2010 - Lansing, MI, here I come!?!?

It's hard to believe that this will be my first post of 2010 - where did the "noughties" go? It's been a very interesting day. Back in the fall, I signed up to participate in something called the "Client Counselling Competition" - it's basically a simulation activity where pairs of two students interview an actor playing as a fictional client who's coming to your law office for advice. You're judged based on both how well you're able to present solutions to your client as well as your emotional intelligence - that is, how well you relate to the client, how well you're able to draw out their story, reassure them, build trust, etc. It looked like it would be fun, and so I went to the info session and registered with another 1L named Kate, who's not in my section and I don't know well, but it turns out we're mutual friends with someone who I debated with at McGill. The event was today and very unexpectedly, Kate and I won, despite competing against mostly upper-year 2L and 3Ls.

The theme for the competition this year is "White Collar Crime," and so in our only prep meeting yesterday, Kate and I mostly researched Conrad Black-style scenarios. The organizers managed to surprise us though, as the cases we handled ended up being about a stressed-out university student who bought some things on the internet with her roommates' credit card, and a municipal employee who looked after the estates' of people who die alone and was pocketing some of the proceeds on the side. I enjoyed these scenarios because they broadened my understanding of what "white collar crime" is - it's not just tycoons and corrupt corporate entities but even individuals who sometimes actually have very little. Law is like that though - just when you think you're starting to wrap your head around something, another case comes along and turns everything upside down.

In any event, our prize for winning is that we get to advance to the Regional level of competition, which for us means that in February, we'll be heading off to Lansing, Michigan where the next round will be held.  The other "benefit" is that we will be responsible for organizing next year's Toronto competition, which should be a lot of fun as well. While we're under absolutely no pretense of winning that (we chatted with the 2L's who were in our shoes last year, and apparently, this competition is a bit of a big deal in the U.S. and most schools have dedicated teams and even coaches!) but it's a great experience nevertheless. We'll even get some additional tips and training sessions with the lawyers at the legal clinic to help us prepare, which will be very handy in getting me ready for my own work at the clinic this semester when I start taking on real cases of my own.

Aside from client counselling, the other spot of news on my front is that tomorrow, I'll be turning 26. It's a bit of a big number in that mentally, I'll start feeling closer to 30 than to 20, which is exciting. It's been a very good year for me, and I have so much to be thankful for - and at the same time, there's also just so much that I have yet to do and admittedly, I feel like I'm just a little bit behind schedule. Having said that, there's nothing like a little time pressure to help motivate oneself, and I'm taking in so much here at the law school that I think I'm going to be very well-equipped professionally and personally to meet the challenges of the years ahead. Well, I'll keep this short and sweet (heading out to meet some friends from out of town who are passing through Toronto this week) but I'll be back soon with a new post about how the new term is going. I wish all of you the best for 2010, and please never hesitate to drop me a comment, email, etc. - I always love hearing from you!