 I have long admired the next leading lawyer profiled in this series: Bindu Cudjoe, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Technology & Operations Legal & Chief Knowledge Officer at BMO Financial (now that's a title!).
We first met as colleagues at McMillan LLP and I've been watching Bindu's career skyrocket ever since. Read on to learn more about Bindu's in-house role and her confidence that one day we will have a more inclusive and diverse profession: 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business: I started out in practice as a secured lending lawyer, representing banks as they made large loans (cross-border, syndicated, collateralized) to their clients, first at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and then McMillan LLP. Now I am in-house counsel at BMO Financial Group where I have had a variety of roles, from senior counsel for the Canadian Commercial business, to associate general counsel in Capital Markets covering corporate banking, trade finance and correspondent banking, and then into management-focused roles, first as Chief Operating Officer for the legal and compliance group (overseeing HR, finance, real estate, communications and the outside counsel management program for the bank) and most recently as Chief Knowledge Officer for the legal and compliance group (overseeing our group’s technology and knowledge management initiatives, project management and board reporting and the enterprise’s eDiscovery and litigation support work). In addition to Chief Knowledge Officer, I am also the deputy general counsel for the legal team supporting technology, operations, real estate, marketing, procurement and information risk (including cyber risk, privacy and data loss/retention). It’s been quite a ride! 2. Why did you go to law school? Fundamentally, I wanted to learn a lot of stuff, and help people. I studied business for my undergrad, and while I seriously considered management consulting, I pursued law because I loved the idea of unlocking the language of law to help people navigate the complexity of issues in their lives. I think it’s a great privilege to have the training and discipline that the legal profession requires and to be able to apply that understanding to solve problems for our clients, and for us, our customers. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? Design, mostly. I am very goal oriented and struck out to complete school as efficiently as possible, and then to climb the law ladder as efficiently as possible. So when I got to partnership (brass ring! Goal reached!) at McMillan, I had to take a hard look at myself, my purpose, and my professional priorities, and think about what I wanted to do when there was no obvious next goal. My desires to learn and help people remained so I chose to leave one terrific organization to join another terrific organization to learn and apply different skills, in a different environment. At BMO, I have been able to apply the commitment to client service, technical legal excellence and entrepreneurship that I learned in the law firm environment and develop new skills around business operations, people management and driving change to take on new roles and accountabilities, where I continue to learn and help people (our clients and my team). The chance part is that the step I took has led to opportunities I couldn’t have imagined! 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? My family. I have an enriching professional life and it is made all the better because I am a partner to my supportive husband (20 years this month!), a mother to three beautiful children, and a daughter to my loving parents. I didn’t let fear of not being able to “do it all” drive trade-offs on the ‘what’ [but believe me, there are trade-offs on the ‘how’!] and I am proud that I am an example to other women, bumps, bruises and all. 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? Setting unrealistic expectations for ourselves and then not allowing anyone to help us. Goals are not expectations. No one is perfect. No one can do it all on their own. We need support, encouragement and community. We need to learn how to face and overcome challenges (big and little), and thrive. And that takes practice. Developing resilience is our greatest opportunity – it is what keeps us trying even when the systemic barriers remain, when we stumble over difficult clients, when we struggle to juggle all of the responsibilities we have at work and home. The drive to keep trying is powerful, and it means that one day we will see meaningful inclusion throughout society so we can reap the benefits of diverse perspectives and experiences. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? Be excited! What a great time to start practicing – everything is up for grabs! Clients, economic forces and technology are changing how law is delivered and by whom, and is the chance for women to take their seat at the table. Women clients (in big organizations and in their own creations) are increasingly influential. Let’s build a truly inclusive world so women and men can contribute and build together. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you Bindu for taking the time to participate in this series! ICYMI: Previous posts profiled Elliot Spears, Jessica Prince, Anu K. Sandhu, Claire Hatcher, Esi Codjoe, Kate Dewhirst, Jennifer Taylor, Rebecca Durcan, Atrisha Lewis, Vandana Sood, Kathryn Manning, Kim Hawkins, Kyla Lee, and Eva Chan. Sign up to have these profiles sent directly to your email address and stay tuned for the next post soon! The "Women Leading in Law" series focuses on good news stories and highlights amazing women succeeding in the legal profession. Each post includes the profiled lawyer's answers to six questions. Prepare to be inspired! The series will continue until December 2018. If you have suggestions of women to be profiled please reach out.
