Summer Student Goes to Court

It becomes apparent that within the personal injury law spectrum, there is a lot of paperwork. Some documents that I assisted with include serving summons to witness, filing notices of change of lawyer and obtaining court orders. I travelled throughout the city and attended various courts along University Avenue as well as the Small Claims Court by Yonge and Sheppard Avenue West.

It comes as no surprise that within the legal world, timing is important. For example, if a defendant failed to defend a case, the plaintiff may note them in default. This must be done after the appropriate amount of time has passed after the claim has been served. It is imperative for both the people working in the court and working on the case to have the required documents ready in time, otherwise everyone’s time is being wasted (especially when wait times to file such documents can be over 4 hours…on a good day).

There are people who work as process servers and file hundreds of documents on a regular basis, whereas I have only filed 1 or 2 documents at a time.  I’ve learned that it’s beneficial to be personable, patient and understanding when filing materials with the court clerks. Times can get congested and tough, and when you put yourselves in their shoes you can understand the hard work and difficulty that goes into their jobs (a little humour and personality can go a long way!). At the end of the day, advocacy for our clients is our top priority and being efficient, so as long as the documents we compile are well prepared and registered at court, everyone is happy.

Overall, in my personal experience traveling across this beautiful city, my eyes have opened wider and my mind has expanded further. Understanding the process that goes behind filing legal material is a testament to the teamwork at our firm. It also goes without saying that a nice stroll along University Avenue to the various courts on a bright summer day is always a good time in my books!