Our Interview With Jan Marin, Senior Associate at Gluckstein Lawyers

Jan specializes in professional negligence, with a particular focus on medical malpractice and birth injury litigation at Gluckstein Lawyers. A dedicated advocate, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) and actively contributes to its Interventions Committee, Litigator Editorial Board, Moot Organization Committee, and Practice Direction Committee. She is a frequent writer for the Litigator Magazine, OTLA Blog, and Medical Malpractice Newsletter and has chaired OTLA’s Medical Malpractice, New Lawyers, and Women’s sections. Committed to giving back, Jan volunteers with Pro Bono Ontario, providing legal assistance to low-income individuals through its hotline, and mentors high school students through the Ontario Justice Education Network’s mooting program. She also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, using her legal expertise to support parents, clinicians, and educators. Outside of her legal work, Jan enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and two children.

1. What motivated you to pursue a career in law?

I wanted to be in a position to effect change in the world. I also wanted to make a good living while helping others. Doing work that is varied and intellectually stimulating.

2. What do you wish you had known about the law school application process before you applied?

It's very competitive. I didn’t get in the first time I applied. Make sure you are ready and put yourself in the best position (i.e. Don’t waste time and energy applying until your grades are good and you have a good LSAT).

3. A lot of students struggle with the law school personal statement. What did your brainstorming, writing, and editing process look like, and what do you think made yours stand out from the crowd?

I had no family in law and knew no lawyers so I wasn’t sure what to include. I spoke about having two moms and how the system wouldn’t have changed without lawyers fighting for their right to marry. I chose something in my life that I thought might make me stand out and was truly why I wanted to be a lawyer. Truth be told, I don’t think the personal statements hold as much weight as students think they do.

4. What was the biggest challenge that caught you off guard when you sat down to write the LSAT? 

Everyone says that LSAT scores cannot be improved and studying does not help. That is simply not true. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. It makes a difference.

5. How much work experience did you gain before applying to law school? What opportunities did you pursue, and what helped you the most during the application process?

I had to work to put myself through undergrad and law school. I think all of the jobs put me in a much stronger position as a lawyer, a leader, and a team member. I understood how to collaborate, I understood how it felt to be lowest on the totem pole and I now know how hard assistants and clerks work and how essential they are to the team.

I’m not sure that those jobs helped specifically with the application process but they certainly were helpful in having a successful career.

6. Did you have any setbacks or rejections during the law school admissions process, and what did you learn from those experiences? 

Yes, as mentioned above, I did not get into law school the first time I applied. This is mostly because I wrote the LSAT in my second year of undergrad on the assumption that it is a logic test you cannot prepare for. After I did not get in, I took an LSAT course and significantly improved my score. If you take the test twice typically law schools will average your scores; however, if you score high enough they will take the higher. I went from a score in the 55th percentile to the 85th percentile.

7. What led you to specialize in personal injury/medical malpractice? What advice would you give to someone looking to pursue your specialty? What activities/events/opportunities would you recommend for students wanting to pursue personal injury?

Most areas of law are learned on the job so I don’t think that background really is the biggest thing. Find an area you think you will enjoy. I personally loved litigation and wanted to help people. Personal injury ticked those boxes. I wanted to fight for the ‘little guy’.

I didn’t realize at the time how interesting each case can be with different people and all of the different human factors of each case.

I ended up sub-specializing in medical malpractice because I enjoy a challenge, I enjoy continually learning and I really love the medicine.

8. How do you think AI is affecting law school admissions? 

I am not sure. I suspect that some students may use AI to help craft statements and I wonder about the ethics of this.

9. What are some emerging fields of law that you would recommend potential students to start thinking about if they want to future-proof themselves in the industry?

Medical malpractice is a growing area of law. Elder law is another growing area of law, estates will grow as our population ages. Technology and IP are certainly growing areas as well.

10. What are the biggest sacrifices you’ve had to make to pursue a career in law? 

Working as a lawyer is stressful. It is not a 9-5 job. I strongly feel it is not the right career for someone who does it for parental expectations or because of the salary. It is tough but worthwhile if you like what you do. As a mom, I am certainly less available and have less energy for parenting than if I had a less demanding job but I feel personally fulfilled which benefits my kids.

11. Bonus question: How much would we have to pay you to take the LSAT again? 

The LSAT questions are interesting and almost like an IQ test… while I wouldn’t necessarily want to do it for fun it wasn’t torture!

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