0 Comments
 One of the (many) things that I love about this series is seeing how every lawyer's career path is unique. Some paths are winding, some straight as an arrow, and some with lengthy detours. Today's blog post features Elliot Spears who has been successful in climbing the corporate/legal ladder to a top role of General Counsel of the Law Society of Ontario.
Elliot was brought to my attention by Sandra Adams who works with Elliot at the LSO. In an email to me Sandra had so many wonderful things to say about her "boss" and suggested I profile Elliot as she "definitely qualifies as an amazing woman doing some amazing things in law". Read on to learn more about these amazing things and Elliot's important advice on being true to yourself as a lawyer and how to go after what you want for your legal career: 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business: I work for the Law Society of Ontario. I am its General Counsel and I am a member of the Law Society’s Senior Management Executive. As a member of the Law Society’s Senior Management Executive, I am responsible for contributing to the successful operation of the Law Society by providing strategic legal and other advice. As General Counsel, I am responsible for providing the organization with any legal services that it may need (outside of legal services connected with the regulatory operations of the Law Society). These legal services can range from litigation services to opinion work in a variety of areas of law to contract review and drafting to employment and labour law advice to legislative drafting services to legal and policy research services, to name a few. These legal services are provided either by the counsel that work in the Office of General Counsel or by external counsel that the Office retains. In the Office of General Counsel, I have the privilege of working with a team of very talented and dedicated individuals. Together, they possess a wide range of legal knowledge and skills which serve the Law Society well. The Law Society is also fortunate for all the external counsel who assist it from time to time. These counsel give to the profession. In return, they are handed an always interesting and challenging brief. Needless to say, as the overseer of all this work, I consider myself fortunate to have so many opportunities to deal with a variety of complex and engaging matters. 2. Why did you go to law school? When I was nearing the end of my undergraduate studies (I was working towards a B.Sc. in Psychology (with a minor in English)), I knew that I wasn’t quite finished with academic learning. I thought that I would go on to graduate school to study Clinical Psychology. At what was probably the very last moment to start the application process for law school (if I wanted to start right after receiving my B.Sc. degree), I was lured by the intellectual challenges that present themselves in law. So I sat the last writing of the LSAT that academic year (little to no preparation), applied to all the law schools in the country and ended up at Osgoode Hall Law School that Fall. Maybe I did it on a whim. Or, maybe, as often happens with my life choices, I let my unconscious self (which knows me better than anyone else) drive my conscious decisions. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? I started working at the Law Society very shortly after my Call to the Bar, first on a few project specific contracts, then as back fill for a lawyer who had taken a leave of absence to pursue graduate studies, before joining as permanent staff. I like to say that I “grew up” at the Law Society, because my entire career to date has been spent there. I have had some great mentors and role models there, many of whom probably were never aware that they had a significant impact on me. I spent some ten years working as policy counsel, research counsel, legislative counsel and legal counsel before becoming a “manager”. It was probably that transition to management that was the beginning of the journey to where I am today. When I think back to that transition, I can’t help but recall a particular moment in time when I wasn’t happy about how a situation was unfolding and I was more expressive (than I was ever known to be in the workplace) about my unhappiness. Someone who was in a senior position at the time invited me to lunch and asked me what it was that I wanted. I was pretty clear in my answer that I wanted to be in a position to lead certain situations; in other words, I was no longer content to be a “doer” only. I received a lot of advice about how to get what I wanted. As is my tendency, I assessed the advice and followed the portion of it that resonated with me. Shortly thereafter, I got what I asked for – that first management position. This new role brought me exposure to new issues and challenges and opportunities to showcase skills that I hadn’t yet had a chance to use. I grew personally, opportunities to grow professionally followed and here I am: the Law Society’s General Counsel. Is any or all of that design? Or chance? It’s hard for me to say. I have made conscious choices in my life. I have worked hard to acquire the knowledge and skills that I have. I have also worked hard to understand myself – what motivates me, what challenges me, what makes me happy. Mentors and role models (known and unknown) have helped me tremendously in both areas. One thing that I’ve learned about myself is that I embrace living in the present. If opportunities arise that work well with who I am, then I will go for it. I think it’s the combination of these things that have brought me to where I am today. 