Week 3, post 2

1. What is one of your weaknesses?  How did you overcome this in your work placement?

One of my biggest weaknesses was independently starting work, this is largely because work was given to me on a daily basis. It's something that improves over time. 

Provide recommendations for refinements to the curriculum (i.e. are there specific elements we should spend more time on to better prepare you for the work place).  What is right about the curriculum?  What needs to be improved upon?  Which courses did you prefer - explain why.  Which courses did you not prefer - explain why.

I feel like we should focus more one finding our own information and also on drafting our own correspondence, because this is stuff that was only briefly touched on in class and is a big part of the job. 

How will you continue to learn and develop professionally?

Through experience. 

School-related reflection

How prepared were you for work placement following completion of the program?

I feel like we were given all the basic tools and skills to go out into the work environment. Experiencing it is completely different compared to doing it in the classroom.

Have you chosen the  career path that's right for you?  Explain why or why not.

I think I have. I enjoyed my work placement and i enjoy law.

Have you developed your own 'standards of excellence?'  Describe what you expect of yourself with respect to your approach to a work assignment/formatting documents/etc.  Describe some of the standards you have developed over your two years of study.   

I have developed my own standard of excellence, like clean formatting and staying organized, and doing things in a timely manner

Week 3, Post 1

1. Give examples of oral and written communication used in your work placement.  Did you draft your own communications?  Are you using 'clean formatting'?  Are you using Outlook.  If so, what features are you using?

I am generally given an idea of what I should say in my correspondence along with the few phone calls I have made.  Things such as standards letters are made from precedents. I use outlook exclusively for emails.

2 .Provide an example of a problem you encountered and describe how you solved it.

When preparing accounts, on occasion there are issues with the amounts in Conveyancer and Teraview not matching, more often then not it can be solved by going through the files and finding things such as bank drafts and searches. 

3. Are you using a To-Do List/notebook to prioritize your work to meet deadlines.

This has not become an issue. 

School-related reflection

1. Discuss how, through this program, you changed from a Year 1 student to a pre-professional.  What specific elements in the program helped to develop you as an emerging legal assistant?
   
   I feel like I have always had a good sense of professionalism, when placed in a professional environment. Of course the program did help refine skills, such as telephone communications. going to the program I was terrified of making phone calls but I think I have become fairly comfortable on the phone and I now know how to conduct myself on the phone.
   
   
2. Were there benefits to blogging - both writing about your experiences and reading others' blogs, over the last three weeks or would you prefer to submit a private written report at the end of the three weeks?  Explain
   
   I think it is beneficial to hear about other's experiences, helps us to learn through each other. My personal preference would be to be do a report at the end of three weeks, and that is largely because  I find the blogs tedious. 

Week 2, Post 2

So over this last two weeks I think I have got comfortable in my position at Giffen, however next week they are switching me over to the litigation side which sets my nerves on edge a bit; particularly because the lawyer has been portrayed as less then friendly ( said also because he refused to meet me. )

I think a lot of the skills we learned in school have been fairly applicable to the work situation, but I also feel that there is some stuff that you just have to be out working to really get a feel for. A lot of co-op has just been feeling like re-utilizing skill taught at school, some stuff is simply improvement through practice and repetition.  

To date I have not had an opportunity to interact with any clients. I have made a couple phone calls to clients but just received the answering machine. 

I don't have a copy of the responsibilities I submitted so I am a bit hazy on what it included, but when recalling talking to Lori (office manager), a lot of what she said I would be doing I am. Which includes opening files, using PC law and Conveyancer, and having an opportunity to experience a few areas of law opposed to just one.  I think at co-op I am demonstrating skills of organization, such as keeping a clean work space and keeping files in order, and also interpersonal skills, in so far as creating and maintaining good working relationships with the others in the office. 

Week 2, Post 1

In the office I make use of Conveyancer, PC Law and Will builder; the more experienced legal assistants handle all the Teraview related jobs.  Easily one of the most frustrating things about the software I would have to say is that the computers largely use wordperfect, and though I would not say that it is difficult it is an adjustment from word. 

So as of late I have been mostly doing correspondence - such as writing to other lawyers to fulfill undertakings, sending cheques to clients - and accounts.  So when doing accounts I start  by printing a pre-bill from PC law. I take this and I compare it to the statement of Adjustments in Conveyancer and make sure everything balances.   From there I produce the statements of accounts, 4 copies. Green for the lawyers, pink for the file, yellow for accounting and a copy on letter head that is sent to the client.  I also have been doing cheque requisitions.

I have not been prescribed a specific project; the work at Giffen is divided in an interesting way, where less experienced legal assistants do stuff like cheque requisitions, correspondence, opening files and accounting, and all of this work is turned over to a more experienced legal assistant in the interim. 

