Meet Jennifer Gold, a family law lawyer and co-founder of Wood Gold LLP , as well as the Vice President of the Women's Law Association of Ontario. If you have had the good fortune of attending a WLAO event I am sure you would have met Jennifer who has always been so kind and welcoming to all in attendance. 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business. I am a partner of Wood Gold LLP. Our primary practice area is Family Law. Frances Wood and I entered into partnership in order to create a different workplace culture. We wanted to actively parent our children while enjoying our careers as lawyers. We wanted a workplace culture that honours the flexibility needed by anyone who has priorities outside of work. Frankie was my mentor when I first started in practice and soon became a friend. We later became business partners. We work well together and enjoy the practice of Family Law. I feel that we are an example of how women can succeed by supporting each other. The team at Wood Gold is diverse, inclusive, collegial and supportive. I like going to work every day and working with these great lawyers and staff. 2. Why did you go to law school? I think I have always been an advocate and proud feminist. I have always felt a strong sense of justice. I enjoy exploring different sides of an issue or problem. Also, in Grade 8, I enjoyed my first debate and decided that law was the career for me! 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? I think that I am where I am today due to both design and chance. I recognize my own privilege of having been raised in a “middle class” family, being second generation Canadian, and having the opportunities that come with that. However, I also recognize the challenges I have faced as a woman of colour. In terms of being a lawyer, I worked hard in school and always kept my eye on the goal. I’ve been lucky to know what I want in life. That helps. I couldn’t have arrived at where I am without all of the people in my life; my spouse, my business partner, friends, and colleagues. 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? I think being a lawyer and at the same time, a great mom! There should be an award for that! LOL 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? I think a major challenge for women in law is sexism in the legal profession. Women are still harassed and discriminated against. Women who are considered “different” because of race, ability, sexual orientation, religion, etc. face even greater challenges. We need this to end. We can create opportunities and change the culture by getting together and speaking up. I’m involved with the Women’s Law Association of Ontario but there are many associations that advocate for change. By helping each other, we can create better opportunities for women and see more women in leadership roles. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? Don’t be afraid to speak up. Be your own advocate. The right people will respect you and the right doors will open for you. More importantly, you’ll respect and be proud of yourself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you Jennifer for participating in this series and for your answers. Although, I do feel like I must share this little nugget of information that I found Jennifer's bio on her website: "When Jennifer is not practicing law and managing a law firm, she enjoys spending time with her family and singing with a highly competitive barbershop quartet." Highly competitive barbershop quartet? How cool is that? I started this blog series because I was tired of hearing about women leaving law and wanted to hear about women leading in law. 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! ICYMI - previous posts profiled the following amazing lawyers: Jordana Goldlist, Megan Keenberg, Yadesha Satheaswaran, France Mahon, Sarah Molyneaux, Richa Sandill, Vivene Salmon, Kim Whaley, Alisia Grenville, Frances Wood, Maggie Wente, Anita Szigeti, Neha Chugh, Christy Allen & Nancy Houle, Suzie Seo, Kim Gale, Alexi Wood, Melissa McBain, Erin Best, Gillian Hnatiw, Melanie Sharman Rowand, Meg Chinelo Egbunonu, Lisa Jean Helps, Nathalie Godbout Q.C., Laurie Livingstone, Renatta Austin, Janis Criger, May Cheng, Nicole Chrolavicius, Charlene Theodore, Dyanoosh Youssefi, Shannon Salter, Bindu Cudjoe, 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.
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Welcome back to today's Women Leading in Law profile. Meet Jordana Goldlist an impressive criminal defence lawyer in Toronto. If you have a moment, be sure to watch Jordana's important TEDx talk (link in profile below): 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business. I run JHG Criminal Law, a boutique firm focused on “high risk criminal litigation,” defending people charged primarily with murder, firearms offences, and drug trafficking. When I started my firm five years ago, I had a huge practice that included most criminal offenses and many jurisdictions across Southern Ontario. After working for a year without a day off, I decided to scale down and focus, both in terms of the type of cases I take on and the jurisdictions I cover. Today, my main office is in downtown Toronto and I am opening a satellite office in Hamilton, as most of my cases are in Toronto, Hamilton, Brampton, Brantford, and St. Catharines. I currently employ a junior associate and articling student and have a senior lawyer on contract to help make sure that my practise can keep running, even when I’m in back to back murder trials. 2. Why did you go to law school? The short answer is that I needed to make money and my undergraduate degree in philosophy wasn’t going to be much help! The full story is that I wanted to be a lawyer from the time I was 7 or 8 years old, when one of my family members was facing criminal charges and the lawyer he hired became the most important person in the world, to my family. I didn’t actually understand what he did or why it was so important, but I wanted to be that important; that when I called somewhere everyone stopped what they were doing to listen. I started reading crime novels and watching courtroom dramas in the coming years and continued wanting to be a trial lawyer or maybe even a judge. Then life took a turn for me during my teens. From the ages of 14 to 20 years old, I bounced around group homes, institutions, rehab, and the streets. I was 21 years old when I finally completed high school and made my way to university. I assumed that my life had veered so far off course that law school was not even in the realm of possibilities. After four years of studying philosophy at York University, I still could not imagine myself in any other career, so I applied to Osgoode Hall Law School and luckily was accepted. