Lawyers can turn law
school connection into
networking opportunity
SALIMA STANLEY-BHANJI

Staying in touch with law
schools offers many perks—
from mentoring to networking
opportunities.

Sandra Hildebrand, a Partner at Hildebrand Wilde graduated from the University of Calgary in 1992. Since then she spent seven years volunteering as a member of the Law Faculty’s mooting and debating committee organizing and judging moots and debates. As well as being a student mentor, Hildebrand has volunteered and worked with the university’s legal aid clinic, Student Legal Assistance, since 2003.

“I enjoy maintaining a connection to the law school and I welcome the change from private practice,” states Hildebrand who refers to the old adage “a change is as good as a rest.

“It’s nice to leave the office and
do something different and I feel
recharged and have a positive
experience through my connec-
tion with the law school and the
students…in many ways, I learn as
much from the students as they
learn from me.”
Apart from her own law prac-
tice and the six to eight hours each
week that she spends at the law
school, Hildebrand volunteers
with the Canadian Bar Associa-
tion, as well as a number of com-
munity organizations, and is a
single mother to eight-year-old
twins. When pressed to explain
why she does what she does,
Hildebrand asks back: “Why do
people do things for others?…It’s
hard to define…but there’s an obli-
gation—to enhance your com-
munity and your profession.”
The Dean of the University of
British Columbia’s faculty of law,
Mary Anne Bobinski says alumni
involvement is critical. “The law
school’s academic programs and
the support we provide to stu-
dents is immeasurably strength-
ened by alumni involvement, and
when we talk about making a
connection between the law
school and the profession, the
alumni are a very important part
of creating the bridge that stu-
dents then walk over.”
But the benefits do not flow in
just one direction. “Law school is a
place that creates this circle of
mutual benefit where alumni
involvement with students and the
faculty is not just a way of giving
back, but a source of continued
intellectual enrichment and
engagement as well as profes-
sional development and network
opportunities,” says Bobinski.

LITIGATION ASSOCIATE

Halfnight & McKinlay is an insurance litigation boutique, specializing in coverage advice and the defence of first and third-party claims, primarily arising under commercial property, liability, and fidelity policies. Our focus is on the more complex aspects of insurance work and requires an aptitude for legal analysis and litigation strategy. Our office is located in a restored historical building in the St. Lawrence Market area of Toronto.

We are seeking a junior associate, ideally with 1 to 3 years of litigation experience and a strong academic record. Please reply in confidence with résumé to Jamie Halfnight ( jhalfnight@halfnightlaw.com).

65 Front Street East, Suite 201, Toronto www.halfnightlaw.com

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The successful candidate will have excellent written and oral communication skills in
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438 University Avenue, Suite 1700
Toronto, ON M5G 2L9
Email: psamworth@duttonbrock.com
We thank all candidates in advance for their applications.
However, only those candidates being considered will be contacted.