"Challenging and rewarding three years": (Left) Webnesh Haile, Joseph Guiyab, Kathryn Hart and Sean Husband.
By Lucianna Ciccocioppo / Photo by Johnny Guatto
It’s been a long but exhilarating journey for the Class of 2015, and it’s time to officially celebrate with family and friends on Convocation Day, June 5th.
“It was a very challenging and rewarding three years,” says Kathryn Hart. “I was really fortunate to have some wonderful teachers and mentors who shaped my interests in and approach to the law.”
Hart will be articling at McMillan LLP for a year, then she’s off to Ottawa to clerk for Justice Michael Moldaver at the Supreme Court of Canada.
Classmate Webnesh Haile says she is still enjoying the feelings of freedom, after completing her final essays.
“When I handed in my final papers, I don't think I had fully absorbed the fact that they were my last assignments. It really felt like any other end of term—exhausting and exciting. I suspect it will really sink in by September, which will feel like the beginning of term but during which I'll be articling instead.”
After a month of travelling, she’s excited to be articling at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Toronto.
For Joseph Guiyab, relief and a sense of completion were the first two things running through his mind when he was done law school—followed by some mixed emotions as well.
Graduates take with them myriad memories, not just of the very first day of class (and the nerves and excitement that went with it), but also of meeting life-long friends, partners, and possibly future spouses during orientation week, of adrenalin-fueled all-nighters in the law library, and of the moment of validation when they knew they had chosen the right path.
“For the next few hours, I was overcome with a weird combination of joy, excitement and nostalgia. The next day I started to feel uncertain as I had no idea what I was going to do next.” After finishing bar exams, playing tennis and festival-hopping in Toronto this summer, he joins McCarthy Tétrault as an articling student in August.
But for Sean Husband, it took a little bit longer to appreciate he was no longer a student. “Surprisingly, I didn't have a strong sense of catharsis upon submitting my final papers. It was only later that day, when I went to pick up my bar materials and the security guard wouldn't let me exit through Osgoode Hall unless I showed him my new Law Society ID, that I realized I was now in a new phase of my life.”
Ottawa-bound Husband will be clerking for Justice Donald Rennie at the Federal Court of Appeal.
In addition to obtaining a law degree, graduates take with them myriad memories, not just of the very first day of class (and the nerves and excitement that went with it), but also of meeting life-long friends, partners -- and possibly future spouses -- during orientation week, of adrenalin-fueled all-nighters in the law library, and of the moment of validation when they knew they had chosen the right path.
“My first summer experience as a law student was really transformative,” says Hart. “Through an International Human Rights Program internship, I was able to spend three months in Kampala working with a Ugandan human rights organization on strategic litigation involving LGBT rights. It was an incredible opportunity to work closely with Ugandan human rights lawyers on issues that mattered so much to them and to see their commitment to their work. I'll be returning to Kampala after graduation to volunteer again with this very inspiring group of lawyers.”
And of course, law school would not be complete without inspirational courses—and the professors who taught them.
Says Hart: “U of T Law offers many great courses taught by brilliant professors. I loved taking first year contracts with Prof. Catherine Valcke, who pieced together disparate contractual doctrines into a coherent whole. I also really enjoyed taking the theory of contract law with Prof. Peter Benson, where I was able to examine some of the issues raised in first year contracts from a philosophical perspective. Citizenship: inside and out, taught jointly by Profs. Karen Knop and Audrey Macklin, was a wonderfully creative course that examined the concept of citizenship at domestic and international levels.”
Most of the lawyers I've spoken to tell me that they ended up practicing in areas they never knew about, or considered before articling or even becoming an associate—and really enjoy it.
Haile says she’s taken “so many great courses, from professors and practitioners.” Asked to pick a favourite, she came up with a tie: “Between climate change law, taught by Dennis Mahony and John Terry of Torys, and class actions practice, taught by Michael Eizenga and Ranjan Agarwal. These courses covered two rapidly evolving areas of practice and the instructors were incredibly competent and compelling practitioners. The intersections are especially fascinating, for me. For example, Dutch citizens recently brought a class action on the basis of tort and human rights against their government for inaction on climate change. The Hague's verdict is expected this June. Maybe in the future we'll see a combined law course: climate change class actions.”
And while these newly minted law grads may know exactly which type of law practice they’d like to pursue, sometimes life after law school can change everything, says Haile.
“My personal interests currently lie in climate change and energy law. Practicing in these areas might allow me to do both barrister and solicitor-type work, which would be great. That said, I'm excited to see if there are any other areas of practice that I discover a love for. Most of the lawyers I've spoken to tell me that they ended up practicing in areas they never knew about, or considered before articling or even becoming an associate—and really enjoy it.”
