Week 3, Post 2

1. Discuss how, through this program, you changed from a Year 1 student to a pre-professional. What specific elements in the program helped to develop you as an emerging legal assistant? You may wish to relate your new sense of professionalism to, for example, research you have done - explain how 'real' you think your classroom/lab experiences have been; why it is that you have come to feel more mature in your attitudes/thought processes/people skills. These are only examples of what you may wish to discuss. You may choose your own topics but please be specific - how, why, what, when!

a. I believe it was the demand to have something done by the teacher’s that helped with being under pressure (not that they were always 100% done correctly.) An example would be when Mrs. Stewart demanded we write a Consent to Travel letter for our ‘client’ on the spot that was due within a half hour or so. That has helped with me emerging as the pre-professional legal admin that I am. Since I have been working at Caron Family Law, I have had to search through a lot of client files so that I could flesh out a Case Conference Brief for an upcoming CC. I feel like I am more professional because I’ve had to adapt my way of thinking opposed to how I was taught. Real world experience is much more different than my school experience because all we had to use was our textbooks; here, we are required to dig for the information and to decipher our lawyer’s unintelligible writing.

2. Were there benefits to blogging - both writing about your experiences and reading others' blogs, over the last three weeks or would you prefer to submit a private written report at the end of the three weeks? Explain.

a. It was difficult for me because I am the only one doing the field placement in this point in time; I have no idea if what I am blogging about is helping the other student’s or making them apprehensive. I will know more in April when everyone else is completing their placement.

3. How prepared were you for work placement following completion of the program?

a. I felt like I was very confident and prepared, but like I stated in question 1, it is very different from school. The way to write correspondence is, basically, the same. I’m just finding it difficult to write it out correctly because I have no experience aside from emailing with Mrs. Bradley. Once the task is repeated, I shouldn’t have any issues in regards to anything.

4. Have you chosen the career path that's right for you? Explain why or why not.

a. I believe I have, but again I just need more than the 90 hours I’ve been working to really cement that I chose right for myself. Three weeks is too short.

5. Have you developed your own 'standards of excellence'? Describe what you expect of yourself with respect to your approach to a work assignment/formatting documents/etc. Describe some of the standards you have developed over your two years of study.

a. I expect myself to find all the information out personally, either through browsing the client files, HRC’s notes, previous Orders/CC Briefs etc., and the scanned items/correspondences that we have saved electronically before I ask someone else. I think once I work for more than three weeks at a firm, I will be even better than I am now. I wonder what the lawyer has to say when she evaluates my performance.

Week 3, Post 1

1. Give examples of oral and written communication used in your work placement.  Did you draft your own communications?  Are you using 'clean formatting'?  Are you using Outlook.  If so, what features are you using?

a. They don’t really use precedents like I am used to from school. They go into the correspondence file for the client, choose a letter that looks vaguely like the one you need to write, save it as the new date and a brief description of what’s in the letter, then finish writing the letter. There’s no blank letterhead like at school. I do draft my own communications, but I am required (reasonably) to submit it for review with Sandy or Heather before I can finalize it. For Outlook, the only real features we use is the attachment and the signature at the end of the email.

2. Provide an example of a problem you encountered and describe how you solved it.

a. I had a real estate appraisal disclosure from the respondent that I had to copy and scan into the system for our electronic files but the paper jammed a couple times. I didn’t have time to rectify it that day but I did the next day; I went page by page through the copy and compared it to the original. While I was doing this, I realized I was only missing 10-15 pages for the one tab, but everything else was perfect. So I simply just recopied the original documents that I was missing, slotted them in, made sure everything was 100% before binding both the original and the copy.

3. Are you using a To-Do List/notebook to prioritize your work to meet deadlines.

a. I have not been given a client to complete from start to finish, so I’ve simply been doing the work that has been handed to me.

4. What is one of your weaknesses?  How did you overcome this in your work placement?

a. I get very anxious/nervous, so whenever someone gives me instructions, it feels like it just goes in one ear and out of the other. I made myself breathe while I was given instructions, and I also actively listened to what was being told to me. I am still not perfect by far, but it’s better.

5. Provide recommendations for refinements to the curriculum (i.e. are there specific elements we should spend more time on to better prepare you for the work place).  What is right about the curriculum?  What needs to be improved upon?  Which courses did you prefer - explain why.  Which courses did you not prefer - explain why.

a. I really don’t think this should be a two year course, I think it should be longer. The fact we only briefly touched on personal injury litigation when there’s so many potential employers in the Tri-City alone speaks for itself. Family law should be a whole year, considering we only briefly touched on that as well. I enjoyed family law because it was a field I was determined to work in after the fact, and because it was quite comprehensive this time around instead of the first time I took the course. I didn’t like corporate because it was rather boring; necessary, but boring.

7. How will you continue to learn and develop professionally?

a. If I happen to work at a firm that offers to pay for continued education of their employees, I would take advantage of that. The law is always changing, and though I have no wish to be a lawyer, I do want to understand the area of law better.

Tuesday but feels like Monday

Work is starting to slow down. There already wasn't a whole lot to do when Mona was working here, but there's even less now that business has slowed down significantly. I file correspondences when they're available. Mind you, it's only 15 minutes after the start time so it may pick up.

On Friday, I was able to take calls. I did two new client intake forms, and I communicated with another person who wanted to have their Post-Sec. diploma certified for CIC - Immigration. Due to the time constraints and the fact he needed it for Tuesday morning, I recommended he'd try to get another lawyer to do it.