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? During my time at the Law Society, I have had the privilege of contributing work to many interesting projects and issues. A few examples include the overhaul of the Law Society Act in the late 1990s that modernized the Law Society as a regulator and, for a very long time, served as an innovative example of a regulatory framework and the overhaul of the Law Society Act at the beginning of the 2000s that saw the Law Society become the regulator of legal services providers other than lawyers. While I consider some of my work on these types of projects as some of my most significant achievements, other than myself and a few other people knowing about my specific contributions, there is nothing to publicly identify my role. This is part and parcel of working for an organization with a voice like that of the Law Society. Many individuals contribute to develop its message and those contributions often represent significant personal achievements, but those individual contributions and achievements are, in the end, subsumed by the whole. I would say that those who work in such situations are often motivated by the projects, issues or challenges themselves; it is about creating something or doing something interesting. This certainly describes me. Putting aside these “hidden” achievements, a recent professional achievement that I am proud of is the bringing together of the individuals who make up the Office of General Counsel (at the Law Society). On a more personal note, I am proud of recently taking up some activities that, until I tried them, I would have considered as being completely outside my comfort zone -- kickboxing and foil fencing. I have always identified with being an “artsy” person (pursuing all sorts of artistic endeavours) and I never would have dreamt that the day would come when I would become interested in, much less pursue, a martial art (let alone two!). But that day did come, and I am glad that it did. I have learned so much about myself (and people) that I can’t recommend highly enough the experience of stepping outside one’s comfort zone and who you think you are. 5. What are some key challenges and (more importantly) opportunities for women in law? I think that there are many opportunities for women in law. Certainly, there has been a lot of progress in the availability of opportunities for women in law, although there is still work to be done to achieve equality. Speaking personally, I have to acknowledge that I have had many opportunities in my legal career to date. Still, a frustration for me has been the existence of stereotypes in the profession and the fact that opportunities may come attached with these stereotypes. To go back to your earlier question about achievements, one of the things that I am most proud of in my career is having become the Law Society’s General Counsel all while staying true to who I am. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? Do it because you want to do it. Do everything to the best of your ability. Know yourself. Be true to who you are. Do it your way. And make sure to have something in place that will restore you after your battles, be it a family and/or friend support system or some activity outside of the legal world. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thank you so much for participating in this series Elliot. I agree that it is important to "do it your way". If you stay true to yourself, you significantly increase your chances of being happy in your legal career! ICYMI: Previous posts profiled Jessica Prince, Anu K. Sandhu, Claire Hatcher, Esi Codjoe, Kate Dewhirst, Jennifer Taylor, Rebecca Durcan, Atrisha Lewis, Vandana Sood, Kathryn Manning, Kim Hawkins, Kyla Lee, and Eva Chan. Sign up to have these profiles sent directly to your email address and stay tuned for the next post soon! The "Women Leading in Law" series focuses on good news stories and highlights amazing women succeeding in the legal profession. Each post includes the profiled lawyer's answers to six questions. Prepare to be inspired! The series will continue until December 2018. If you have suggestions of women to be profiled please reach out. Recap: "Fostering Women Leadership in the Legal Profession" by the Toronto Lawyers Association5/15/2018  I attended a wonderful evening program at the Toronto Lawyers