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? Definitely a bit of both. I was drawn to criminal law but I know that my history as a street kid made it easier for me to develop a practice. I don’t judge my clients by their criminal records and instead I take the time to understand their situation and circumstances. My business, however, has been built by design. I marketed to a specific demographic and chose jurisdictions that would allow me to build the type of practice I wanted for the type of clients I wanted to represent. It took years of dedication and sacrifice but I now have the practice I always dreamed of having. 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? My TEDx talk, called “Who Judges The Judge?”. It was the culmination of my career and my personal successes; where 10 years after being called to the bar, I could get on a stage and admit that I was a criminal turned criminal lawyer. I use my own struggles to try to set an example both for people trying to transition their lives and for people who so easily judge the mistakes of others. The premise is really simple: we as a society need to stop judging people for what may be the worst decision they made on the worst day of their life. 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? I have heard rumours of challenges specific to women but I haven’t experienced any. I have never been harassed or belittled or disrespected by male lawyers or judges I have crossed paths with. Either that, or I have just ignored it because I truly don’t care. I think that a career in law is hard enough and a career in business is hard enough and so to combine the two requires a different level of focus to be successful. There is a ton of opportunity to make money and excel at criminal law but it is hard work and requires dedication. And it requires sacrifices that most people do not want to make. Everyone wants to make money but they struggle with competing wants, like spending time with family and friends, and drinking, and travelling. The challenge for most is recognizing that in order to get to the next level, you have to dedicate time that would otherwise be spent on activities you really enjoy doing. The question is how bad you want that next level of success (however you define it) and what you are willing to give up to get it. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? First of all, figure out what you love. I started off in civil litigation and after two years I hated it, which means I hated most of my waking hours on any given day. I switched to criminal defence and knew I was where I needed to be. After you learn what you love, practice like a racehorse, with blinders on. Horses wear blinders because if they look over to see what the other horses are doing, they fall down. So, they wear blinders and they focus on the finish line and they do everything they can to get there first. That’s how I approach each of my cases and it is how I built my business. But because you are doing what you love (step one) you will enjoy most aspects of this career, most of the time. The best advice I ever heard from another lawyer: “never celebrate a win for more than 24 hours and never mourn a loss for more than 24 hours.” But always celebrate the wins… ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you Jordana for your frank and honest answers and advice! I started this blog series because I was tired of hearing about women leaving law and wanted to hear about women leading in law. 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! ICYMI - previous posts profiled the following amazing lawyers: Megan Keenberg, Yadesha Satheaswaran, France Mahon, Sarah Molyneaux, Richa Sandill, Vivene Salmon, Kim Whaley, Alisia Grenville, Frances Wood, Maggie Wente, Anita Szigeti, Neha Chugh, Christy Allen & Nancy Houle, Suzie Seo, Kim Gale, Alexi Wood, Melissa McBain, Erin Best, Gillian Hnatiw, Melanie Sharman Rowand, Meg Chinelo Egbunonu, Lisa Jean Helps, Nathalie Godbout Q.C., Laurie Livingstone, Renatta Austin, Janis Criger, May Cheng, Nicole Chrolavicius, Charlene Theodore, Dyanoosh Youssefi, Shannon Salter, Bindu Cudjoe, 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. Meet Megan Keenberg, today's leading lawyer. I met Megan several years ago (likely at one of the many networking events we lawyers used to go to - remember cocktail parties?) but I never knew this side of Megan I until I read her wonderful answers in this profile. Her journey to law is fascinating and she shares so many great nuggets of wisdom: 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business. I am a partner with Van Kralingen & Keenberg LLP, better know as V|K Law. We are a commercial litigation and employment law boutique, focused primarily on solving business problems. I am a Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation and I manage complex commercial cases involving shareholder and creditor disputes, breach of contract, professional negligence, fraud, and employment issues. I am also a Mediator and Arbitrator, having completed Osgoode’s LL.M. in Dispute Resolution and the Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society’s Gold Standard Course. My dispute resolution practice centres mainly on business disputes, but also includes civil disputes more broadly. 