LESA is pleased to welcome this year’s summer students – Angela Beierbach and Katie Moore!
Angela and Katie have settled in nicely into their roles here at LESA, working with Counsel, Christine Sanderman and Kelsey Dick – who was a LESA summer student before becoming our Staff Lawyer.
We recently interviewed these young professionals to find out what they are up to this summer.
Happy Reading!
We chatted with Angela to get to know her a bit more and to see how she was settling in. Here’s what she had to say!
How did you become interested in law?
I always had an interest in going into law school … I majored in psychology and minored in sociology [at the University of Alberta] … [and] I have a lot of research experience in a social psychology. … [I was working] towards clinical psychology, but decided that wasn’t for me and I revisited the idea of law. It’s ever-evolving and there are countless opportunities to learn. It’s a really flexible profession, and there are a lot of different practice areas you can dabble in. Plus, you have the opportunity to work with and help people.”
Has your experience here so far pulled you in a specific direction?
I’m pretty much happy to be learning about all areas at this point. I didn’t know that I’d be interested in business law but after taking a few classes and working on the [CPLED] fundamentals, [with LESA’s Legal team] I feel like I kind of have a knack for it!”
What do you enjoy about working with LESA?
It’s a really friendly office. Everyone is so helpful and approachable and it’s a really good opportunity to learn about a whole bunch of different areas of law.”
What fun things do you have planned for the summer?
Maybe do a bike trip at the end of the summer … I love biking in the Edmonton river valley.”
Talking with Katie was a blast! She is enthusiastic and passionate about law and is excited to be a part of the LESA team. Here’s what Katie had to say!
How did you get to be where you are today?
When I graduated high school I didn’t really know where I wanted to go. … I loved reading, I loved writing, and I loved editing. Those were my favorite things. … I did my arts degree with English as my major and psychology as my minor, and it was more towards the end of my degree that I started leaning more towards law. I realized what I really loved was the deep analysis. … In law, you’re going through legislation and doing a deep analysis and figuring out what it means. … I kind of feel like the decision came around a little more organically. … Then I applied to law school … wrote my LSAT … and then I went to University of Calgary law.”
What projects do you have on the go with us right now?
Currently, our main project and the one that I’m working on the most is we’re going through the CPLED fundamentals materials [with LESA’s Legal team]. … I’m enjoying it a lot. It’s really interesting. I’m working on criminal right now and … it’s fascinating to go through. … [There is] a lot … I have learned, but a lot of it is stuff I have not yet learned … so it’s kind of a little bit of a preview of what I’m going to be seeing – especially with criminal. I find it is a bit more visceral than other areas of law.”
What do you enjoy most about working with LESA so far?
I enjoy the freedom that I get … I kind of get to explore different areas and … get to direct that in a sense. Everyone here has been really supportive of the work that I’ve been doing and encouraging me to if you’re interested in this, pursue it a little bit more; if you’re interested in that subject, keep going with it. …It’s kind of like a run with it kind of idea. Not just finish these tasks in order.”
Will you be crossing anything off of your bucket list this summer?
I am actually! I’m going to Shakespeare in the Park this summer, which has been a dream of mine since being in Edmonton.”
