Pondering

I was thinking of taking my last post done moments after I wrote it because I felt like such a crappy mother... but once I got your comments I wanted to leave it up! Sleeping has been much better again lately and we're back to easy bedtimes, for which I am much relieved. I really hope we can avoid another cold for a few weeks though - I am really sick of being sick.

So, career. I've been thinking lately that I really like litigation, want to do it, blah blah blah. But it's funny how one silly experience can kind of taint your whole view. I'm managing a little matter right now and had to call opposing counsel a few days ago. The man was just so unbearably rude. He yelled at me, and was very belittling. I just can't stand that. Can't you vigourously defend your client while maintaining some professional courtesy? It's just so unnecessary. I had the sense that the bar was more cordial than that, but if that's a common experience I'm not sure litigation is the way for me.

For some reason it's lingering with me, even though there's really no reason it should stress me out now. I hate taking my work home with me - I wish when I was with LM I could just focus completely on him instead of worrying about some inconsequential person. I don't know - does it help to be like that? Maybe it does. Maybe those tactics intimidate enough people off that they drop their suits. Anyway, all things to ponder.

On to brighter things - it's very hard to get a good picture of LM recently because he's always lunging for the camera, but here's a picture of my little peach - he's looking rather tired because he was still sick, but starting to get over it.

Oh my god why won't he just go to sleep? We've all been horribly sick with a cold and the last few nights have been sheer hell with Little Man waking frequently and increasingly earlier; there have been hours of rocking and walking a sick little man who thrashes and yells in your arms. Today he woke at four a.m. He seems much better today but for some reason he still WILL NOT SLEEP despite being way overtired. And of course the demon cat thinks that means it's a great idea for her to start screeching her lungs out too. I finally had to leave the room because my being in there was Just.Not.Productive. Not helpful to be on the verge of yelling "Just f---ing lie down and close your eyes!" But I am so bloody tired and at the rate we've been going I expect he'll be up at three tomorrow morning.

In other news, anyone want to adopt an orange tabby? Just slightly portly, very cuddly and remarkably tolerant of tail-pulling. Or a 13-month old?

Articles 101

Ooooh - well I was asked a question recently, that is, about what "articles" are. So here's the primer. I love questions.

In Canada (and other common law countries I believe) you have to article before being called to the bar (i.e. before being formally anointed as a lawyer). Articles are basically an "internship." The length of time varies depending on the province, but doing the required bar course and articling takes about a year.

In other ways the legal education is about the same as in the U.S. - we do three years of law school with the same base courses of Contracts, Torts, Criminal Law, Property and Constitutional Law. Our degree is a more or less a post-graduate degree. Actually that's sort of a gray area - 99% of law school students do have an undergraduate degree but in rare cases you can get into the program with just three years of undergraduate education. Also the law degree itself is called a "Bachelor of Laws." The reason for this is that in England and Australia a law degree is an undergraduate degree and Canada adopts the same terminology - although more and more schools in Canada are calling it a Juris Doctor (the U.S. equivalent) to reflect the fact that it is not an undergraduate degree. In fact, my law school may have made the switch, it was in the works when I graduated and possibly I could pay some sum of money to have my LLB converted to J.D.

Many graduates of Canadian law schools go directly to U.S. firms, so there's really no major difference in the core education. Oh - the other difference is that there are way fewer law schools in Canada, proportionally speaking. As a result admissions standards at all schools tend to be quite high.

After graduation, if you choose to practice in Canada, you have to get hired by a firm willing to take you on for your articles - and most students (at least is seemed like almost all) do. During the articles you are supposed to get exposure to different areas of law. Of course if you are at a small firm it will be much more limited, but at the larger national firms like mine there is quite a bit of variety. It's really a wonderful opportunity to gain exposure to all different areas of practice. Even if you know what you want to do it's useful to see how the other side works. For example even if you know you want to do solicitor's work, it's useful to understand how the court system works so you understand what the consequences might be if the contract you draft does get you taken to court. And if you're not entirely sure what you want to do, it's an opportunity to decide.

The catch is that firms don't necessarily hire back all their students - after all it's a test run for the firm too. Hireback statistics are compiled and do affect people's choices on where to article. But they can vary from year to year depending so many students spend the year worrying about hireback, which is a drawback to the program. The other drawback is the pitiful salary - at least in my city. I expect I will get a raise of 50% or more if and when I'm hired back. It's a little exploitative considering my billing rates are not that much lower than a first year associate's.

In addition to articles you also have to do a bar course and exam. The exam is different in each province, but I think it's fair to say it is not as stressful as it seems to be in places like California or New York - the vast majority of people pass.

Another question people ask me - can you fail you articles? Technically, yes. You have to meet certain criteria and accomplish certain tasks and this is all regulated by the body governing lawyers in each province. (We are a self-regulated profession in Canada.) You have a principal, aka a senior lawyer at your firm, assigned to oversee you and ensure you do this. But I've never heard of anyone failing and I doubt it happens except in the most egregious cases.

Man - I don't know where the time goes. I have been down with the most atrocious cough and cold lately. LM has it too... when I got home on Friday his eyes were gooped up like crazy. Then Sunday he was lethargic as all hell, just completely crashed out in my arms for hours at time. Monday was desperate times - what to do with LM? We couldn't send him off to daycare in that condition, so I stayed home in the morning and D came home at 12 and we traded off.

I've been pretty sick too, with a crazy sore throat and in a complete fog. I've had a couple of days where I've felt completely swamped but when I tally up my hours at the end of the day I've only billed three and a half. I always have the best intentions of working at home, but when you're exhausted with cold it makes much more sense just to collapse into bed.

I've had a couple of conversations lately that have hinted to me that no one has thought super strategically about what to do with me at the end of my articles. This revelation is a little alarming to me. I'm not seriously worried about my hire-back potential, only about where it is they'll slot me when the hire-back decision comes around. That and I do not want to be job hunting again anytime soon.

But other than that things are well, work is good and interesting and LM is delicious.

Formula

Work + everyone in the family being sick = dead tired.

Non-Believer

Sometimes I wish I believed in miracles... but I have trouble with miracles. I've hoped for miracles for a long time, and so far, I'm still waiting. I'm sure they do happen occasionally. I'm not talking about every day miracles (of which there are many) but about the kind that are really so far-fetched that they are tales for Ripley's Believe It Or Not or from some saint's biography. I'm sort of a realist-pragmatist-idealist, but not a miraclist. So what do you do when someone says they are anticipating just such a miracle? I guess smile and nod is all you can do... and hope they're right, but be prepared for the fact that they're not. Definitely don't want to have to be the one to say I told you so.

Did I Tell You They Call Him José?

The inaugural furnace-putting on is tonight. We were trying to hold out until Thanksgiving, but given that it is going to be 4 degrees tonight, we went for it. The house smells like burning dust. But at least it's working - lots of nice, warm air.

I had my second court date, which was almost as exciting as the first. Not as many funny stories though, but I did get what I set out to. Now they are letting me loose on clients too, which is kind of crazy. Apparently I am going to meet some of them on my own this week and then represent them. Kind of frightening, but I reminded myself that if they're letting me do this, there really can't be that much of an opportunity to screw up.

Daycare continues to go well, although I must say, it still kind of weirds me out that I really have no idea what LM is up to all day. When I showed up today he was partying in the common room of the apartment building with various friends and family of the daycare provider, all of whom seemed to know and love him. He was having a great time, kicking around in a little plastic car. On the one hand I think it's so cool that they treat him as a member of the family. But I am still missing him terribly. Did I tell you they call him by a Spanish name now? I'm telling you, a five day work week is just too much.