Summer Secondments 2007
The following students have participated in external secondments as part of this year's secondment program:
Samuel Li - London Office
Initially, I saw the London secondment largely as an opportunity to live in a city I had wanted to visit for many years. However, reflecting on the month long secondment, I not only was able to explore this dynamic, vibrant city, I was also able to get a feel for the type of work done at one of the most important financial centers in the world.
Upon landing after the gruelling 10-hour flight, I was sped away in a taxi to the office. The office is not located in the heart of the financial district, the region known as the City, but at Oxford Circus which is known as a fun shopping district leading to a slightly more laid back atmosphere. The office is found in a beautiful building in Hanover Square across the street from a park where I would often have my lunches. I was then brought to the flat. The flat was fully furnished and suited my needs perfectly. Only three tube stations from work, it was just south of Victoria Station and north of the Thames River and Tate Britain and was within walking distance of many attractions such as Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. It also offered a breathtaking view of the sun setting in London.
I was the first ever student to take part in the London secondment process since the merger with Stringer Saul LLP. After being a small firm of about 4 lawyers for several years, the merger added approximately 40 fee earners. I would like to congratulate Yasmina, Steven, Michael and Mark on the wonderful job they did. They made the secondment interesting but also fun and worry free. As this was my first exposure to corporate work, as well as to UK law, my time at the London office was a great learning experience. The assignments began slowly, but by the end, I felt I had a solid understanding of the work done at the office. The worked varied and included tasks such as creating share certificates for a closing, assembling verification bundles, completing checklists for prospectuses, proof reading draft documents, attending an annual general meeting and assisting in the preparation of a presentation. Michael and Mark ensured I had work that was indicative of what London lawyers were accustomed to and I felt that I always had support from both of them.
The entire four-week experience went by extremely quickly and was definitely an eye opener. From the cramped, hot tube rides, to learning how to safely cross the street, to the long hours spent throwing away the map and exploring and getting lost following the amazing sights London has to offer, I had a great, but hectic time. The highlights included my initial day in the London simply wandering aimlessly letting the sights find me, the day trips made to Oxford and Brighton, the view from the Waterloo Bridge, visiting Greenwich Village, and sitting at center court at Wimbledon, cheering on Henman alongside all the Brits. Despite spending a month in the city, I still felt there was so much more to see and I know this was not my last visit to the city. My only caveats about the city include how expensive it is (everything costs double), how difficult it is to negotiate the crossing of streets (not only that cars drive on left side of the road, but vehicles do not slow down for pedestrians as there is no legal duty to do so) and the constant cloud cover that reigns over the city (sunglasses are not required).
I would like to again thank everyone who made the secondment possible and who helped make it such a wonderful, interesting and carefree experience. I would especially like to thank Bibi and Darcey from the Vancouver office and Yasmina, Steven, Michael and Mark from the London office.
Marisa Cruickshank - Montreal Office
I spent an amazing month in Montreal this summer, thanks to the firm's secondment programme. The warm welcome from a host of lovely people in the office, as well as the vibrance and life of the city itself, made every well-wisher's prediction that I would 'love it' ring 100% true.
I was immediately taken by the beautiful and eclectic collection of art in the office. I later discovered that the collection is quite renowned and has actually received awards for its significance as a collection and its contribution to the Quebec art scene. The curator of the collection is Maurice Forget, a partner in the Montreal office. He was kind enough to forward me a piece written by two art historians for a local newspaper a few years ago. I learned that the office holds nearly 400 works by 270 different artists, including paintings, works on paper, prints, photography and scultpure. Most impressive to me was the fact that the firm sponsors avant-garde exhibitions, funds student arts competitions, and has loaned pieces from the collection for exhibition. I would not have guessed that the firm provides not only premier legal services, but also professional counselling and assistance to galleries and art publications!
The benefits of working in a national office rang true to me. Prior to leaving for Montreal, I had been working on an employment law paper being jointly written by lawyers in the Vancouver and Montreal offices. It was quite perfect that after a week of organizing phone conferences, I could simply take my work to Montreal and meet face to face with the collaborating partner to discuss the development of the paper. Other transitions between the offices seemed equally transparent. I had a mentor who immediately met with me and introduced me to lawyers in the Labour Department. I also settled in with my 15 office-mates, whose comraderie and cooperative spirit mirrored my experience of working with the students in Vancouver. My month was capped off with an evening of food, drink, and fireworks for the students at the firm. The 37th floor of the office provides a view of the city that is unrivalled, and was the perfect venue from which to enjoy the fireworks – a summer event in Montreal two nights each week.
As for the city itself, Montreal is definitely one of those places that everyone needs to visit, if not live in, at least once. I arrived just in time for the International Jazz Festival and spent many an evening enjoying the music and revelry in the streets. There are endless options of summer patios, cute coffee shops, and the envied 'apportez votre vin' restaurants. A huge amount of joie-de-vivre, though entirely cliché, is the perfect way to sum up life in the city.
My sincere thanks to those who organized this incredible opportunity.
Hillary Bullock - Toronto Office
I was thrilled upon learning that I would have the opportunity to spend a month in the Toronto office. Although I now think of myself as a Vancouverite, I have actually spent more than half of my life in Toronto. I've got all of my extended family and quite a few friends in Toronto and I will always love spending time there.
I had met Sally Woods, Co-chair of the Student Development Committee, the previous Fall in Victoria and was confident that she would see to my having a great experience. As it turned out, Sally's habit of being extremely welcoming, supportive and energetic was common to all of the students, lawyers and staff who I worked with in the Toronto office. I felt that people went out of their way to see that I was happy and ensured my attendance at all of the various student social events.
Alix Herber, a Senior Labour Associate and University of Victoria alumnae, was assigned as my mentor in Toronto. In addition to her guidance and friendship, I was thankful to be paired with someone with so much experience in collective bargaining, an area of great interest to me.
I was assigned projects in a range of areas, including ones that I had expressed interest in at the outset of my secondment. I worked on a variety of litigation matters, employment matters and was especially delighted to assist in writing an article on medical research ethics review boards.
Thank you so much to Sally Woods, all of the Toronto students, Bibiane Bysterveld and everyone else who I was able to meet and work with over the course of my secondment. Your hospitality, generosity and support were memorable and valued aspects of my summer with FMD.
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