of Professional Development and Student Programs at Cassels Brock, said that the students who get hired back are the ones who hit the ball out of the park all year long. She said that if an articling student’s performance is “100%, 90%, 100%, 100%, 90%, 100%, you are not going to get hired back.” There is healthy room for pause to question how true this is in firms with 100% hire back rates, but still.  Deborah also described the work/stress load of articling like the week before exams… on repeat… for 10 months straight…

Meanwhile, life can happen: siblings get married, parents fall ill, preexisting conditions flare up. And the fact is asking for what you need can make you vulnerable. It can come across as admitting weakness, or displaying inadequate commitment to the firm. It can put your career at risk.

So what should we do? One approach is that we all cross our fingers and hope we become masterful articling automatons and then magically turn back in to flesh and blood humans when it I suits our “career paths”… Alternately, we find out what our options are now and enter articling with a little more perspective and a little less blind fear.

The CDO in coordination with HWSAC organized a panel called “The Articling Process: What Can I Ask For?” Deborah Glatter, along with Doron Gold, a full-time Staff Clinician at Homewood Human Solutions (the provider of the Ontario legal profession’s new Member Assistance Program), came and answered our toughest questions with a surprising level of candor. In the coming days, I will be sharing a summary of the critical advice they had to share with us, replete with substantial additions from yours truly.

The Workout: Barre Class at Union Studio

Author: Laura Berger

Welcome to the second instalment of THE WORKOUT, a semi-regular series where we tag along with law students to learn about their favourite exercise routines. This time of year, when it gets harder and harder to carve out time for health and wellness, trying new workouts (especially with a friend!) is an amazing way to stay motivated. Last time, we tried  swim training at Hart House with the ever-impressive (and always hilarious) Lane Krainyk.

This week, we head downtown for a ballet-inspired barre class at Union Studio—along with Kate Genest, 3L student, talented dancer, Law Follies choreographer and all-around graceful lady.

The experience: Over the past year, I’ve kept hearing about fitness studios offering barre classes inspired by classical ballet. Using a traditional dancer’s barre, you complete stretches and exercises adapted from the ballet repertoire, all in the hopes of achieving a longer, leaner ballerina body. Seriously, as I researched barre classes online, the words “long and lean” cropped up everywhere—like some powerful protective mantra for all those fitness-obsessed, green-juice-chugging yummy mummies who are terrified of bulking up through conventional weight training.

Irrespective of the long and lean business, Kate and I were excited to check out Union Studio, which opened last year at Wellington and Bathurst. In a random CanCon moment, we learned that the studio is actually co-owned by members of Our Lady Peace, who once used the building as a recording studio. (Yes, that is your middle-school self circa 1998 flipping out.)

Most importantly, the barre classes at Union Studio are choreographed by Heather Ogden, a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. As it happens, Kate and I are both longstanding National Ballet fans. She had actually just seen Nijinsky at the Four Seasons Centre. And who wouldn’t want to emulate, in some small way, the grace and strength of professional ballet dancers?

In any event, Union Studio certainly feels graceful. The studio is worlds away from the bare-bones, fluorescent-lit Athletic Centre—think gorgeous light-filled architecture, free towel service, and change rooms stocked with natural products. Kate commented that it felt like stepping into someone’s (beautifully designed) house.

And the class itself? The first section involved ballet-inspired moves at the barre, with plenty of pliés and leg lifts. True to form, our instructor kept repeating the now-familiar mantra of “long and lean, long and lean,” encouraging us to simultaneously squeeze our butt muscles and stand on our tip-toes while swooping our arms overhead. As the class progressed, our instructor introduced new sequences that seemed more inspired by yoga, Pilates and boot-camp classes than ballet. There were plenty of push-ups, crunches and planks—plus moves that involved props, including three-pound weights, Pilates bands and medium-sized bouncy balls. I especially liked the jumping moves, where we were basically bopping around the studio with arms and legs swinging.

Union Studio insists that their classes are appropriate for newbies, and that their instructors can tailor the sequences for all ability levels. But it seemed like the other students in the class were barre-workout veterans, decked out in matching Lululemon outfits. Most of the sequences were complex, involving multiple different steps, and at times I found myself scrambling to keep up. Maybe I was just feeling self-conscious, but the instructor seemed distinctly unimpressed when I couldn’t complete some of the moves. There may be friendlier classes out there for beginners.

Yet for a ballet lover, there is something amazing about copying the positions and the movements practiced by real dancers. You might just leave barre class intent on buying cheap tickets to the ballet, to watch those amazing, graceful bodies in action.

Practical details: Union Studio offers barre classes, spinning and TRX suspension training. Individual classes are pricey—the student rate for barre classes and cycling is $20—but first-timers can opt for a $40 one-week unlimited pass. The studio has a crazy-extensive roster of classes every day, plus a convenient system for registering and paying in advance online. Located at 571 Wellington Street West (corner Bathurst).

