Eryn Fanjoy (3L) | Illustration by Alexandra Wong (2L)
The year was 2011. Osama Bin Laden was taken down. South Sudan became a thing. Will and Kate got married. It was a year of hope.
Hope. That is the main takeaway from reading the personal statements submitted by the graduating class of 2015. What will I do with my JD? “What won’t I do with my JD?!,” we cried.
It’s 2015. Time to check-in. The result? Annie Lennox puts it best: “There are two kinds of [law students] left: those who [go into corporate law] and those who [are broke].”
The following are excerpts from the personal statements of members of the graduating class of 2015 paired with updates on their career plans as they depart from law school.
I dream of being a lawyer who can help underprivileged sectors of society, through addressing public health policy, poverty and immigration, which is one of the fastest-growing issues within Canada.
This student will be pursuing a career in tax law.
In the future, I plan to combine my academic experiences [in business school] and law school and pursue a career in business law. I’ve learned an incredible amount about the business world and I am extremely intrigued to see how law applies to the multiple facets of business such as securities and tax law. Although there are many fields under the overarching topic of business law, I am still unsure as to exactly which category of business law I fit into best. I’m hoping my time in law school will help me find an area of business law that I am passionate about.
This student was active in the Business Law Society and will be articling at a large Bay Street firm. He is still undecided about whether to pursue a career in corporate law or litigation.
My interest in justice has been deep and unwavering throughout my life … I hope to use these skills in my practice of the law, to advocate for change in public policy where policy fails to effectively advance freedom and equality.
This student will be articling at a major Bay Street firm.
A defining moment in my degree was when I learned that more than eighty percent of the females in prison in Canada have a history of sexual abuse in their lives … For those who have experienced and been unable to overcome emotional trauma that has led them into a life of criminality, prison does not provide them with the help they deserve. I am interested in some of the alternate forms of rehabilitation that the justice system has to offer, and in the support networks that can be made available to those accused and convicted of crime in order to help rather than hinder their emotional development. As a lawyer, I will have the opportunity to help others who had a difficult time seeking support. I would be able to do this by helping to suggest alternate methods of rehabilitation, and provide the help they need to navigate the overwhelming process of a criminal trial.
This student will be pursuing a career in criminal defence.
I do not know yet where I will end up after graduating with my J.D. I suspect I will be involved in forming policy with the government or working with an organization such as the Canadian Constitution Foundation.
This student has no desire to work for the government. She will be articling at a full-service firm, with a focus on litigation and family law.
Although I have not ruled out the possibility of legal practice, my desire to join the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto is not a manifestation of any childhood dream of lawyering for a living.
This student is articling at a large firm on Bay and is still not convinced.
[M]y ambition is to study law in order to become involved in crafting legislation that directly confronts and responds to global issues. I know that law in this field will present the sort of unique ever-shifting opportunities and challenges that can only arise as politics, economics and personalities collide within legal structures.
This student is heading to New York to pursue a career in corporate law.
What I aspire to do with a legal education is to bridge the gap between problems of development on the one hand, and solutions that are creative and precise in their approach on the other … As I stood in [a] tiny shack in India, I was aware I could do little more than offer food and medicine to aid the injured man, while in China I could only gaze helplessly at the migrant boy and his family. In my powerlessness to help them I was humbled, but given a reason to pursue working at the nexus of international development and law.
This student will be articling at a Bay Street firm with a focus on litigation. However, the dream is not dead: she hopes to move to a career in litigation focused on various domestic human rights issues.
A law degree … will provide me with the tools I need to advocate, not only for members of my community but the vulnerable in society. After law school, I hope to start my own law practice in Toronto, with a focus on immigration and criminal law. Therefore, I am particularly interested in volunteering with the Downtown Legal Services clinic, as it will enable me to gain valuable work experience while in law school.
This student will be articling at a major corporate firm.
I am hopeful that my path will lead me to the study of law at the University of Toronto. With the university’s reputation for an interdisciplinary approach, I hope to gain a diverse background from which to build a sound knowledge of the law and a career where I can make a meaningful contribution. Be it public interest law through the Pro Bono Students Canada program, human rights law through the International Human Rights Program, or the public sector through the faculty’s long history of government advising, the University of Toronto offers unparalleled opportunities to influence and change the legislation and institutions that govern our society.
While he dipped his toes in human rights work during his time at law school, this student is heading to NYC to join a Big Law firm’s restructuring group, where he is excited to be privy to the failure of some of the world’s largest corporations.