2. Why did you go to law school? I never considered a legal career until the summer before I started law school as a mature student at age 30. Once the idea occurred to me, it seemed clear, in retrospect, that my previous career paths led me to law, albeit in a pretty unorthodox way. Prior to law school, I had a long-standing career as an actor which led me to the New York theatre scene, and a side hustle as a bartender so I could pay my rent. My side hustle morphed into a hospitality consultancy business, and later led to a sweat-equity stake as an owner-operator of a neighbourhood bar in Brooklyn. I gained valuable skills and experiences in these roles that uniquely prepared me for business advocacy – empathy, a sense of narrative, a non-judgmental view of the human condition, communication and presentation skills, organizational and management skills, a very thick skin and strong sense of self, and a deep appreciation for the value of business relationships, especially in a handshake industry. The catalyst to my career change and ultimate decision to go to law school happened early on a Tuesday morning in September, 2001. I awoke to watch the Twin Towers crumble from my bedroom window, and everything changed in a flash. I was seized by a strong need to do something – to offer practical tangible help – and that need has not since abated. In the initial aftermath, I did practical things like delivering food to first responders at Ground Zero and matching employee sign-in logs with lists of missing persons to help identify those presumed dead. The work I had been doing as an actor, a business owner and even the volunteer work I did as a community organizer felt small and fractured in comparison. As the immediate emergency waned, I started, for the first time, to think strategically about how I could make a more significant impact. And I was faced with another pressing challenge – immigration policies changed as a result of 9/11 making it increasingly difficult to maintain my business and life in the US as a foreign national. So, I came back to Canada to start fresh. Since I started acting at a young age, I never grappled with the angsty question about what I wanted to be when I grew up until I was already grown up. At age 30, I started asking myself the bigger questions: what could I contribute? What was I good at? What did I like doing? What did I need? As I reflected on my newly defined goal to make meaningful and tangible positive impacts in peoples’ lives, I considered the broad spectrum of transferable skills I gained in theatre and discovered what was missing from the equation. My main strength had always been my unique approach to complex problem-solving, and until then, this strength had been underutilized. I tend to attack problems on multiple fronts simultaneously, rather than sequentially or linearly, and I am comfortable with dissonance, which allows me to hold opposing thoughts or views at the same time. It occurred to me that if I applied my core competency to the resolution of legal problems, I could make the impact I desired in a helping profession. This analysis coalesced to form a rational basis for giving law school a whirl. I was far from sure about it, but I thought there was no harm in trying. So, I wrote the LSAT in July 2003, and muscled my way into the law school at the University of Ottawa two months later. Luckily, I loved law school and was reasonably good at it. Besides, I faint at the sight of blood, so medicine was off the table. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? It’s both. I took a circuitous route to law that was ultimately triggered by an external event, but there was an element of design in the analysis I brought to my reaction to that event. I’m a big believer in the notion that luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Sometimes life throws you a curveball out of nowhere, and there’s no way to prepare. The key is to identify opportunities that arise from surprises and seize them even if they take you off your planned course. I crave stability and revel in routine, but I shine in moments of crisis and change, so I have learned to accept risks and embrace change. It takes practice to develop the necessary confidence that when you leap you will land, and to appreciate that clinging to the familiar is a surer route to a failure. My career path is marked by a series of leaps, some taken pro-actively and others reactively, but all involved lightning fast recalibrations to identify opportunities and assess and accept risks. Throughout law school, I envisioned a career in entertainment law, based on my background in the arts. I summered and articled with a firm that had a strong entertainment law group, and had my future mapped out. Towards the end of my articling term, when I had just wrapped up a rotation through litigation, the firm unexpectedly dissolved. After the initial panic subsided, I looked at the crisis as an opportunity to re-evaluate my career goals and tweak the path I had been on. The entertainment business was still very power-imbalanced and afforded few opportunities to effect real change. I realized that litigation offered me a better platform to play to my strengths in narrative building, presentation, writing, critical analysis and problem-solving, and it appealed more to my helping nature than entertainment law did. I also enjoyed the performative aspect of litigation. So, I took a leap and applied to litigation firms. My top choice litigation firm offered to let me finish my articling term with them but advised me that there was a very low chance of hire-back as they had already made their hiring decisions from their own articling pool. When pressed for my odds, they allowed that I had about a 1% chance of hire-back. I figured that 1% was better than zero, so I took my shot. I docketed >300 hours a month for three months, determined to demonstrate my maximum capacity and capabilities. I campaigned for champions and asked for and received specific assistance with ‘Operation Get Megan Hired’. In the end, it paid off and I was hired against the odds. A couple years later, one of the senior lawyers who was instrumental in Operation Get Megan Hired moved to a boutique litigation firm specializing in the kind of complex commercial work that I had grown to love. Despite being very satisfied with my job, I took another leap and followed my mentor. I flourished in the boutique environment as the small team model allowed me to take on greater responsibility and a more central role on cases than would ordinarily be entrusted to a junior associate. After practicing for the better part of a decade, I once again took stock. I was happy in my firm, and doing the work I loved, but I realized I had made some compromises in personal autonomy and authenticity to get to that professional position and I felt uncomfortable about maintaining those compromises long term. That was when I took the most recent leap to co-found V|K in 2017. It was my first purely proactive leap, not precipitated by any cataclysmic triggering event like 9/11 or the dissolution of a firm or the departure of a valued mentor. For that reason, it felt riskier but in the end, this leap has been more meaningful because I am finally steering my own ship. Creating and co-managing my firm has been a tremendously rewarding experience and fulfills my personal and professional goals. 