There are numerous other studios around Toronto offering barre classes, including Spynga, Barreworks and City Dance Corps. Looking for something closer to Bora (not to mention budget-friendly)? Hart House offers ballet classes every semester, for different levels of experience; this winter, nine weeks of classes cost $105. Check out their schedule of registered classes here.

How to Make Your Environment Work for You

Contributor: Anonymous

One great strategy to get more – and better – work done is to be in a reasonably warm and naturally lit place. All of this allows for an energetic you. Both light and temperature have a significant impact on energy levels.

Exposure to natural daylight, rather than dim or artificial lights, leads to a significant boost in energy – especially in the evening, when it really counts for busy students. Moreover, natural light also reduces our stress levels (because it helps our body regulate the production of the stress hormone cortisol in one 24-hr circadian cycle). Pragmatically speaking, grabbing that seat in Bora next to the window is a great way to get high-quality work done more quickly(1)!

A warm environment – rather than a cold one – has similar effects on energy and added benefits for mood. One reason for that is intuitive: when we’re cold, our body has to expend energy to warm up. To be specific, it looks like the optimal working-environment “comfort zone” range is between 22° C and 25° C. That being said, people differ in their set points: the key is to find a temperature that feels comfortable for you(2)!

Graph for non-believers: Productivity vs. Temperature

 But more surprisingly, in terms of regulating our mood, there is a fundamental interrelation between psychological and physical warmth.  As we’ve discussed extensively here on this blog, increased happiness means increased productivity.  So it’s likely more productive to take a break for a relaxing hot shower if you find that you’re losing your focus, rather than to keep banging your head against a roadblock you’ve hit on a stressful and frustrating problem.  (This also means that the trope about coming home after a long, hard day and jumping into the shower to wash your cares away actually works.)(3)

All this leads up to three key pieces of advice:

1. Wake up closer to sunrise (to maximize exposure to daylight, especially in winter).
2. Find a bright environment to study in (to boost your energy for an evening of hard work).
3. Keep your room warm enough if possible (and wear layers when at school, since as we all know, the climate control here can be a bit … unique).

Happy studies!

P.S. In addition to the articles below, a more extensive layperson’s discussion of these ideas is available at: http://blog.bufferapp.com/the-science-of-how-room-temperature-and-lighting-affects-our-productivity)

Sources for the Truly Nerdy

(1) – http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/174780/files/M%C3%BCnch_BNE_2012.pdf

(2) – http://eaei.lbl.gov/sites/all/files/LBNL-60946.pdf

(3) – http://www.yale.edu/acmelab/articles/Bargh_Shalev_Emotion.pdf

How to Spend Your Money

Let’s face it, almost everyone here is stressed about money in some way, shape, or form.  Maybe you have a huge, soul-crushing pile of debt (like this author).  Maybe you’re hoping to make even more staggeringly huge piles of cash in your corporate career, but you’re not yet sure if that’ll come together.

In any case, this three-minute movie helpfully illustrates that past a certain point, money isn’t quite all it’s cracked up to be:

In particular, it makes three great points:

(1) Of course, having enough to support oneself and one’s family is relevant to our happiness.  But it looks like there’s a ceiling on how much money can make you happier, and the location of that ceiling might surprise you:

“Humans are very sensitive to change.  When we get a raise or commission, we really enjoy it.  But we adapt at incredible speeds to our new wealth.  Some studies have shown that in North America, additional income beyond $75,000 a year ceases to impact day-to-day happiness.”

(2) The key factor in how happy your money makes you is what you choose to spend it on:

“… people who spend their money on others feel happier, and while people who spend it on themselves don’t necessarily become less happy, their happiness is unchanged.”

(3) That said, if you’re able to spend money on yourself in non-essential ways, try to invest in experiences and memories rather than things:

“Traveling or going to an event is more impactful for the vast majority of people in the long run.”

Conclusion: Money can buy (some) happiness, but only if invested wisely!

The HWSAC Team

Hi, I’m Flawed.

Author: Anonymous

In Sarah Harland-Logan’s UV article, she mentioned that HWSAC would help to chip away at the law student culture of “smiles and lies.”  I’ve decided to write in and give that a shot.

First of all, maybe you don’t feel as if you have to maintain that “high-functioning façade” that Sarah talked about.  Maybe you’re comfortable being more open, and discussing your performance and mindset without any masks or varnish.  If so, that’s wonderful!  Carry on.

But it seems like I’ve heard from a lot of people who are with Sarah on this.  So, in case it can help, I want to use this space to tell a few little pieces of my own less polished truth.  I mean, I’m pretty sure that most of you reading this have also felt like you’re the only one out there who doesn’t have it together all the time. That’s not right.

