Winter 2015UofT Students Externship

Fleet Street Law – Garfin Zeidenberg LLPOmar Ha-Redeye

Feb. 19, 2015

Agenda• 9:00am Arrival

• 9:30-10:00 Observe Interview

• 10:00-10:30 Brief Discussion

• 10:30-11:00 Teleconference

• 11:00-:11:45 Subway to downtown and Group Information Interview

• 12:00 Visit Great Library, LSUC, ONCA

• 12:30 Lunch at LSUC

• 1:00 Court House (393 University)

• 2:00 Dismissed

How Did I Become a Lawyer?

• How did you get into this career? What would you do differently?

– Nuclear Medicine Technologist

– Health Administration

– Emergency Management

– Public Relations

A Typical Day

• What is a typical day or week?

–Reading and writing letters and reports (lots)

–Court visits (occasionally)

– Teaching

–Driving (or not)

A Week in My Life

What Do I Like Best?

• What do you like best about your work?

–Interesting work, variety

–Ability to impact society – directly

–You can change the world (actually)

What Do I Find Most Challenging?

• What do you find most challenging about your work?

–Fitting it all into 24-hours

–Handling the uncertainty of the future

–Deciding which direction to go

Current Industry Trends

• What are the current industry trends?

No More LSATs (Or Just Less of It?)

Anticipated Changes

• What changes do you anticipate in the next three to five years?

– More paralegals

– More foreign-trained lawyers (from Canada)

– Technological disruption in the field

Skills Required

• What skills are required to do your job (technical, communication, etc.)?

–Communication, communication, communication

Common Misconceptions

• What is a common misconception people have about what you do?

–Not “liars”

–Not always in court

–Not rich (unfortunately)

Work Style

• Do you spend most of your time working with colleagues, clients, or independently?

• What is the work style

–Usually independent

–Overtime doesn’t exist

Work-Life Balance

• How do you balance your job with the rest of your life?

– We have given up on that

– Work-Life Integration instead

Related Fields

• Are there related career fields that I might consider?

– In-House Counsel

– Paralegals

– Regulator

Travel

• Is there a lot of travel required in your career?

– For me, yes

Starting Salaries

• What is the average starting salary?

• Salaries will vary considerably– Depends on size of the firm, practice area, years of

experience

• Bigger challenge right now for lawyers generally is simply employment in the field

• Many lawyers will increasingly work outside of law entirely– Compensation will vary even more here, from not-

for-profit sector to corporate executives

The Best Job? Or is It?

Any Other questions?