Association last week that addressed the topic of fostering women leadership in the legal profession. This program was a nice complement to my #WomenLeadingInLaw series and provided some helpful advice on how women can succeed in leadership roles in law. The program was moderated by Edona Vila of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and the speakers were: Kerry O’Reilly Wilks, Head of Legal, North America & UK, Vale S.A.; Fernando Garcia, General Counsel, Government Affairs and Corporate Secretary, Nissan Canada Inc.; Arleen Huggins, Litigation Partner, Koskie Minksy LLP and head of the firm’s Employment Law Group (as well as the Women's Law Association of Ontario's President's Award winner for 2018); and Leola Pon, General Counsel for the Toronto District School Board. Edona advised that there were two themes the program hoped to address: the first being the leadership journey and progress of women in law, and the second, how to seize opportunities for leadership. Some takeaways from the evening:
Thanks TLA for another wonderful program!   I'm mixing things up a bit for this Women Leading in Law post: I am happy to profile Jessica Prince, a lawyer who is using her legal skills to succeed in leadership in the political arena. Jessica previously held the position of Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Jody Wilson-Raybould, and I am super excited to announce that Jessica has just started her new role as Chief of Staff to Minister Wilson-Raybould. My husband introduced me to Jessica at a lawyer event several years ago and we've run into each other at various events since. While I already had her on my "wish list", several other people suggested that I profile Jessica in this series. It was a no-brainer. Read on to learn more about Jessica's transition from law to law & politics and her insights on the importance of mentoring and networking in a legal career: 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business: I spent five years as a litigator in private practice on Bay Street. I was lucky to land articles at the Toronto office of Lerners LLP, where I was exposed to a wide variety of litigation work and had a fantastic mentor in Gillian Hnatiw. After my call to the bar in 2011, I joined the litigation team at Thornton Grout Finnigan LLP, a dynamic boutique that specializes in commercial litigation and bankruptcy work. My clients were mainly corporations, banks, and wealthy individuals. I had the good fortune to appear as counsel before the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, and to act in a dispute against the Province of Ontario over the cancellation of the Oakville power plant. I worked closely with Michael Barrack, who is an exceptional litigator and was a great mentor as well. After a couple of years, I was itching for a litigation practice beyond just commercial work and was keen for more opportunities on my feet. That lead me to Polley Faith LLP, a new boutique firm of - at the time - eight lawyers doing a really exciting array of litigation work. I got the more varied practice that I was Iooking for and more of my own advocacy opportunities. My files encompassed some commercial litigation, but also general civil work, professional regulatory work, and some criminal defence. Appearing as counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada in Carter, the landmark medical assistance in dying case, was a career highlight for me. After the federal election in late 2015, I was offered the opportunity to join the office of the newly-appointed federal Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould. I was to be a Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister. It was impossible for me to say no. By January 2016, I was in Ottawa, working on the new medical assistance in dying legislation that was a response to the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Carter. I was also the point person in our office on the legalization of cannabis file, and assisted the Minister with sexual assault law reform. As a law student intern in our office said to me, the job was like “Disneyland for lawyers.” The work was incredibly interesting, socially meaningful, and had an enormous impact. I loved it. As 2017 drew to a close, I left my role in the Minister’s Office - with a heavy heart - so that I could spend more time with my Toronto-based partner. We travelled the world for 3 months (which I highly recommend to everyone!) and are now back in Toronto, where I am currently exploring options for my next professional opportunity. [Editor's Note: Jessica provided me with these answers several weeks ago. As noted above, they have moved back to Ottawa where Jessica has taken the role of Chief of Staff to Minister Wilson-Raybould] 2. Why did you go to law school? I studied Canadian political science as an undergraduate at McGill. As my degree was wrapping up, I remember thinking, “I have a BA in poli sci, so what now?”