CASE STUDY
Driving years of success with Practical Law Canada
A partner at the Calgary-based McLeod Law, Rishi Chakraborty is a valuable member of the firm’s business law group, focusing on mergers, acquisitions, and securities transactions. While he has been steadily advancing his career, Thomson Reuters Practical Law Canada has been a big part of that journey, serving as his go-to legal resource. “I have Practical Law bookmarked as a tab when I open my browser,” says Chakraborty. “And it’s always running in the background.”
Widespread use within McLeod Law
But Chakraborty isn’t the only proponent of Practical Law. It’s widely used throughout the firm — so much so that Chakraborty says it’s part of their training and orientation model.
Practical Law is often the de facto starting point at McLeod Law when it comes to answering client queries or finding strategic solutions to unique client challenges. Chakraborty’s initial response to any associate who asks a question is, “Have you looked at Practical Law?”
Common uses for Practical Law
While Practical Law offers a wide range of features and capabilities, common uses at McLeod include Legal Updates and Practice Notes. “We like how the information is kept up to date,” says Chakraborty. “It’s current, and it cuts down on a lot of research for lawyers across the firm in terms of navigating the current state of the law, practice points, and other items that are continuously evolving.” Throughout his career, Chakraborty has used various aspects of the tool. Now, as a partner working primarily in an advisory capacity, he finds himself turning to features like “deal summaries” in What’s Market, which are especially useful in discovering what’s current in the transaction space. “I find that extremely valuable and productive in my conversations and negotiations with opposing parties and counsel,” he adds.
Going above and beyond
Just as Practical Law has helped advance Chakraborty’s career, he’s now using it to go above and beyond for clients. While he has distinct specialty areas, he’s been able to use Practical Law to advise clients in other areas. When questions have come up about cybersecurity or data breaches, “Practical Law gives me the confidence to delve into those areas that I do not frequently practice,” he says. “And because of Practical Law, I’ve been able to include that practice area as part of my larger practice.” Using Practical Law to expand his area of expertise not only benefits Chakraborty’s career but also enables him to support existing and new clients more effectively and generate additional business for the firm.
A valuable mentor
In the legal profession, there’s always learning, there’s always help and advice from those higher up, and there’s always Practical Law. Chakraborty will attest that he and his firm would be at a disadvantage if they didn’t have this valuable tool at their disposal. He admits that he is where he is today because of Practical Law, “To a large extent, I would credit my career development to Practical Law.”
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