by Selwyn Pieters, B.A. (Criminology)
Law Student, Osgoode Hall Law School

Having completed the articling application process and having secured an articling position,I felt that sharing my personal experiences during the process might be helpful to second years.The following is a brief snapshot of my journey through the process.

My thoughts and interests in Articling Applications began on June 14, 2002 when I attended the seminar hosted by Osgoode Career Services at the Professional Development Centre. That seminar served two purposes: First, and most importantly, I had an opportunity to see most of my class-mates who I had not seen for a few weeks. Second, it provided me with valuable information on navigating the maze that the National Articling Database. At this point in the process I had not even seen the articling handbook nor did I have any idea what the match program was all about. I felt really lost. So if you listen to Wendy Griesdorf on the Matching Process and the small law firm's perspective on the articling process on audio archive I am the student who she give quite a lecture to in response to a question on the match program.

After purchasing an articling handbook I narrowed down the firms to which I was applying to twelve. There were two criteria involved in my selection process for firms to which I would send applications: first the firm had to be compatible with me, that is I wanted to feel comfortable that the firm will accept me for who I am. Second, there had to be human component to the firm's practice, as my primary interest is in litigation. My articling package was very thick. In addition to the usual materials, I included newspaper articles in which I was featured, transcripts of my interviews with TV and broadcast media, interview requests from various media,materials from my volunteer experiences and most importantly,an account of my litigation experience. On July 19,2002,I set out to deliver my applications to the firms.

Call day turned out to be quite an interesting experience. My first call came in at 8:02 a.m.from the law firm that I eventually accepted an articling position with.I was still asleep while speaking to the partner. A few other calls came in successively. I felt like a kid in a candy store because the firms that I ranked first, second and fourth on my unofficial list called to invite me to interviews.

Next came the stressful and tedious task of preparing for the interviews. Unlike most of my friends and colleagues in school, I had not participated in the OCI process and thus had no idea what to really expect in the interviews. I got together with a friend from Osgoode on the Friday before Monday interviews and we did a dry run on each other.

I also listened to various commentaries on audio archives. Now those of you who saw me up until the Sunday before interview week would know I had a very good fro' going on. I then listened to the audio recording of Deborah Glatter, Director of Student and Associate Programs, Cassels Brock & Blackwell - "Interviewing With The Law Firms" she commented on an excellent student who appeared for an interview with spiked hair:

You appearance, try to think of your interviewer as the person who was the geek in high school and if you think of the person in that way, dress so that you are not frightening the interviewer. So remove metal shards rom your eyebrows. We had a student who we hired two summers ago who was a fabulous student, fabulous. We were her only offer and I swear it was because of her hair was spikey. People erroneously focused on her hair when they should have been focusing on what a bright person she is and I think to some extent she was, she looked, intimidating to the interviewers. So dress conservatively, don't frighten the interviewers and then once you get there put that metal shard back in, spike your hair and surprise then. Because if [the] idea is well this is who I am and this is what I am about this is a test for the law firms to see if they can see through to the real you we will all flunk the test. So save yourself some time and some energy, tone it dow, be conservative and then let your true colours shine?.

I found the interviews I attended to be interesting, however, there was a lot of touchie-feelie bullshit and very little practical scenarios. In any event, I seized every opportunity that I had to point out to the interviewers as much about myself and my interests as possible, taking them as carefully through my materials and explaining how my experience would benefit the firm. I wanted to stand out and get an edge over other students particularly those students that have solid A's and B's, which I do not have. I wanted the firms to see me in totality and not as a reflection of my GPA, which, in any event, is not an accurate predictor of who will and who will not be an excellent lawyer in their practice areas.

I was relaxed for most of my interviews except for the last one. The partner was eating potato chips while conducting the interview and actually got on the speakerphone with his assistant to chew out an associate in his firm. He then commented negatively on the associate in my presence with respect to the difficulty the associate was having in making the transition from government practice to private practice. I was livid; I was so annoyed that I called the next day and withdrew my name from consideration to be an articling student.

The wait to find out if I had secured an articling position was long.At 4:55 p.m.on Wednesday afternoon I was offered my first position,which I accepted.Eventually,I also had other offers. I was also very happy to hear that most of my friends secured positions at firms that had been their top choices.Regrettably,some excellent students who are friends of mine had not secured articles. I can only imagine how disappointed and frustrated those students were.I hope that they press on and take the initiative to contact firms not listed in the articling database or website to see whether they would be willing to hire articling students.I personally had contacted two such firms that were willing to offer me positions in the event that I did not secure one through the normal process.

I will feel right at home in my articling position, as I was hired by the largest criminal defense law firm in Canada; the firm takes on high profile and ground breaking cases and none of the lawyers are afraid to go out on a limb for a client.Anyone disappointed that I am not articling with the Crown Attorney ?s Office? Email me at spieters@osgoode.yorku.ca

Sign Guestbook

Read Guestbook