Week 2 Post 2

I can't believe we only have one more week of placement! Time is flying by fast! I am becoming more comfortable in the workplace as I am becoming familiar with my surroundings and routine. The lawyers and legal assistants have been very friendly from the start and kind enough to help me through any questions or concerns.

There is so much to law that it simply cannot all be covered in just two years. During placement, I got a chance to see how Teraview can connect to Conveyancer to make a more convenient way of transferring information as oppose to filling it all in. I also got to see how Commercial Corporate has so many different areas that we never got to learn in class. An example of this would be if a Shareholder dies then there are specific forms that need to be filled out and the shares would then need to be transferred. The Will would need to be located to find information regarding the individual. I had the opportunity to go through a file regarding a similar situation. The legal assistant was kind enough to guide me through the forms needed and how the shares would be transferred and to whom.

I am drawing skills that were learned on many of the classes offered in my program. In interpersonal communications we learned about how to handle meetings, the work environment, respect and how to deal with specific people in the workplace. I find it very useful to be prepared with simple yet knowledgeable tips to remind people to keep professionalism priority at all times. In office procedures we learned the importance on confidentiality, filing, itineraries, tables etc. and all are very useful for the workplace. Math and bookkeeping were also very useful when it comes to Real Estate, specifically Statement of Adjustments and Statement of Account. Math and bookkeeping are used throughout any legal transaction and is essential to have for a legal background.

I have had the opportunity to interact with a lot of clients everyday during my placement. In the mornings, I start at reception so I'm always on the telephone with clients or even in person when they come in for appointments. The clients are all very friendly and there hasn't been any issues. I have even had a client come in and recognize my voice from the telephone call and tell me I sound very friendly and nice on the phone. That made me more comfortable to answer/help clients as I got to have some positive feedback.

School-Related Reflection

At my placement I have the opportunity to use resources such as the internet (Google, AMO Municipalities, Law Society of Upper Canada, Ontario Law Statutes etc.), any of the legal software provided at the law firm that was mentioned whenever it may be needed, or even my precedents/Portfolios from school.

There are no specific resources that I have discovered on the internet, other than the ones mentioned above that we had already discovered in class. I have access to my bookmarks with all the useful URLs that were used in class from time-to-time.

The list of responsibilities that was submitted by myself before placement has been accurate up-to-date, other than a change in the schedule and not going over bookkeeping with Gail. She is very busy and only in the office a couple of times a week, so to make up for the days I would have been with her, I am now going to be with Anne, the Wills and Estates Legal Assistant. I have used all the software and completed all the tasks assigned to me and will update everyone if there are any different responsibilities that were exposed other than the ones listed.

Two of my strengths I use as an advantage at my placement are time-management skills and organization/attention to detail skills. Within fast-paced environment, I always prioritize time-management especially with tight deadlines in a law firm. I believe time-management skills will benefit at my placement and be an advantage by arriving everyday 30 minutes early. By arriving at placement early, it allows me to prepare myself for the upcoming day and tasks as well as having everything organized prior to my given task. When I arrive early, rather than late, it allows the people of the firm to be aware of how I keep time priority while also valuing their time. I also believe I am very flexible and well organized with strong attention to detail. By paying attention to every single detail and reviewing documents constantly, this reassures myself that I have successfully completed my task with no errors. This will also avoid any future mistakes that will come back and I will have to face/fix.