Meet: DJ Verma
Current Rotation: BL4 (Banking, Finance and Competition Law)
DJ just finished his Global Professional LLM at the University of Toronto (woohoo!). While completing his GPLLM at U of T, DJ was the Treasurer of the Graduate Student Law Association and worked at LexCheck, an artificial intelligence company. At LexCheck, DJ assisted in developing AI software to help negotiate and mark up contracts. Prior to this, DJ completed his BA, LLB at O.P. Jindal Global University in India, and subsequently worked as a M&A lawyer in the e-commerce and tech space in Mumbai. Outside of law, DJ enjoys following the NBA, Formula 1 and cooking.
Why did you choose to work at Goodmans?
My reason was the people, my interaction with them and the firm’s culture/outlook towards work. Interestingly, Goodmans spent the most time getting to know me as a person (and not as a lawyer, even though I had practiced for four years in India). I met many lawyers during my recruitment, and we just spoke about my interests in life, my immigration journey to Canada, and what I want from my future (personal and professional). The comfort and ease I felt during my interviews at Goodmans left me energized and excited.
What is one tip you have for students undergoing the recruitment process?
Know your self-worth and see if the firm can recognize/engage with it.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Heading to the office (if I want/need to go in); start the day by making a to-do list; reading and replying to new emails; getting on to the work that I have for the day; spending time with other summer students during lunch or otherwise; helping each other to figure out the various assignments that we get; interacting with partners/directors/associates/office staff who are in that day; head home to spend time with family and then doing some pending work which I could not tend to during the day.
What has been your favourite social event thus far?
The Scavenger Hunt was the best social event thus far, and the reason behind it is how it was planned (scale, intensity, creativity). One of the firm’s partners (Anne) spent a lot of time curating these tasks for us, and we got to run around the city with partners, associates and other summer students to figure them out while enjoying our day in the sun.
What has been your proudest moment this summer?
My answer is quite generic, but it was the best moment for me. I had received a complex task of summarizing and comparing a few agreements, and I was not quite sure if the output that I generated was something that would be helpful for the client or not. But fortunately, it was, and the assigning lawyer gave me some fantastic feedback on it.
Who do you go to when you encounter a challenge during your day-to-day?
Depending upon where the challenge came from, I chose the person I needed to reach out to. For instance, if it is some admin task all summer students need to do, I will swing by another summer student’s office to check in with them. If is something to do with a client file, then I will typically approach the associate or the partner who gave me the task. If it’s something more generally work-related, I reach out to my mentors and legal assistant.
To learn more about DJ's experience or chat with him, feel free to reach out at dverma@goodmans.ca.
Author: DJ Verma, University of Toronto Faculty of Law 2022
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