Dough Life: A Day in the Life of a Legal Coordinator/Analyst

Name: Maria Reyes

Role: Legal Coordinator/Analyst

About Me

Hi everyone! I’m Maria Reyes. I graduated in 2019 from University of Toronto with a double major in Political Science and Philosophy, and a minor in Ethics and Law.

I am currently working at multiple franchising companies (primarily with Tutor Doctor Canada Inc.) as a legal coordinator and a legal analyst. This involves consulting our franchisees, corresponding with legal counsel, and drafting multiple legal documents/contracts. What I like best about my role is having the opportunity to act as a consultant.

1. What is your role? What does your job entail?

I work in legal at a franchising company called Tutor Doctor Canada Inc. Our franchisees sell one-to-one tutoring to their clients in their respective territories. We have numerous franchisees who operate under this model within North America and internationally.

My job is very dynamic. In one aspect, I work in legal and draft many of our legal documents. Examples of this are Agreements, Amendments, Franchise Disclosure Documents, legal letters, etc. It’s very important for me to be very knowledgeable with Canadian and international law.

Alternatively, I work as a consultant to franchisees on their business and potential exits with our company. This involves business analysis and risk management. I often have meetings with franchisees to discuss their business, and advise them on possible options which are suitable for them moving forward.

2. What does a typical day look like for you? How is your work-life balance?

A typical work day for me starts off with managing my day. I often have busy days with meetings booked with our franchisees, legal counsel and my internal team, as well as doing tasks associated with these meetings. It’s important for me to organize my day based on priorities, and to be flexible if anyone requires me.

My work days aren’t very typical or regular. It’s often a combination of meetings, drafting paperwork, answering emails and compiling reports.

In regards to a work-life balance, my company makes an emphasis to promote a balanced work-life culture. I remember during the interview process, my manager was keen to promote that the office is focused on work-life balance. I didn’t really experience this until I started working there. Our company was designed to be very modern, similar to tech companies. We have a games room to de-stress while we’re at work, there’s flexibility to work from home, non-work related activities (such as beer cart Friday’s) are common, and I receive so much support from my team.

As someone who worked while in school and had been in stressful legal environments, it was really important for me to have that work-life balance culture as I transitioned into full-time. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this company and to work with this team.

3. What appealed to you about this particular organization?

There are several reasons why I chose this company.

The first is the actual role which I would be assuming. As I mentioned earlier, I was working while I was in school (whether it be part-time, volunteer opportunities or internships). I had the opportunity to experiment and find out what I liked. I knew from these experiences that I liked working in a legal role or in the scope of the legal field, which attracted me to this position.

I also liked the first impression I received when entering the building for the interview. I think location matters, especially in consideration that I may commit myself to this company long-term. Additionally, I was keen to note the open concept of the building and the games room integrated in the office space. While aesthetics may be of minimal value for others, for me, these added touches were a bonus.

Lastly, I was attracted to the opportunities my company offered. The parent company of Tutor Doctor is Clear Summit Group. Clear Summit owns multiple franchising businesses like WSI Digital Marketing, Qualicare, Recruiting in Motion, Fuzz Wax Bar and College Pro. While working at Tutor Doctor, I was able to work with these various companies on their projects. Growth was really important to me while job searching, and I was lucky to work in a company that offers both vertical and horizontal growth.

4. What aspects of your job do you enjoy? What keeps you up at night?

What I enjoy about my job is my role and my company. My role is always fast-paced and always changing. I respect how nothing is really mundane about my professional life, and how there’s always something to keep me interested.

Additionally, as readers may have already noted, I hold such a high regard for my coworkers and the internal opportunities. The people in my company are so supportive and willing to teach you skills which are not limited to your role. It helps that I have such a fun time working alongside them too.

What keeps me up at night are the consequences of working in legal. It’s easy to think about working as a lawyer and the kinds of jobs you’ll get associated with by working in legal. What not a lot of people may consider is the ethical involvement with working and interpreting the law, and the clients that you’ll represent. What keeps me up at night is the stress of making a costly mistake that may be at the expense of a franchisee or my company. It’s very important for me to be very meticulous with my work, knowing the ethics it involves and the potential repercussions.

