Episode 8 - Joshua Mamdani (Dentons Canada LLP)
Listen to the full podcast on Apple | Spotify | Anchor
Joshua Mamdani, Dentons Canada LLP, shares his wisdom on how to thrive as a Summer Law Student, Articling Student and beyond. He is also a co-founder of Beyond the A and was recently hired back to the firm he articled with during the midst of COVID. Josh breaks it down to three important principles: (1) relationship building (2) having a mindset of being ready to learn and (3) maintaining a habit of doing the things that make you happy.
As a Summer Law Student, relationships that you form with your assigned lawyers will flow into your junior and latter years. Relationship building is critical in the early stages of your career and developing this skill will help you find mentors who will teach you their craft and integrate you into the firm. The problem with COVID is that it affects your ability to do that - you can’t just knock on someone’s door and ask to grab a coffee. Now, connections are built over scheduled zoom calls. So, it’s up to the students to start those conversations and reach out to associates and partners.
Josh was finishing his Articling Student term when COVID changed the world as we know it. While working from home, he sought to keep busy and connected to the firm by leaning into the people he knew. Josh advises that “there’s so much more to this profession than being a hard worker. It’s the relationships you build early on that will be the foundation to your success - both short term and long term.”
At the bottom line, firms are excited about their hired students, and summer/articling students need to remember that the firm hired you for a reason. Even though many senior associates are busy and cannot go out of their way to make those connections, students can take initiative and reach out to them. So on a practical note, send an email to a lawyer in your area of interest. Introduce yourself as a summer/articling student. Let them know “I have an interest in your area of practice and I want to learn more about it. Can we set up a time for coffee?”. Once you’re on someone's radar, files will start to appear on your desk. The better you are, the more work you’ll get. To Josh, this profession is like a pie-eating contest. When you’re really good at it, the reward is more pie.
Onto mindset: be ready to learn and make mistakes. A growth mindset will help you get out of jams and take feedback well. The learning curve is incredibly steep, so be ready to own your mistakes and acknowledge the fact that it will be a tough year. Remind yourself that mistakes will happen, but most are recoverable. Find a way to fix them and move on. The demands are high, but make sure you continue to keep doing those things that make you happy - whether that’s yoga, or running or meditating - this profession can be all-consuming. Getting back into a routine of treating yourself well, keeping an open mind and staying eager to learn will pave the way to your success.
As a student or junior, some practical tips to thrive is to (1) be responsive, (2) produce clean work and (3) be aware of formatting styles of those above you. First, you don’t have to have the answers immediately, but acknowledge the receipt of emails. Second, do three or four read-overs and pay attention to details (no typos). Lastly, pay attention to a lawyer’s preference of formatting. If a lawyer prefers curly quotes over straight quotes, make note of that for any future work product because it shows your attention to detail.
If Josh could write a letter to himself a day prior to starting articling, he would tell himself to focus on making good connections and lean into those connections. It’s not all about the work product you do or how much work you do, it's a personal, service-based industry. Do great work, but stay connected.
————————————
At Beyond the A, we understand that anxiety and mental health is a serious issue. While we do not purport to be experts, our mission is to open up the conversation and provide you with the tools and resources to excel in your career and beyond. If you are seeking immediate help, please contact a healthcare professional or access our resources page.
Given the sensitivity of the topic, we are always open to further conversation about it. Email us at info@beyondthea.co and someone from our team will get back to you.