The law firm which is giving me my first real job had a Christmas party on Saturday. They hired out a cozy little Italian restaurant only a few blocks from my apartment. It was so much fun. I felt at home pretty quickly and called out actions & suggestions to the improv players entertaining us alongside everyone else. I felt like I belonged.

When I was in law school, there was one message contantly repeated to students from the faculty, the administration and guests from the first day of first year--that the only way to find a fulfilling legal career was to get the best grades & go to the biggest corporate firms in Vancouver. We were constantly told failure was just around the corner for us if we played the game any other way. Because we were going into debt to be in school & because we all wanted to succeed so much, this news was terrifying.

But I knew in my heart I didn't want a big firm atmosphere. I felt that my talents were best reflected in a smaller firm, where I could take on additional projects & where my initive would be noticed. (And I don't think I'm wrong about that--a friend of mine who has been at a big firm for a few years told me that one of her main duties remains making photocopies for senior lawyers & sitting quietly in the corner during conference calls, taking notes.)

But, even though I was looking for a progressive small firm, the particular firm I ended up with for articles was not on my radar. They are an established firm in a very discrete area of the law and, as a whole, are hip, technology-loving, cool cats. But I wasn't aware of their existance throughout my first two years of school. We just kept missing each other (I signed up for the law school's mediation competition but they hosted an arbitration competition that kind of stuff).

That is why I am so beyond thrilled that we found each other. I was talking to a senior partner at a house party yesterday and liked him so much--he travelled through North Asia a few months ago & remains committed to social justice both here & abroad. The fact that I even get to sit with a senior partner at a house party is beyond what I ever hoped.

I don't know if they will be able to hire me on after I finish my articles in 2011. But I know I will learn so much from them & I'll have the opportunities to work really hard to prove myself. Everything I was told in law school about 'how to find a firm' pretty much doesn't apply to my situation and I wish I had remained true to my own worldview during my first & second year of law school, instead of allowing myself to be manipulated into freaking out in order to live someone else's dream.