* By Michael Woods – Senior Partner at Woods, LaFortune LLP
After 35 years in both government and private practice, I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to build a fruitful career in international trade law. My own personal path to the exciting work I’ve had the privilege to participate in with respect to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), World Trade Organization (WTO), and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) disputes and negotiations actually started in the small Northern Ontario town of Wawa.
In recent years, I have often been approached by law students and new lawyers with questions about a career in the international trade law field. Often times, the question is in terms of “if” rather than “how”. While it is certainly a challenging area and a career path which may not be as straight forward as fields such as civil litigation, family, criminal and employment law, it is my view that international trade law is a great area for students and new lawyers to consider.
In Canada, we have a great tradition and many world class international trade practitioners in both government and in the private sector. In my opinion, more should be done to connect the lawyers in these “two solitudes”. We should work together to leverage Canada’s special bi-juridical tradition because globalization and the growing complexity of the rules governing international trade and investment has created a need for strong international lawyers. Some of the “next generation” who have sought out my advice on the profession have told me that they have been discouraged by warnings that the odds are against those with trade law ambitions. Personally, I always encourage those who are passionate to follow their dreams and tell them about the one lawyer who successfully did.
Attached is the text of my March 212 remarks to the International Law Students Association of the University of Ottawa on the topic of careers in international trade law – Speech to International Law Students Association University of Ottawa 2012
