Lucy Main, Lori Isaj, and Sanaya Mistry all practice in the area of trusts, estate planning, and estate administration at WeirFoulds LLP in Toronto. Sanaya Mistry interviewed both Lucy Main and Lori Isaj about the nature of their day-to-day estates practice.
Sanaya Mistry: How did you choose or how did you end up in the practice of estate planning?
Lucy Main: I never thought I would be practising in this area. I did take some estates and tax courses in law school. But thought I would be a litigator. Thankfully, I had some real litigation experience as an articling student and quickly determined that I am not meant to be a litigator. I started doing some trust and estate planning work and enjoyed the client facing aspect as well as the challenges of solving unique family situations.
Lori Isaj: Estates practice was not something I had ever considered until well into my articling term. I did not take any trusts, estates, or tax courses in law school so I had no background or sense of the practice. However, I was lucky to article at a firm that had a very impressive estates group. During my articles, I had the opportunity to draft wills and powers of attorney, do legal research, and sit it on initial client meetings and signing meetings. Observing the lawyer-client interactions and the way that the lawyers discussed and handled important but sometimes sensitive or difficult topics, I saw the value of the care and advice and how much clients appreciated this. Very quickly after, I realized that the nature of the practice was well suited to the kind of lawyer I imagined being.
Sanaya Mistry: What do you like most about the estate planning practice?