Meet: Nisheet (Nish) Karthikeyan - 2021 Summer Student
Current Rotation: Litigation
When did you know you wanted to work at Goodmans?
Pretty early on into my research for the recruit. I knew I wanted to be somewhere that had a “family” feel to it and whenever I spoke to someone from Goodmans, that was a word that kept coming up. I knew that this would be the firm for me!
One thing you recommend to maximize your summer at Goodmans LLP?
Reach out to everyone, from mentors, to your assistants, to Michel, Ali, and Sandra. If there is someone in the office when I was in, I made it a point to say hello and to introduce myself. Later on in the day, they would pop by to say hi! The summer is about learning and about meeting new people who do cool stuff daily. Be a sponge!
What does a day in the life look like?
I spend some time in the morning docketing my time from the previous day. If it’s Monday, I have a morning catch-up call with my assistant and we share our stories from the week and the weekend. If it’s Tuesday, I have a catch-up call in the evening with my mentors. Normally, I do a lot of research on online databases or writing for the various blogs the firm maintains. Usually, I’m accompanying a lawyer to virtual court, discoveries, or hearings almost weekly. Every day is different and unpredictable, which adds to the charm of working at Goodmans!
What are some of the tasks you’ve done over the summer?
I have written for the tech and IP blog that the firm maintains. I often do research tasks for lawyers who have one-off questions. I have also done some tasks for our lawyers in the admin group. Mostly research (which sounds a lot boring than it really is). You learn a lot when you’re pouring through cases on WestLaw.
Favourite moment so far at Goodmans?
Tommy and I had a chance to be in a boardroom where some litigation lawyers were arguing an injunction. I’m sure it was routine for the lawyers but it was all new for the two of us. It was great being in the “war room”, hearing strategy live-time, and learning how dynamic a litigation practice can be.
Best advice to a student during the recruitment process?
Start early, relax, take everything in stride. Be sure to reach out to your Career Services Office early so that they can help you with your application. It can all be a bit hectic during the recruit, so remember to take deep breaths and dare I say, enjoy it? It helped me to wind down after OCIs or in-firms by watching a movie and eating cold pizza. Most of all, believe in yourself! You do belong wherever you want to be and that confidence in yourself will mean you exude confidence during the interview portion of the recruit. You made the grueling trek to law school, so there is no reason why you should self-select yourself out of any job opportunity you want!
Author: Nish Karthikeyan, University of Windsor Faculty of Law 2022