. In my final year, I debated between pursuing a Masters degree in political science and going straight to law school. I was lucky enough to be offered a scholarship to pursue a joint Masters degree at McGill and Sciences-Po in Paris. However, my dad - who is a professor himself - convinced me that, unless I planned to get a PhD and become a professor, there was not much sense in getting a standalone Masters. I had already written the LSAT and had expressed an interest in law, so why not just go to law school straight away? So, that’s what I did. I had applied to law schools across Canada and a few in the US, but ultimately ended up accepting at the University of Oxford. Law is an undergraduate degree in the UK, but as someone who already had a university degree, I was able to pursue the three year degree program in two years. As such, I completed my BA in what Oxford calls “jurisprudence.” In 2009, after completing the Bar Vocational Course, I was called to the Bar of England & Wales. For a variety of reasons, I decided that a legal career in England was not for me and that I wanted to return home to Canada. After completing my bar course in London, I decided that I would apply to have my law degree recognized back home in Canada, apply to article at a law firm in Toronto, and prepare to write the Ontario bar exams. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? I would say both design and chance were at play. I have never been a “five or 10 year plan” kind of person, but I always knew that I wanted to litigate. I had done a bunch of debating in high school and in university, which I absolutely loved, so when I was studying law and deciding where to apply for articles, I knew that I wanted advocacy to be a big part of my practice. While I did not know exactly what area of law I would focus on and was pretty open to opportunities as they presented themselves, the fact that I knew that I wanted to be a litigator helped guide my decision-making early on. Making the transition to politics was a bit serendipitous. Granted, I had always been interested in Canadian politics and I had been involved with the Liberal Party of Canada in a volunteer capacity since high school. However, I did not necessarily see myself taking paid employment in a political role. I always thought politics would be a fun extra-curricular activity on top of my paid gig as a lawyer. That changed after the federal election of 2015. A mentor connected me to someone in Jody Wilson-Raybould’s office and told me to send in my CV. On a whim, I did and, to my surprise, I was quickly interviewed and hired. I would say that move involved a bit of luck, but I also had the right experience and the right political credentials for the job. Deciding to leave the more traditional and well-worn track of private practice also took a bit of daring on my part. In my career so far, I have been very lucky. However, I will also acknowledge that I actively maintain my network and that network has always helped me. Apart from my articling position, I have never gotten a job via a recruiter or a posting in the ORs. All of my professional moves have been the product of my network; being connected to the right people, making it known what I am looking for, and being willing to take those leaps. No matter where you are in your career or how happy you may be in your current gig, keep that network alive. It can only ever help you. 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? My most significant professional achievement revolves around the Carter case and subsequent government legislation. When I was still in private practice, Harry Underwood (who is an incredible lawyer and wonderful person) and I were retained by the Canadian Medical Association to intervene on their behalf at the Supreme Court of Canada in the Carter matter. The case involved two women who were seeking the assistance of a doctor to end their lives. By the time the case made its way up to the Supreme Court, no physician organization had been heard from, despite the fact that what was being discussed necessarily involved the assistance of physicians. The CMA was unique as an intervenor, as they were the only one not to take a position on the ultimate issue (i.e. whether or not the absolute prohibition on physician assisted dying was constitutional). Rather, the CMA was of the view that the perspective and concerns of physicians, who as a profession were split on the question itself, should be considered by the Court. Appearing before the Supreme Court of Canada as counsel in that case is an experience that I will never forget. Little did I know that, shortly after having worked on the case, I would be hired as an advisor in the office of a Minister charged with drafting the legislative response to the decision. Given the Court-imposed timeline, there was an urgency to the Government’s actions. After an extensive consultation process with stakeholders, Bill C-14 was introduced in the spring of 2016 and was passed by the time Parliament rose for the summer. As a lawyer, it was incredible to see how Ministers make decisions, legislation is drafted, how it works its way through the House and the Senate, and is amended by Committees along the way. I gained a whole new appreciation for the work of counsel - in this case, policy counsel and legislative drafters who work in the federal government - for the extensive and important work that they had to do under enormous time pressure and intense public scrutiny. The political science nerd in me couldn’t believe that I got to have a front row seat to such an important piece of Canadian political history! 