Why did you want to attend the Schulich School of Law?
It may sound cliché, but I chose to go to law school so I could help people. I grew up as a strange hybrid of the smart kid in class and also a theatre kid – and a practice in the law gives me an opportunity to use both of those skills for the good of other folks. I chose to attend Schulich (and in fact it was the only law school I applied to!) because I’m a life-long maritime boy and I decided whatever I ended up doing I’d be doing it in Nova Scotia!
In what ways were you involved with the law school community?
I was involved with a handful of projects, but I’m the most proud of my heavy involvement with the mentorship programs in the law school. I was very very fortunate that it seemed some aspects of law school came easier to me than others, and I chose to use the spare time to “send the elevator back down” and be a benefit to my classmates.
What is your favourite law school memory?
This is a tough one. I’m going to give you three (sorry!) In 1L it would be putting my hand up and telling our prof that I thought a particular case was “dumpster fire.” (I still do) In 2L it would be when one of my 1L mentees was literally in tears before an assignment, they worked hard, and ended up getting an A! In 3L my favourite memory would be the moments my friends and I would set aside to meet and grab lunch or coffee just to see each other while we were doing law school from home.
What will you miss most about Schulich Law?
I will miss the people – it’s sad that when we were all first sent home in March 2020 we didn’t know that it would be the last time many of us would see each other. Many of my classmates are graduating and flying off to all parts of Canada to work and I don’t know if I will see them again.
What are your post-graduation plans?
I don’t start working until June 1st, so my immediate plan is 5 straight weeks of Saturdays! After that I’ll be working in Truro at Patterson Law helping folks with their wills, estate planning, their mortgages, maybe some family dispute resolution, and generally trying to make the world a calmer and more secure place in some small way, one person at a time. I always said that I’d be happy to live a career as the “Atticus Finch of Antigonish”! Beyond that my wife and I plan to have kids soon so hopefully these law school chops translate to being a good dad!
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