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? I am most proud of the firm culture we have fostered at V|K. My partner Alex Van Kralingen and I both came up through highly reputable law firms operating on traditional models. While we valued the exceptional training and experience and lasting relationships those firms offered, we also felt there were gaps and embedded presumptions in the traditional model that could be improved upon. Our analysis pointed to a trickle-down effect on culture stemming from the compensation schemes most firms employ that rewards certain work and undervalues other work and fosters competition among colleagues. We created an alternative compensation scheme that rewards collaboration, teamwork and delegation. As a result, our people-first values are rewarded and reinforced. Our hierarchy has flattened, our mentorship is multi-directional, and collaboration is part of the daily routine. All firm members are consulted about and provide input into firm decisions ranging from recruitment to technology upgrades to business development initiatives. Each member of our team knows that their contributions and perspectives are not just valued but critical to our collective success. It’s been validating to prove that a people-first model is also a lucrative and sensible business model. There’s no cost to the incorporation of socialist values in a capitalist enterprise; in fact, the enshrinement of these values has helped us prosper. 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? Summer 2005, I landed my first law job on Bay Street, and it felt like I had time-travelled back to the Mad Men era. At orientation, we were directly warned that if we reported sexual harassment in accordance with the firm’s policy, our reputations and careers would be ruined. Instead we were strongly advised to develop a sense of humour and a thick skin. That was 15 years ago, and we’ve come a long way since then, but I think the traditional law firm model rewards and punishes behaviours that are based on gender stereotypes, and results in lingering unconscious bias against women in the profession. The good news is that that traditional law firm model is waking up to the 21st Century. There are more women working in law – and more women in business who are in positions to select law firms for retainers and instruct counsel – than ever before, and there’s power in our numbers. We no longer have to put up or shut up. Together we can identify the problems, demand better, and put solutions in place to implement the better demands we are making. And if that doesn’t work or you’re fed up with the fight, there are countless viable alternative options available to us now, thanks to advancements in technology that have enabled cloud-based document management systems, remote-working, workspace sharing and virtual legal administrative solutions and freelance lawyering. By leveraging off these advancements, lawyers are no longer dependent on the traditional law firm model and the attendant prohibitively expensive capital requirements for overhead to deliver excellent legal work. Opting out is no longer a career killer. To the contrary, it can be what sets you free to soar. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? I give all new lawyers the excellent advice that was given to me by Samuel Schwartz many years ago, which is to conduct your legal career as though you plan to start your own firm in year 10. By setting that goal, you will naturally benchmark your legal and advocacy skills, you will collect mentors and champions and maintain professional relationships with colleagues who may become referral sources, you will focus on business development early and often, and you will learn the business of law. In this way you will make yourself indispensable and self-reliant in whatever legal position you hold and a sought-after candidate for any legal role you pursue. Fun fact: we launched V|K on the tenth anniversary of my call to the bar. Sam was right! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you Megan for agreeing to participate in this series. You have provided wonderful advice that I believe will be beneficial to many (including me). I started this blog series because I was tired of hearing about women leaving law and wanted to hear about women leading in law. 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! ICYMI - previous posts profiled the following amazing lawyers: Yadesha Satheaswaran, France Mahon, Sarah Molyneaux, Richa Sandill, Vivene Salmon, Kim Whaley, Alisia Grenville, Frances Wood, Maggie Wente, Anita Szigeti, Neha Chugh, Christy Allen & Nancy Houle, Suzie Seo, Kim Gale, Alexi Wood, Melissa McBain, Erin Best, Gillian Hnatiw, Melanie Sharman Rowand, Meg Chinelo Egbunonu, Lisa Jean Helps, Nathalie Godbout Q.C., Laurie Livingstone, Renatta Austin, Janis Criger, May Cheng, Nicole Chrolavicius, Charlene Theodore, Dyanoosh Youssefi, Shannon Salter, Bindu Cudjoe, 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. I started this series with the intention of including as many diverse voices as possible, which also meant not focusing solely on women lawyers who have established and long-standing careers. I'm excited that for this profile we have the pleasure of hearing from a leading articling student / almost lawyer (yay!), Yadesha Satheaswaran: 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business. I am currently an articling student, so I don’t have a business or practice that I can speak of. However, I hope to become a litigator one day and I am fortunate to have gotten a breadth of experience at my firm, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP. Paliare Roland deals with a wide variety of civil litigation matters, including bankruptcy/insolvency law, corporate/commercial law, labour/employment law, and administrative/constitutional law. 2. Why did you go to law school? I decided to attend law school because of my family’s experiences with domestic violence. Growing up, I saw my mother – a newly single parent and a refugee to this country – try to navigate the criminal, family and immigration law systems concurrently. She had a lot of difficulties, and I knew that she could not have been the only one. I wanted to become an advocate for survivors like her who are often caught in a matrix of multiple legal issues. