Day in the Life of a Student at McKenzie Lake

Continuing with our recruitment series, current articling student, Audrey Monchamp shares what a “typical” articling student’s day looks like.

Coffee, Emails and To-Do Lists: I typically start my day with some coffee and reviewing my to-do lists and any emails that may have come in since yesterday. I like to make a list of everything that is a must do by end of day, to help prioritize any tasks in case urgent work arises throughout the day.

Drafting pleadings: At the top of my to-do list today was drafting a Statement of Claim for the litigation team. This usually will involve talking to the lawyer about the facts of the case, and doing some research on what our claim will need to be.

Lunch & Learn: the articling students have lunch and learns scheduled approximately once every two weeks. These are a way for the students to learn about the various practice areas at the firm. The lawyer will typically have a conversation with us about what their practice entails, the kind of work they have been doing and usually some general tips for when we begin our practice. On days when we don’t have a lunch and learn, the Articling Students will typically have lunch and chat about what we have been doing and what we have had the opportunity to work on. 

Client Meeting: After lunch, I attended a consultation with a lawyer and a potential client. We were fortunate that the client had provided us with some preliminary information about their matter prior to the consultation, so I was able to do some brief research and pass it along to the lawyer for their review. During these meetings, the lawyers will look to get as much information on the matter as possible. As Articling Students, we are typically in charge of taking detailed notes about the conversation to make sure nothing gets missed. Clean-up: At the end of the day, I typically take a few moments to look back through my list and make sure noting was missed. This helps me prepare to do it all again tomorrow!

For more information about becoming an Articling Student at McKenzie Lake, visit our Students Opportunities Page.