Thinking back to this time last year, I’m blown away by all the experience I’ve gained in such a short time. Despite the “trial by fire,” I’ve actually really enjoyed my first year of practice.

I think we should change the names of folks in their 50s and 60s to Baby Doomers from Baby Boomers. My basis for this is the simple premise that we have drilled into our children’s head that they can do anything they want if they just try.

The reader might well ask what an architect is doing prognosticating about law? In an effort to consider the shifts in legal practice, the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice asked an architect to describe how architecture is practised, how design decisions are made, and how one proceeds from client brief to physical design and construction.

The 2012 tag line for Human Rights Day (today, Dec. 10) is “My Voice Counts” — highlighting the rights of all people to make their voices heard in public life and be included in political decision-making.

In June 2012, the first modern trial decision meant to address the mysterious question — what exactly is waiver of tort, and do I want one? — was released. After a grueling 138-day trial, unwinding over the course of a little over a year, Justice Joan Lax delivered an equally exhausting 260-page judgment — complete with indexes, footnotes, glossary of medical terms, and schedules — in the case of Andersen v. St. Jude Medical, Inc.

No wonder the legal profession is in turmoil. Between 10 and 15 per cent of fully qualified law school graduates, about 400 students, cannot find articling positions. Currently, if one cannot article, one cannot practise law in Canada.

As law firms prepare to close out 2012, many will pause to thank employees for their efforts and contribution throughout the year.  Employees will graciously accept these gestures of gratitude, especially when the outreach is accompanied by an envelope that contains a bonus cheque.

In this month’s Making Rain, executive coach Debra Forman delves into some probing questions that revolve around lawyers’ practice management and client development practices.

A recent decision from Ontario Court of Appeal Chief Justice Warren Winkler dramatically alters the landscape of class proceedings in this province by restoring a careful balance between plaintiffs and defendants with respect to costs awards.

A few years ago, I had a client who asked me how I “lived with myself” because I helped foreign workers enter Canada. At first, I wasn’t clear on where this client perceived my moral ambiguity to be. The client elaborated to say it seemed immoral to bring the best and brightest from other countries to Canada, when those people should be remaining in their home countries and making things better “at home” (as if it was my decision where they live to begin with).