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? I would say “both”. I applied to law school with the expectation that I would work in the social justice sector, helping the most vulnerable and marginalized. I was able to do just that in my second year when I was employed for eight months at Parkdale Community Legal Services (“PCLS”). I loved the clients at PCLS, but I learned that (due to some unresolved trauma) I currently do not have the emotional capacity or mental wherewithal to make criminal, family or immigration law my entire practice. Interestingly, I had a very litigious case load while I was at PCLS, and I appeared in front of the Social Benefits Tribunal and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board on numerous occasions. I realized that I enjoyed both the oral and written advocacy associated with litigation so I broadened the scope of my interest during the 2L Recruit. That’s how I ended up summering and articling at Paliare Roland. I continue to engage in more radical, community-based activism via my extra-curriculars. 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? Near the end of my 3L, I was one of 12 students to receive the Dean’s Golden Key Award. The Dean’s Golden Key Award is given to graduating students at Osgoode Hall who have made outstanding contributions to law school life. I was honoured to have been recognized, and to have shared the moment with my best friends. 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? I think a persistent challenge for women in law is to be treated equitably – i.e. to receive the same pay as men, to not be asked unsolicited questions about potential motherhood, to be better represented amongst the partnership, etc. This can all be exacerbated by intersections with race, sexuality, disability, religion/creed, class, and/or age. That being said, I think women are uniquely positioned to drive the legal profession forward. We can push for inclusive models of practice, bring differently-situated insights to our clients’ problems, and even develop new areas of law. In so doing, we can dismantle the vestiges of archaic male-centric thinking and make the legal profession our own. Maybe I am a little too optimistic, but I believe that the law can be an oyster of opportunity for women. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way, and do not be afraid to explore! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thank you Yadesha for participating and all the best in your legal career! I started this blog series because I was tired of hearing about women leaving law and wanted to hear about women leading in law. 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! ICYMI - previous posts profiled the following amazing lawyers: France Mahon, Sarah Molyneaux, Richa Sandill, Vivene Salmon, Kim Whaley, Alisia Grenville, Frances Wood, Maggie Wente, Anita Szigeti, Neha Chugh, Christy Allen & Nancy Houle, Suzie Seo, Kim Gale, Alexi Wood, Melissa McBain, Erin Best, Gillian Hnatiw, Melanie Sharman Rowand, Meg Chinelo Egbunonu, Lisa Jean Helps, Nathalie Godbout Q.C., Laurie Livingstone, Renatta Austin, Janis Criger, May Cheng, Nicole Chrolavicius, Charlene Theodore, Dyanoosh Youssefi, Shannon Salter, Bindu Cudjoe, 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. We head out to Vancouver for our next leading lawyer: meet Frances Mahon! When I was told by the person who recommended Frances for this profile that she had done a "bajillion" murder trials I was both impressed and a little worried about Canada's murder rates. I have now been told it might not be a "bajillion" murder trials, but close :) Read on to find out more about France's practice: 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business. Mahon & Company is not your typical law firm. We represent people facing serious criminal charges, provide assistance to refugees and other newcomers, and we engage in advocacy and law reform efforts on behalf of individuals and non-profit organizations, with a particular focus on sex worker rights and issues impacting the LGBTQ2S community. In many cases, some or all of these practice areas will overlap (e.g. someone facing criminal charges and immigration consequences) and we bring value to our clients by taking a holistic approach to these intersecting issues. 2. Why did you go to law school? I was an artist before I became a lawyer (still am). Some people think this is an unusual path, but to me it makes perfect sense, since my art practice has long been centred around social justice issues, and there is no question that a creative approach to problem-solving is a valuable skill for lawyers. Right before I applied to law school, I had been working on a documentary with a LGBTQ refugee group in Toronto. Listening to the stories of the brave folks who had been through hell and back made me want to take my advocacy to the next level. I applied to Osgoode Hall Law School, and much to my surprise the school decided that a weirdo artist like me had the potential to be a lawyer. