Courting her career

Every spring and fall, we profile just a few of our amazing graduates in our convocation handout. We proudly feature these stories here on Dal News. Congrats to all our new graduates!

“It’s been quite the journey,” says Michelle Yung, of her time leading up to graduating with a Juris Doctor (JD) from the Schulich School of Law.

Her desire to work in the judicial system was sparked at a young age, while she was following the O.J. Simpson trial with her parents. “I asked my mother, ‘Who’s the one making the decisions here?’ because it was such a major case. And she said, ‘It’s the judge. Judge Ito.’ So I replied, ‘Well, I want to be Judge Ito one day.’”

Years later, she secured a job during high school at a law firm in her hometown of Vancouver, B.C. The position solidified her interest in law and confirmed her career aspirations. Upon completion of her undergraduate degree, Yung gained invaluable experience as a judicial administrative assistant at the B.C. Superior Court Judiciary before applying to law school.

Dalhousie was her top choice, and it proved to be the right one. “There’s such a broad spectrum of people coming [to Dal Law] from across Canada; it’s so diverse, yet everyone is enthusiastic about building a community here. Even if you want to avoid [getting involved], you can’t, because everyone wants to include you,” she says with a laugh. “Plus, we have an exceptional, supportive faculty – it’s hard to go wrong.”

Yung says the sense of community on the East Coast has made the last three years memorable. Aside from her studies, she dedicated time to Feed Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia SPCA, Halifax Connects, the Schulich Career Development Committee and the Schulich Admissions Committee – a commitment that involved interviewing applicants to build the next generation of Schulich School of Law students.

Looking ahead, Yung will article with Farris Vaughan Wills & Murphy LLP in Vancouver and hopes to pursue an area of law that she had never considered before she began her studies: tax law.

“I enjoy working out of a statute where there are answers. It’s sort of like a puzzle.”