I went to the courthouse today to see if I could shine light on a confusing situation. Because of the change in staff over the last year, there are some things that haven't been translated to the next person taking over. I had spent a half hour trying to see if the Ministry of Finance or Ministry of the Attorney General had processed a $19 cheque to have a Divorce Certificate issued. Neither were able to confirm if it had been. After that was revealed, I went to the courthouse directly to see if they had any receipt for that $19, which they did not. After asking some questions, there are three steps that I can take:

1. Check the Trust account to see if the cheque was processed; if it was, we would need to write another cheque;
2. Send a letter to the courthouse asking them to do a thorough search; and
3. If the cheque wasn't processed, and the courthouse has found nothing, then we would need to cancel the cheque and write another one.

Wednesday in the life of...

I did something new today!

I went to the courthouse and filed our client's Reply and Affidavit of Service re: Reply. I was so worried about crinkling the documents so I decided to put it in a manila file folder while I took it to the Courthouse.

They physically made me write in the title of the document, the date of the document, the filing date of the document, and the volume and tab number which I found surprising.

I also learned that there is a fee for anything in the Continuing Record (the red volume(s)) at a $1.00 per page, while all Endorsements in the Endorsement Record is free to copy (if there's an Order in the Endorsement record, you will need to pay a $1.00/page.)

I actually really enjoyed speaking with the Clerks at the counter and I am considering a career there; I would be surrounded with legal documents and I'll also be able to help people. I am hoping that, if I don't continue on here at Caron Family Law, that I could work at the Family Law counter since I am still very passionate about this area of law.

Week 2, Post 2

School-related reflection:

1. What resources are you using at your placement?

a. On the first day of my work placement, I was given two manuals – one on the family law legal process, and one for new hires which informed me on how they colour code their files, and the daily routine.

2. Have you discovered resources on the Internet that were/are useful to you, other than those introduced in class?  If so, please share the URLs.

a. I have not.

3. Review the list of responsibilities submitted by you before your placement.  Indicate whether the list was accurate or whether you were exposed to different responsibilities or did fewer than were listed.

a. I am doing fewer than I listed simply because I am very limited in what I can do right now due to my computer not being hooked up to the legal programs server.

4. What do you consider two of your strengths?  How are you using them to your advantage at this placement?

My first would probably be that I usually don’t need to be told how to do a task after successfully completing it the first time, which is good because who wants to repeat themselves? My second would be that I am a good problem solver if given enough time to process the problem.

Week 2, Post 1

Week 2

1. Describe the software and versions, tools, and equipment used in the office.

a. The software we use:

i.   Amicus, which is used for booking appointments and docketing phone calls;

ii.  OutLook, which is used for emails and will be taking the place of Amicus;

iii. DivorceMate, which we are familiar with; and

iv.  PC Law, which we are also familiar with.

b. The tools/equipment we use:

i.   Xerox copying/scanning/faxing machine;

ii.  Three computers, two new and one older;

iii. Lots of sticky notes, highlighters, permanent markers, and paperclips etc.

2. Are you using/will you use any of the legal software learned in your program?  Explain.  If you are using new software, was it easy/difficult to adapt to.  Why?

a. The only new software I was unfamiliar with was Amicus, but it’s essentially like Outlook and very easy to use.

b. I have not personally used PC Law, or DivorceMate since my computer is not hooked up with it. I do use DivorceMate documents that are saved in the DivorceMate – Shortcut folder, just not the program itself.

3. Describe some of the documents you have been preparing.  Do not use client names.

a. I have collaborated on a Case Conference Brief, completed a Form 15, Financial Form, and Settlement Conference Brief on my own, as well as a Cumulative Table of Contents.

4. Do you have any accounting responsibilities?  Explain what they are.

a. The only monetary responsibility I’ve had so far is to deposit General and Trust cheques into the account.

5. Have you been assigned a specific project?  Explain your role.

a. I was assigned the role of scanning, copying, saving the document in a specific folder that I made, and creating an Excel spreadsheet for a Respondent’s Disclosure. I have also been assigned the responsibility of procuring a Cumulative Table of Contents from the courthouse, which I used to create our own updated one after confirming what documents we were missing (mostly from the Respondent.)

6. Are you feeling more comfortable?  Why or why not?

a. I am feeling more comfortable. The first week was a balderdash of new information which made me feel a little overwhelmed. They did not do things as I expected or anticipated; but I adapted, and learned to listen better to their instructions after a few failed attempts of mishearing on my part.

7. Is there any subject matter you wish we had covered in class?  Explain.  How are you managing to become more knowledgeable about this subject?

a. Everything I have experienced so far has been covered in my 2.5 years taking the Office Administration – Legal program with the exception of Form 15, but it is understandable why we didn't cover it as Family Law is just too extensive to cover in one semester.

8. Are you drawing on skills learned in interpersonal communications, office procedures, math, bookkeeping or legal classes?

a. I have drawn on information gleaned in Office Procedures, the legal classes and Interpersonal Communication, but I have had no need to use the information learned in Math or the Bookkeeping classes as of yet.

9. Have you had an opportunity to interact with clients?  How? Was this easy or difficult?  Explain.

a. I don’t really have anything to do with the clients aside from showing them to the boardroom and offering them refreshments when they are here to see Heather. But as of yesterday, I was given the opportunity to speak with a potentially new client on the phone while I asked him intake questions.

Happy Valentines Day! ❤

I was so productive today that I kept forgetting that it was Valentines Day today.

Aside from the usual filing and housekeeping that I do, I also worked and finished a form 15 and Financial Statement (it took three drafts but it's done.)

Sandy (the new Office Manager/Legal Ass.) sent me to the court house for a client's updated Table of Contents, which I referenced to the three volumes of Continuing Record to see what we did have and what we were missing. Tomorrow I will be editing the table of contents to reflect on what I found.