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? A little of both. Although I wanted to be a refugee lawyer when I initially applied to law school, by chance I was enrolled in Professor Alan Young’s intro criminal law class and I quickly became obsessed with criminal law and forged one of the most important relationships of my career. I owe a lot of my initial success to Prof. Young’s mentorship, and criminal defence work is the core of my practice to this day (although I did eventually circle back to refugee work when the opportunity arose). Throughout the rest of law school, I worked as his RA and got to help out with Bedford v. Canada, the Innocence Project, and many of his other initiatives. The best things that Prof. Young taught me were (1) you can be a lawyer and still be a pretty weird and creative person, and (2) you can make a career out of your passion for law reform and social change. When Bedford went to the Supreme Court of Canada, Marlys Edwardh joined the legal team alongside Prof. Young. We ended up spending quite a bit of time together as the team prepared for the SCC, and she eventually offered me an articling position in the criminal law group at Goldblatt Partners LLP in Toronto. I will never forget the years I spent working with her and the team at GP LLP. I got to work on interesting cases with some amazing lawyers, and Marlys taught me how to work hard, think deeply about the law, and to really connect with clients and bring their story to the court. Her intellect and compassion is legendary – she truly is one of the giants of the law and I love her dearly. I moved to Vancouver in 2016 and about 6 months later decided to start my own firm. This was a HUGE leap of faith but one that has really paid off. Three years later, I am working with an extraordinary team of people in a beautiful office (with the coveted north view) in downtown Vancouver. We do work we are really passionate about, get to help our communities, and we have fun while we do it. I’ve somehow managed to create the law firm of my dreams and I can’t imagine doing anything else now. 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? Aside from creating the law firm of my dreams? Without a doubt it was representing groups of LGBTQ2S lawyers and law students as intervenors in the Supreme Court of Canada in Trinity Western University v. the Law Society of Upper Canada. I had been to the SCC before, but this was the first time I gave oral submissions (easily the most terrifying 5 minutes of my life). I am so proud that our contribution helped ensure that LGBTQ2S law students can seek out law school positions without the identity-based barrier that TWU’s law school would have imposed. 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? One challenge (which is presented by your question) is the binary divide between “female” and “male” lawyers and the assumption that it is only cisgender women striving for recognition and equality. I have a number of trans and non-binary colleagues and they are largely erased from these conversations. For example, the challenges my non-binary colleagues face are numerous: where do I get changed into my robes at the courthouse? where do I go to the bathroom, when there are only “men’s” and “women’s” washrooms? how can I get the Court to recognize my name and pronouns without pissing off the judge? There are countless everyday barriers that are largely unnoticed outside (and even inside) the LGBTQ2S community. Fortunately this is changing, albeit only at the glacial pace of the law. Last year, Nicole Nussbaum, Frank Durnford and I conducted a training session on LGBTQ2S issues for Federal Court judges (through the CBA’s National SOGIC section, where I act as 1st Vice Chair) and the response was incredibly positive. One very senior judge (who shall remain unnamed), after learning about the barriers presented by gendered washrooms, said he wanted to “take a sledgehammer” to the bathroom walls in the courthouse and start rebuilding, which is possibly the coolest thing I’ve ever heard a judge say. We are now looking to expand this training to judges across Canada. I like to believe that people can change, when given the necessary tools, and there are lots of opportunities out there to help your community and be an agent of change if you have the energy and desire to do it. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? Make friends, and keep them. A support network is crucial to any lawyer. I remember being told at Osgoode that the relationships we forged in law school would last throughout our careers, and it was the best piece of advice I have ever received. In addition to the benefits of friendship, you will get referrals, advice, a shoulder to cry on, someone who gets both the lawyer side of you and the you-you, and so many other things. One of my closest friends is someone I met on the first day of law school and I honestly don’t know how I would have survived this past decade without her. Be a friend, not a jerk! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for taking the time to provide these thoughtful and helpful answers! I started this blog series because I was tired of hearing about women leaving law and wanted to hear about women leading in law. 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! ICYMI - previous posts profiled the following amazing lawyers: Sarah Molyneaux, Richa Sandill, Vivene Salmon, Kim Whaley, Alisia Grenville, Frances Wood, Maggie Wente, Anita Szigeti, Neha Chugh, Christy Allen & Nancy Houle, Suzie Seo, Kim Gale, Alexi Wood, Melissa McBain, Erin Best, Gillian Hnatiw, Melanie Sharman Rowand, Meg Chinelo Egbunonu, Lisa Jean Helps, Nathalie Godbout Q.C., Laurie Livingstone, Renatta Austin, Janis Criger, May Cheng, Nicole Chrolavicius, Charlene Theodore, Dyanoosh Youssefi, Shannon Salter, Bindu Cudjoe, 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. Welcome back to the Women Leading in Law series. Today the blog series profiles leading lawyer Sarah Molyneaux: another amazing lawyer who has started her own successful law firm and has chosen to practice law in a way that makes her happy. I love reading these stories! Her opening sentence says it all: 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business. I opened Molyneaux Law in early 2018 with the goal of bringing Hamilton workers, women and LGBT+ folks a local, woman-led option for high quality social justice legal representation. Today, it’s a family firm where I work together with my partner and a paralegal. We handle a broad range of workplace matters, predominately on behalf of unions and non-union employees. While I still enjoy ‘bread and butter’ labour and employment files, as my practice has become busier I have opted to focus on cases on behalf of women and queer workers who have faced pregnancy, parental status or sex/gender discrimination in the workplace and on assisting unions in respect of organizing campaigns. I’m grateful that growing our team has given me the opportunity to really concentrate on the work that is closest to my heart. 