Law Student Rips Up Biglaw Offer For Canadian Pride
Going to the New York office of a multibillion-dollar international Biglaw firm right out of law school is a tried-and-true way to start your legal career. After all, Manhattan is the largest legal market in the United States and having a well-respected Biglaw firm on your resume is likely to be a benefit throughout your working life. And, by all accounts, that *was* Erik De Lorenzi’s plan.
De Lorenzi is also a proud Canadian. And given all of United States President Donald Trump’s animosity towards his homeland — with the trade war and threats of annexation — the notion of moving to the U.S. and paying taxes there was incredibly uncomfortable for him. So he changed his plans. As he proclaimed in a recent LinkedIn post, he’s keeping his legal talents in Canada.
Each generation of Canadians gets to define what it means to be a Canadian. I’ve never stood a post. But all of us are capable of answering the call in our own way.
So I am proud to have torn up my offer and with it, my plans to start my legal career as a corporate lawyer in Manhattan. Instead, I will stay in Canada to start my practice with Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP in Toronto where I will support Canadian companies creating jobs and prosperity right here at home and not south of the border.
I know thousands of young Canadians working abroad or planning to start careers in the US are thinking the same. Here’s hoping many decide to make a different choice! hashtag#canada hashtag#proudcanadian hashtag#never51st
The comments on De Lorenzi’s post are a heartwarming pile-on of Canadian love, with University of Toronto Law professor Geoffrey Turner saying, “It is good to see your example as the possible start of a reverse-brain-drain trend among law students. Canada (and Davies) are better for it.”
De Lorenzi’s bold stance is especially notable given the silence and outright cowardice we are seeing from a lot of corners of Biglaw. Kudos to him for standing up for something he believes in.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