I don’t think individuals should be intimidated by the thought of entering the legal realm. That is not my intention when I state the above. However, I do want to give full disclosure of what happens in reality when you choose to enter the legal profession, as this is something that may not be explicitly stated in the classroom.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

5. What would the ideal candidate look like? Describe any relevant skills, experiences, traits, etc.

In essence, the ideal candidate must have the following skills:

1. The candidate must fit into the company culture

2. Have high attention to detail

3. Have relevant experience to the role

The first bullet refers to the soft skills involved. It was important for my company to have a candidate who would fit in with their employees. This involves having the right attitude and mindset (how you’ll get along with others, your willingness to learn, etc.). A job is a long-term commitment and I don’t think that this decision is ever easy for companies to make.

I often make the analogy that job searching is like dating. Sometimes you don’t find the “right fit” (as companies may say in their response to you). This is definitely a tough response to hear, but it’s important to stay motivated. Once you find a company where there is a mutual fit with your goals and values, you will do amazing things together.

For number 2 and 3, these are more hard/technical skills relevant to the role. You need a high attention to detail to be able to read and interpret legal documents, as well as have relevant experience to the role.

On a side note, I think the above is a really good question, and I often encourage job applicants to ask this.

6. What did the application/interview process look like for you? How did you get your foot in the door?

The interview process is a bit of an interesting story.

The initial process is pretty standard. I found the job on Indeed and submitted my application. This involved my resume and a cover letter. The recruiter called me to ask screening questions (my education, professional background, and expectations). From there, I was invited to an in-person interview.

When I had my in-person interview with my manager, it was rather enjoyable. I had a lot of fun learning more about the company and the role. My manager did ask some tricky interview questions which was rather surprising, but nothing impossible to answer.

After the interview, there was supposed to be a final interview with the Director of Operations. However, I was able to skip this process. During this time, I was receiving competing offers from other companies which I used as leverage. Due to this, Tutor Doctor enabled me to skip the final interview and present an offer to me, which I evidently accepted.

7. How did you stand out in the application process?

In the initial process (i.e. submitting my resume), I think I had strong experiences outside of my education. It’s important for me to build my professional experiences in addition to my educational background. What initially caught the recruiter’s eye is my work experience which was relevant to the role.

In the actual interview process, I would argue that my personality is what stood out. I am naturally the type of person that enjoys interviewing. I like to talk to new people and learn new things. I can honestly say that I am genuinely interested and motivated to learn more about a company.

Additionally, I like to answer hard questions, and even more so, I like to ask hard questions back. Confidence is key, especially when you know you have skills that are an asset to a company.

8. Looking back, was there anything you could have improved during your application process, or mistakes that you noticed other applicants had made?

If there’s anything I would like to improve on, it would be my cover letter. While I believe that the bulk of my cover letter is ok, I do think that it lacked some personalization. I remember applying to multiple companies using a similar format in my cover letter. While some companies may not even look at the cover letter, it’s good to show effort in the odd chance that they do.

9. Were there any surprises in your job search experience or things you wished you had known earlier?

One of the biggest surprises in my job search experience is how having “the right fit” matters so much.

As stated, I did have other offers in line before I chose to pursue my current role. Before this, I actually had an offer that I accepted at another company. I fell in love with this company, its projections, and perks. The role was interesting as well, but not within a field that motivated me very much. Internally, I could feel that I wasn’t very attracted to the role, but decided to look past this and accepted the job due to the benefits.

On my first day at work, that feeling inside me continued to grow. It was just not settling in no matter how much I rationalized the situation. After talking to my partner, I decided to no longer work there. For me, the company was not the right fit and I could not move forward knowing this fact. It just wasn’t going to work out.

This company did offer me free tickets to a company-wide Blue Jays game during my first day. While it was regrettable that I did not get to go, this was a minor negative point compared to the great feeling of having this weight lifted off of me.

I believe that for students coming straight out of post-secondary, it’s easy to be attracted to a job and to receive offers. My advice for new graduates is to trust your gut. Even if the wait is a little longer, you’ll know that you’ll be better off in the long run.

10. What advice would you give to someone who wants to break into your role/program?

The advice that I would give is to always look for, and apply for legal opportunities. Build yourself up prior to entering the full-time job market. (Examples: part-time jobs, volunteering, internships, clubs, and side projects.) This can give you the leverage you need during the interview process, and can give you the background information and pre-training for the role.

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