Because of what my work has so far consisted of I have not needed to use any resources to date, except for when I was briefly looking up charities (for bequest in a Will) on the Government of Canada website. 

*Throw back to last week*

I thought tests/quizzes/portfolios was a good course of action opposed to exam. I liked this cause it created a less stress free environment and really kind of eliminated a lot of hours of studying during peak academic times. I personally didn't use the bulletin board, but I do think it is a good idea and probably something I should have utilized.

Week 1, Post 2

First Impressions

1. What areas of law are practised in the law firm you are working at?  Do they have a mission statement?  If so, what is it?

At Giffen they practice Real Estate, Wills and Estates, Family Law, Corporate, Litigation, and Employment Law. 

2. Provide details of the orientation you have received. How were you introduced to other staff members?  Are you working with one or many staff members?

I was given a tour around the office and was introduced to everyone who was there on my first day. I mainly work with my supervisor, but occasionally receive tasks and instruction from others in the office. 

3. Were you provided with a manual of office procedures?  If so, what type of information was in it?  Is there a particular way to format documents?  If not, how will you keep track of all the details of the job?

I was not provided with a manual of office procedures.  I get all of my instruction from my supervisor. I have a notebook that I write everything down in that I can refer back to if need be. 

4. Has anything surprised you about the office or what you are doing?

What has really surprise me is how easy it was to become comfortable at the office. I was expecting to spend the whole experience being anxious but I have been made to feel quite welcome in the office. 

5. Provide details of your observations of the office environment and things that made an impression on you [positive or negative]

as mentioned above the office is a very welcoming place, that seems to really care about its employees. 

The office environment

1. What are your work hours; how are you supervised.

We have decided that Monday and Wednesday I work 8 - 4, and the rest of the week I work 9 -5, generally I only take a half hour break, though I am aloud a hour.  My supervisor will generally walk me through doing something once and then after that will just ask me to complete tasks and she reviews them when I am finished. 

2. Describe your work area.

I lucked out and managed to get an office that is for their summer student. I have a desk, phone and computer.  

3. Describe your daily routine.

When I get to work in the morning I go an see my supervisor and she gives me work to do.  I do not have any specific work I do in the, in any specific order, it's kind of just what ever we are asked to do.  I usually take lunch around twelve. 

4. How is work initiated? Is it dictated, written out in longhand, sent to you by email or do you write your own correspondence, emails, etc.

My supervisor has been working on my composing. I have written a letter and a couple emails.  She tells me the jist of what she wants said and I write it on my own. She reviews it before it is sent off. 

5. Have you done anything this week you particularly enjoyed or did not enjoy.

The whole week has been pretty enjoyable, I feel mostly because of the newness of it all. I got to go on a bank run, which I think was a good experience.    I also had to send out letters to lawyers to fulfill undertakings, which got rather repetitive. 

6. Do you check voicemail?  Do you record your own voicemail greeting?  Do you answer the telephone?

So right now I am not taking phone calls or voicemails, but I have made a phone call and anticipate having to make more.

Week 1, Post 1

As it is now the middle of the work week (as I am off good Friday) I thought it we be a good time to do my first blog post during my work placement!

As mentioned before I am doing my placement at Giffen, particularly in the real estate department.  As I found out when I started I will also be doing a little bit of Wills and estates.

My first two days have been pretty simple, containing a lot of the same work.  This included opening files (getting a file number, putting info into PC law and Conveyance), ordering searches, preparing compliance letters, preparing notarial certificates, and requisitioning cheques.

I have yet to encounter any particular problems.

Getting my Work Placement

On March 2 I had interviews at two perspective law firms; Giffen and Rabideau.  Surprisingly both had very different interview techniques.  

My first interview for the day was at Giffen. I met with Lori Naylor and Heather Sinding.  The interview consisted mainly of them talking about the office, the type of work, and what I would be doing if I got the position. Most of their question were asked in a style in which they would present me with a situation and I would tell them how I would handle the situation. For example : If more files then I could possibly be able to close has to be closed on the same day what would I do?  Overall I would say that interview went really well, and even ended in them taking me on a tour of the office.

Rabideau on the other hand had a very different take on the interview process, perhaps more of an expected take. What I mean by this that instead of the more free form of interviewing that Giffen seemed to have, Rabideau had a prepared list of questions that were posed to all interviewees.  It contained a lot of questions one anticipates from an interview; i.e. What would you say is your biggest weakness/strength, What would your friends/previous employer/teacher tells us about you, and other such questions delving into your abilities and attributes.

At Giffen I would be working in real estate which is really what I would like to go into. On the other hand, at Rabideau I would be working in debt law; a proposition that worried me mildly as I am vastly unfamiliar with debt law. Additionally, I would not have a desk or actual computer at Rabideau.  So that day when I got home to find an email from Giffen offering me a placement I gladly accepted.