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? When I was in private practice, I was on Bay Street. Unfortunately, that slice of the profession is still disproportionately male, especially in areas like commercial litigation. While I got incredible experience and learned from some fantastic mentors early in my career, it was not unusual for me to be the only woman in the room. I remember one occasion in my first couple years of practice, attending at the Commercial List as counsel, looking around the courtroom, and realizing that all of the other lawyers (nearly 15 of them) and the judge were all men. While it was not an every-day occurrence, I experienced condescension and rudeness from senior male counsel on several occasions. This came in the form of nasty voicemail messages, snide remarks at discovery, or whispered barbs in the courtroom out of earshot of the judge. It was hard for me to pinpoint whether this was happening because I was female, because I was younger, or both. Regardless, the experience was disheartening. More than anything, having senior female mentors in the profession who I could turn to for advice helped me. Here is an important opportunity though: some clients actually care about diversity. I saw this with some of my corporate clients. Some had female in-house counsel who made it known that they wanted to see women on their external legal teams. Other clients had explicit policies requiring gender diversity on their legal teams. This is clearly the direction that society is moving in and - while law is usually behind the ball on these issues - our profession should catch up. Another opportunity: I have an incredible network of women lawyers across the profession. When I was still in practice, we would refer work to each other, and if we had a file in an area that none of us could cover, for example a real estate matter, we would fish around for names of female real estate lawyers and make sure that the work went to a woman. Show your sisters some love and send them your conflict work. Politics is a male-dominated world too, but it is changing. In 2015, Prime Minister Trudeau showed real leadership on this issue by appointing a gender equal Cabinet. This was historic. At the time, some media commentators suggested that this would somehow dilute the quality of the Cabinet; if anything, time has shown that some of the Cabinet’s strongest performers are female. My former boss, Minister Wilson-Raybould, is an excellent example of this. Politics also taught me the importance of role modelling. This is an opportunity for women as well. Minister Wilson-Raybould is the third woman to be Canada’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and the first Indigenous person. Countless times, I saw young women and Indigenous people approach her, and tell her how important it was to them that she was in this role. I cannot understate how powerful that was to witness. Role modelling and mentoring matter. If you are a woman in a position to inspire and advise others, do it. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? Remember your values and what matters to you. You can’t plan your whole career out. There will be unanticipated challenges and opportunities. People will disappoint you and others will surprise you. You won’t always have the answers or know what path to take. Remembering what matters to you and what you value can guide your decision-making. Keeping these considerations top of mind will help you decide what jobs you take, the sort of work that you do in those roles, what you spend your non-work time doing, who you choose as your mentors, and who you ultimately end up mentoring. The other piece of advice, which I have always taken to heart, is to maintain a sense of justice and a sense of humour. I try to live by that every day. --------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you Jessica for participating in the Women Leading in Law series and best of luck with this new and exciting chapter in your legal career! ICYMI: Previous posts profiled Anu K. Sandhu, Claire Hatcher, Esi Codjoe, Kate Dewhirst, Jennifer Taylor, Rebecca Durcan, Atrisha Lewis, Vandana Sood, Kathryn Manning, Kim Hawkins, Kyla Lee, and Eva Chan. Sign up to have these profiles sent directly to your email address and stay tuned for the next post soon! The "Women Leading in Law" series focuses on good news stories and highlights amazing women succeeding in the legal profession. Each post includes the profiled lawyer's answers to six questions. Prepare to be inspired!   