2. Why did you go to law school? I did not really know what a lawyer did when I applied to law school. I had never even met a lawyer! But my former high school debate coach and favourite professor both suggested a law degree after I told them my plans of becoming a war correspondent. In retrospect, they were right. I wanted a career where I could help vulnerable people be seen and heard, which I have found in law. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? Like most people, I’d say it has been a combination of design and chance. I knew that I wanted to be a social justice lawyer, but I also knew that I did not know very much about being a lawyer when I started on that journey. I was (initially) prepared to be reasonably flexible about what my career would look like. However, in my 1L summer I was assigned to the Workers’ Rights Division at Parkdale Community Legal Services and truly found my niche – this happened by chance, because I had actually applied to work in the Immigration Division. Since that time, I have worked hard to develop the skills and knowledge needed to become a good labour, employment and human rights lawyer. This included a summer position at the Ministry of Labour, volunteering with the Workers’ Action Centre and Caregivers Action Centre, and articling at a union-side labour firm before being hired as an associate at a labour and employment boutique. I know that’s a path that I share with a number of union-side labour lawyers. Today, a lot of design goes into developing our still-young firm. We are deliberate about the type of law we want to practice and the way we want to practice, as well as the way we want to run our business. As social justice lawyers, we are very clear about who we are and this has helped us attract clients who share our values. We are honoured to benefit from a great deal of community support, too, and I believe that comes from our commitment to our feminist and pro-labour values. 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? It may be too early to say. But I am proud that I have played a small role in other young women’s pursuit of careers in union-side labour law and litigation. I have already had the unique privilege of working with a handful of women law students and watching them develop as formidable lawyers in their own right. It is a special compliment to have women that I respect ask for my advice, whether it’s about a legal issue or a crossroads in their working life. 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? I agree with so many of the other lawyers that you’ve profiled that one of the biggest challenges that women in law face is discrimination against mothers (or potential mothers) as well as aspects of law firm culture which make it exceedingly difficult to balance work and family responsibilities. On top of this, women lawyers continue to face a range of discriminatory conduct in our workplaces which ranges from microaggressions to egregious sexual harassment. For BIPOC women in law, these challenges are made worse by the experience of racism. It’s shameful that many members of our profession are not only hesitant to change but are openly hostile towards the idea of change in these respects. It’s unsurprising that many women leave law practice in favour of fields where they may have better working conditions. At the same time, there are opportunities for women in law. In my experience, women lawyers are eager to lift as they climb, offering mentorship and opportunities to others. This blog series is a great example of a woman lawyer offering up a platform to her peers. I know that the mentorship and friendship of other women lawyers has helped me in my career so far. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? A successful legal career depends on you following your interests or passions and on doing so in a way that is practical. It is easier to excel when you care deeply about your work and your clients, but for many of us the intellectual demands of legal work require the peace of mind that comes with an ability to pay the rent. This is especially important for women who want to pursue a social justice-oriented practice or who want to hang out their own shingle or who, like me, want to do both. So, think about what type of work will reflect your values, but also think about how you can ensure that doing that work will be sustainable for you. For some lawyers, this means diversifying either their practice area or their client base. For others, it means establishing a very clear niche. It may mean experimenting – which will require you to be comfortable with the idea that some experiments will go better than others. Luckily, there is no one way to be a good lawyer and there is no rule that requires you to be the same type of lawyer for your entire career: you are allowed to try new things, to grow and to change. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you very much for participating in this series, Sarah. I love all the different voices and opinions and advice that this series is producing. I wish this series was around when I started out in law :) I started this blog series because I was tired of hearing about women leaving law and wanted to hear about women leading in law. 