1. I’m far too familiar with youtube/assorted webcomics/lolcats etc./everyone’s facebook updates THE LIST GOES ON.

Of course, I tend to be most familiar with them when I have something that’s urgent and important to do, like submitting a paper due at 10 a.m. … three days ago.  Or during a few of my lecture courses.  (I won’t name names … hint: they’re in the morning.)  Or when I’m exhausted and sad.  HWSAC, not to mention common sense, tells me that then I should do something healthful like take a nap or go for a refreshing jog.  But I don’t.  I’m on Facebook.

2. My sleep schedule needs serious work.  

I’m one of those people you’ve seen rushing frantically into lecture 10, or 20, or 50 minutes late.  For whatever reason, it just seems more natural for me to burn the midnight oil, and then sleep through the morning.  I’ve always liked to work at night.  Of course, in the future I’m hoping I’ll have to get up super super early and get right to the office, so that’s not going to fly.  I’ve reliably managed to drag myself out of bed and do quality work when it really counts.  But morning class?  Surely you jest.

3. Some days/weeks are better than others.  

Sometimes I’m a veritable machine of productivity: get up, do my makeup just right, make thoughtful and appropriate clothing choices, bank, lunch meeting, volunteer shift, paper outline, class, readings, readings, and more readings!  The Ideal Law Student.

Sometimes I keep hitting my snooze alarm for about three hours straight, doubtless to the annoyance of my poor neighbours.  (Though so far they’ve refrained from banging on my door or trying to have me thrown out, which is very kind.)  Then I stumble around slowly, trying to think of what work I should be doing … and end up watching approximately 7192846 hours of Netflix instead.  Now repeat a few times.

4.  I could probably paper my walls with old notes.

And more recent notes, and class handouts, and printouts of cases and clinic handbooks and various pieces of legislation.  Happily, the chaos is mostly contained in a distant corner of my room, which I think of as The Binder Corner.  But the force of entropy grows strong….

5. I’m nervous about posting this.

Okay, I’m writing an anonymous post about really common and mostly-okay things.  And yet I’ve constantly been fighting the part of me that doesn’t want to submit this.  (What if my potential future employer magically divines who I am?  And is really surprised and upset because of course they’re never been a student and have no clue what it’s like??  And then I don’t get the interview???)

I know that thinking this way is silly.  Bet I’m still a little bit tempted to pull the plug.  And I guess that’s why I can’t.

Sneaky Hate Spiral: Don’t Let This Be You

Author: Sarah Harland-Logan

Hi there,

The deeply wonderful webcomic Hyperbole and a Half includes a charming explanation of how little things can snowball into paralyzing frustration:
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.ca/2010/05/sneaky-hate-spiral.html

Allie (the author) calls it the “Sneaky Hate Spiral.”  As she explains, these “begin simply enough.  In fact, that is one of the hallmarks of sneaky hate spirals – they are merely the confluence of many unremarkable annoyances.”  So for example, to start off, “Your day begins poorly” as follows:

Image from http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.ca/2010/05/sneaky-hate-spiral.html.

Image from http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.ca/2010/05/sneaky-hate-spiral.html.

Image from http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.ca/2010/05/sneaky-hate-spiral.html.

Or in my case, I have an increasingly decrepit and much-beloved early 2008 MacBook Pro, which really didn’t want to wake up today.  I sat down to work, all cheerful and chipper – and 20 minutes later, was about ready to start throwing things … even though I was indeed aware that it wasn’t at all a big deal and I should probably just wait patiently and read a book or something.

So, what do you do when the little frustrations of the day seem to accumulate and get under your skin faster than you can deal with them?  In other words, how do you interrupt the Sneaky Hate Spiral?

Sadly (yet predictably – human nature and all), I don’t have a 100% success rate.  (…See above).  But when I am successful, the key seems to be that I managed to detect the very beginning of the Sneaky Hate Spiral and nip it in the bud.  So I’ve tried to train myself to notice when I’m getting irrationally frustrated about little things: “Wait, I’m really upset.  Is that actually reasonable/appropriate?”

If I do detect an incipient Sneaky Hate Spiral, I’ll try to pursue one of these options:

1. If it’s late and/or I have nothing terribly pressing to do, sometimes I’ll just declare that I’m done with work for the day and try again tomorrow, pretty much on the same principle as restarting my ancient MacBook: I’m not totally sure why it works, but usually it does seem to help.

2. If it’s essential that I press on, if possible I’ll put physical space between myself and the frustrating thing (slow computer, perplexing case law, overflowing inbox, etc.).  Then I do something fun, timed, and – crucially – unrelated, like go grab a coffee or dance to a few songs.  Sometimes that’s enough to break the Sneaky Hate Spiral’s momentum.

3. …but sometimes not.  In that case, then if at all possible, it’s time to find someone it’s safe to complain at!  E.g., someone else with the same frustrating assignment, or my wonderfully patient mother.  The trick is that usually at first I won’t want to talk to anyone at all – but often a bit of venting can actually put me back on track.

And thus, this blog post got written!

Yours,

Sarah Harland-Logan