Did you know that LESA filled approximately 600 volunteer placements this year? That means we rely on a lot of volunteers!
We have so many incredible supporters who give their time, talent, and energy to help us fulfill our mission to serve the spectrum of educational and professional development needs of Alberta’s lawyers, articling students, and their staff. We’re truly grateful for the commitment of all our volunteers. Without you, we couldn’t serve the profession as effectively!
Since we benefit so much from our volunteers, we like to publicaly thank them for all their support, and today we’re pleased to put the spotlight on Cathy Farnell!
Cathy has volunteered for LESA over the past several years. Most recently, she was instrumental in preparing the Real Estate Practice Manual update. LESA’s Karen McDougall was especially grateful for Cathy’s help rallying the Witten troops when we needed additional help with the manual.
Cathy is also speaking at the Commercial Real Estate seminar in Edmonton tomorrow.
For those of you who are attending, here’s a sneak preview of what Cathy is most excited for about the seminar:
Well I’m actually most looking forward to some of the other talks. … [Alexander MacWilliam is] talking about environmental [issues], … [which relates to] a particular lease agreement that I’m working on right now. … To me, having a more advanced seminar to talk about more advanced topics interests me a lot as a participant. Even if I wasn’t speaking, I think I would have attended this seminar, because … it’s nice to have some that are more advanced and … because I really do like the continuing learning aspect of the programs that LESA puts on. … And then Jim Brown, of course, is talking from the industry perspective. … So that’s a nice background and puts things in a very good perspective for people attending the conference. … Your clients are probably asking you those same questions or they’re probably going through those same processes that Jim is going to talk about, so [understanding] a little bit more of the business side can be really helpful as you get more senior in your practice area.”
Despite her busy schedule with her practice and volunteer commitments, Cathy took some time last week to talk to us about why she likes volunteering with LESA.
But first, before we get into that, we’ll fill you in on what peaked Cathy’s interest in the practice of commercial real estate.
It has to do with the opportunities I had when I started at the firm. Right away, I was involved in really interesting and complicated files and was given a fair amount of responsibility, properly supervised, of course. But enough to see the bigger picture … to see that it is complex. I do like that most of the time it’s quite non-adversarial. People have kind of the same end goal in mind. Although you’re on other sides and you’re negotiating things, most of the time people want to get the deal done, and that creates a nice work environment. I think it is challenging, and I think no two deals are ever the same, so you’re always having to modify and think about different things and make sure the agreement covers it properly for your client in that circumstance.”
And what does Cathy like best about her job?
Honestly, I would have to say the people. … You spend so much time at work that it’s important to like and respect your co-workers, and I really do. I think that Witten has a very supportive environment, [with] a lot of people to assist or help or bounce ideas off of, and I like that. When you pair that with a practice area that you really like and clients that you really like, that’s a good way to spend your day.”
Now that you know a bit more about Cathy’s practice, here’s some insight on what motivates her to volunteer.
I value going to those events to learn, and I especially did as a young person, and I think I’m finally starting to get to a point where I can give back a little bit. … It’s helpful to me too, because just putting it together, … just sitting down and having to go through and think of things, … [is] almost like creating a checklist, which is good to do again, because you take for granted the basics sometimes, and it’s good to review them. … When I have an opportunity to do that and give back, then I think I should.”
With her speaking engagement at Commercial Real Estate tomorrow, Cathy’s first piece of advice to other lawyers thinking about volunteering is “Run, run away!” But joking aside, Cathy had some valuable advice to share about making the commitment to volunteer.
It’s important to give yourself internal timelines, so that you keep on top of it, because if you’re going to volunteer you want to make sure that you’re doing a good job. Sometimes it’s like when you’re giving students work and they have billable work and non-billable work: the non-billable work always seems … easier to push off. So you really have to give yourself some diary dates and some follow up to make sure that you’re doing the best job that you can do. And choose something that you’re comfortable with, because it will be easier to do and it’s a good start. … I think if people do get involved in something that they’re comfortable with and interested in, they will really enjoy it and might surprise themselves with what they get back out of it.”
Thanks Cathy for all your hard work and you valuable advice!
To all of our volunteers, you are fabulous! Although we didn’t mention you here today, we’re huge fans of yours. We always struggle when picking a volunteer to highlight, since so many of you deserve to be in the spotlight for your dedication and hard work!