I am a bit of a detective/mystery novel addict. I read about a novel a week (interspersed with non-fiction books about law and the Canadian legal landscape). The majority of these novels are from one detective series or another. Favourites include the Detective Adam Dalgliesh series by P.D. James, the Detective Vera Stanhope and Detective Jimmy Perez series by Anne Cleeves, the Maisie Dobb’s series by Jacqueline Winspear and Barbara Cleverly’s Joe Sandilands series, just to name a few. I especially enjoy mystery novels set in Canada, in particular Barbara Fradkin’s Inspector Green and Amanda Doucette series, Gail Bowen’s Joanne Kilbourn series, and at the top of my list, Louise Penny’s Inspector Armand Gamache series (which I discovered when reading this Ontario Court of Appeal case while doing some legal research). So, it would be an understatement to say I have been eagerly anticipating the release of former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Beverley McLachlin’s debut mystery novel set in Vancouver, British Columbia called Full Disclosure: A Novel. Last week I came home to discover the novel had arrived, much to my delight, and I immediately cracked the spine. . . .Then my heart sank. I struggled with the first couple of chapters. I started to panic. I had already tweeted that I was going to write a review, what if I didn’t like it? I couldn’t possibly write a negative review of the former Chief Justice’s book, could I? I tried to figure out what it was that wasn’t sitting right with me. It wasn’t the characters or the setting or even the subject matter. Sure, there were a few descriptive sentences that had one too many adjectives, but that is common in this genre. Then it clicked. I was reading it with Chief Justice McLachlin’s voice in my head. When there was talk of “saucy haircuts”, or during a bedroom scene with “lovemaking”, or when a character swore, I was hearing it as if the Chief Justice was reading it from the middle of the dais of the Supreme Court of Canada. This created such an uncomfortable dissonance for me. Once I figured this out, I realized I had to forget who the author was (or more explicitly the role she used to fill), and just read the book. And thank goodness I did, it really is a good mystery novel. The novel follows criminal defence lawyer Jilly Truitt as she defends a man accused of murdering his socialite wife. (One online legal magazine suggested that the protagonist was based on Marie Henein - as if there is only one competent strong intelligent female defence lawyer in Canada who also happens to wear lipstick and heels - insert eye roll here. See the Women Leading in Law series where I interview more than one awesome female criminal defence lawyer based in Vancouver.) Ms. Truitt has, like any good mystery novel main character, a troubled past with complicated and flawed relationships, but she continues to see the “good” in people. The story unfolds like a true “whodunnit” with multiple possible suspects, interrelated sub-plots and the required twists and turns (some rather predictable, some not as obvious). The writing style is reflective of the genre, but also with evidence of Ms. McLachlin’s vast vocabulary (I am humble enough to admit that I had to look up the meaning of a few words sprinkled throughout the novel: carapace? escritoire? And who knew the proper phrase was “scotch the rumours”?). As noted by one Amazon reviewer and by Caroline Mandell on Twitter, Ms. McLachlin herself makes an appearance in “Hitchcock fashion”:  Full Disclosure is a fun light read that allows you to play detective and put the pieces of the puzzle together, potentially before Ms. Truitt does, which is exactly what I want in a mystery novel. A momentary escape from reality, but where I can have an active role. I hope this is the first in a long series of books featuring Ms. Truitt that will accumulate on my bedside table, with their rightful place next to my books by P.D. James and Louise Penny.
Overall, I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a quick “whodunnit” - just don’t read it as if the Chief Justice of Canada is reading it to you. |
 
  Erin C. Cowling is a freelance lawyer, entrepreneur, legal career consultant researcher & writer, and President and Founder of Flex Legal Network Inc., a network of freelance lawyers.
Categories
All
Archives
April 2022
|
RSS Feed
|
(C) 2014-2023 Cowling Legal. All rights reserved.
|
Please note I do not represent clients of my own and I am no longer taking on freelance lawyer projects for other lawyers at this time.
Information on this website does not constitute legal advice and is for informational purposes only. Accessing or using this website does not create a solicitor-client relationship. See website Terms of Use/Privacy Policy. info@cowlinglegal.com
3080 Yonge Street, Suite 6060 Toronto,ON M4N 3N1 (appointment only) |
|