Photo courtesy of Janson Fu
By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
A 2L student in the Dual JD Program at Detroit Mercy Law and the University of Windsor Faculty of Law, Janson Fu earned an HBSc. degree in astronomy and physics from the University of Toronto.
“I was drawn to the intellectually challenging and interesting material,” he says. “To think we could discover so much about the universe while stationed on this tiny rock of a home was stunning and I wanted to learn more about the theories behind stellar phenomena.”
He went on to earn a BEd from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, inspired by past experiences with high school teachers.
“Teaching, mentoring, and supporting students was their passion, and I wanted to be able to help others in a similar way,” he says. “In my undergraduate degree, I had the opportunity to teach STEM-oriented programs to grade school students and had a wonderful time bonding with students and colleagues.”
These experiences, and his desire to refine his ability to help others, led Fu to pursue a teaching degree. Since teachers meet a variety of people with different backgrounds, a successful teacher adjusts the teaching approach to the needs of each individual student, requiring a deep understanding of the student, Fu notes, adding that teaching is an exercise of effective and efficient problem-solving, requiring critical thinking, collaboration, and, most importantly, empathy.
“Empathy allows you to understand the needs of your students,” he says. “Critical thinking allows you to draw from your knowledge, experiences, and resources to develop teaching approaches that help to facilitate student growth and success. Collaboration skills allow you to go beyond your skillset to learn from and work with others to meet or exceed your objectives.
“Being a successful lawyer and advocate requires a similar skill set, and I’m truly fortunate to have had the opportunities to develop these skills.”
While Fu ultimately did not pursue a career in teaching, his passion for problem-solving and using his knowledge, skills, and experiences to help others never wavered; and when he took time to plan out his next steps, his mind was drawn to practicing law.
“In many ways, I could accomplish what I wanted to do with teaching. I could work closely with clients and use my knowledge and expertise to help them accomplish their goals,” he says.
“I’ve always had a passion for learning, instilled in me by my mother, who loved to learn but was unable to continue her education after immigrating to Canada. When I discovered the Dual JD Program, I was very interested to learn I could study American and Canadian law in a single program, with the opportunity to pursue my passion and continue my education.”
Fu appreciates the community of Detroit Mercy Law.
“The students here are supportive of each other, as is the faculty,” he says. “Students are happy to help each other, and professors are happy to spend time outside classes to address questions or chat. A supportive community is very important to me, especially when it comes to learning, so I appreciate that I’m a student here.”
At the completion of his 1L year Fu was a summer student at Dentons in Toronto, a leading global law firm with offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.
“What I enjoyed most was the opportunity to have a real lawyering experience,” he says. “The summer student program was rotational, allowing me to assist different groups. I worked on transactions with lawyers, conducted legal research, and learned about a lawyer’s role in regulatory and transactional matters. The lawyers I worked with were also receptive to questions and provided detailed feedback. My cohort was wonderful, and the student program was well structured, making my summer at Dentons a valuable experience.”
In his 1L year, Fu says the Pro Bono Students Canada program was a valuable experience.
“I enjoyed working with other students to research interesting issues and learning how to effectively communicate that research to the public to make that information accessible,” he says.
Currently serving as senior editor of the Windsor Review of Legal and Social Issues, Fu is particularly interested in litigation.
“I enjoy developing my oral and written advocacy skills and find being in court exciting,” he says. “It also feels like I’m more involved in assisting clients with their issues. I haven’t decided what area I want to focus my litigation interest in yet, but I know I want to be in court as much as possible.
“While my goals aren’t set in stone, I hope to be able to practice law at the highest level possible—whether that’s as a judge, partner, or in-house counsel will depend on circumstances that will change with time. One thing for certain is that I want to incorporate mentorship as much as possible in my career,” he adds. “Mentorship is very important to me, and I attribute a lot of my development and success to my mentors. I intend to incorporate mentorship into my long-term goals to support the generation of lawyers that will come after me.”
Fu currently is interning at the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office and also interning at the Veterans Law Clinic at Detroit Mercy Law.
“I’m intent on developing my advocacy skills—nothing is more involved than being in a courtroom or actively developing a client’s claim,” he says. “By having both experiences, I hope to develop a broad perspective, grounded in empathy, on the practical impacts law has on people.”
Fu managed the challenge of remote studies during the pandemic by separating his time at home from work time, creating a schedule for class time, studying, and completing assignments or other class-related obligations.
“Obviously, being at home all of the time results in some spillover from personal obligations, but I tried to minimize that,” he says. “Another way to deal with remote studying is to be flexible. This flexibility allowed me to meet any obligations and shift my priorities in order to stay on top of my school work.”
Currently living in Windsor, Fu plans to return to Toronto after law school, but in the meantime, he enjoys spending time this side of the border in the Motor City.
“What I enjoy most about Detroit are the restaurants. I’d never been to Detroit before law school, so I’m still discovering new things about the city,” he says. “I love food and trying new foods from different cultures, and Detroit and the surrounding area have been great to do just that.”
Away from his studies, Fu’s principal hobbies are astrophotography and rock climbing.
“I love astrophotography because it’s all about planning things out and building up that anticipation for the ultimate reveal of your image. It requires a lot of time tinkering, waiting for clear nights, acquiring good images, and processing all that data, but it’s always worth it in the end,” he says.
“I also enjoy rock climbing because it’s almost like a physical puzzle. You must figure out how to complete a route using your capabilities and unique climbing style, and sometimes it takes hours before you finally complete the climb. Like astrophotography, the end result is what makes me love the hobby.”
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