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! ICYMI - previous posts profiled the following amazing lawyers: Richa Sandill, Vivene Salmon, Kim Whaley, Alisia Grenville, Frances Wood, Maggie Wente, Anita Szigeti, Neha Chugh, Christy Allen & Nancy Houle, Suzie Seo, Kim Gale, Alexi Wood, Melissa McBain, Erin Best, Gillian Hnatiw, Melanie Sharman Rowand, Meg Chinelo Egbunonu, Lisa Jean Helps, Nathalie Godbout Q.C., Laurie Livingstone, Renatta Austin, Janis Criger, May Cheng, Nicole Chrolavicius, Charlene Theodore, Dyanoosh Youssefi, Shannon Salter, Bindu Cudjoe, 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. I know this next leading lawyer through my volunteer work with the Ontario Bar Association and in particular the Women Lawyers Forum. Richa Sandill is the current Chair of the WLF and an employment lawyer. She provides some great encouragement and advice to all lawyers and to new law grads in particular: 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business. I am a Staff Lawyer at Scarborough Community Legal Services (shout-out to the SCLS team!) practicing in Employment Law. Scarborough Community Legal Services is one of Ontario’s many amazing frontline community legal clinics. As an employment lawyer in the clinic system, my focus is on advising and representing low income workers across pretty much every employee-side employment law issue. This ranges from wrongful dismissals and severance negotiations, to Ministry of Labour Claims, Small Claims Court and Superior Court litigation, Employment Standards Appeals at the Ontario Labour Relations Board, Employment Insurance advice and appeals, and my not-so-secret favourite, Human Rights Tribunal litigation. A lot of my work also interacts with other aspects of poverty law such as social assistance, immigration, and housing. Being a clinic lawyer also means that I get to collaborate with other lawyers and community organizers in the clinic system on workers’ rights issues. Conducting public legal education in the Scarborough community and actively identifying opportunities for law reform as it relates to employment law are also part of my role. 2. Why did you go to law school? I grew up in a first-generation Indo-Canadian household which fuelled me with a passion for social justice, and that’s what ultimately led me to law school. Growing up with two cultures meant that I got to see the world a little bit differently. I learned early on what it meant to have to deal with patriarchy, what it meant for not every rule or norm to make sense, and what it meant to question things. Amidst all that though, my mom and my Nana (maternal grandfather) played a huge role in how I developed into the person that I was by the time I decided on law school in the United Kingdom in 2010. In 1970s and 80s India, where the general expectation for women was marriage, my Nana was busy pushing his three daughters to excel in academics and their career. So, it was no surprise that he and my mom made sure to instill the same passion and drive into me many years later. They encouraged me to be a bookworm, to study the world map, to write as much as I could, and to work hard. Through those readings, I discovered the paths that women like Nellie McClung and Clara Brett Martin forged through their challenges to the law. The Famous Five honestly inspired me to no end and made me want to be a lawyer from the first time I discovered them at age 12. My mom was also a huge part of why I went to law school. Despite all kinds of challenges as a single parent, my mom raised me to be a feminist, to have a voice and be a voice for others. Her drive made me want to be in a job and a path that allowed me to help people and make a difference. I try hard not forget these reasons, and feel so lucky that I did end up in a role that reflects them in many ways. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? Chance, and a lot of getting outside of my comfort zone. With my mom’s support, I was able to go to law school in the United Kingdom directly after high school. I completed my degree there and came back to Toronto in 2013 as a National Committee of Accreditation or “NCA” candidate. I was young, lost and honestly had no idea how to navigate the Toronto legal market. This was only seven years ago, but there was in my experience much less awareness in the profession of the NCA process back then compared to what there is now. This meant that I had to hustle. Alongside doing my accreditation exams and working a full-time non-law job, I joined every bar association and attended every networking event I could find. I zeroed in on employment law as my area of practice interest early on in this journey. So, I began to also cold email (harass?) every employment lawyer I could find in Toronto whose practice I found interesting. It was tough – you’ll recall that I said above how much of a bookworm I was, so networking did not come naturally to me. There was a lot of embarrassment, a lot of rejection, and a lot of times where I genuinely worried if I would ever get an articling position, let alone become a lawyer. Yet somehow the world put the best people in my path during that time. Countless lawyers who had never met me before gave me their time and their advice over coffee – for some reason, most often at the Starbucks at First Canadian Place. Others saw things in me that I might not have seen in myself at the time. For example, at one of those networking events in 2014, I met three incredible women that Erin you know very well: Linda Silver-Dranoff, Judi Huddart, and Maryellen Symons, all of whom encouraged me to apply to the Ontario Bar Association’s Women Lawyers Forum (OBA WLF)’s executive committee. That is what started my path towards being as involved as I am now in the OBA and in the profession. Being around the WLF and its incredible executive committee also really gave me an awareness of issues that women face in the profession even before I started practicing. Those years really influenced how outspoken I am today about equity, diversity, and discrimination. I also met the incredible Geri Sanson at another event, who was then Chair of the OBA’s Constitutional, Civil Liberties and Human Rights section. Not only did she encourage me to join that section’s executive as well, she was also such a supportive voice throughout this time for me. She introduced me to other human rights and employment lawyers, some of whom became mentors for me down the road. Today, I am proud to be both Chair of the WLF and a member of the South Asian Bar Association Board, and I can directly attribute that to this phase of my journey. It was also through that harassing cold calling that I met Stuart Rudner for coffee in 2015. A few months later, I had finally finished my NCA exams, and was temping as a legal assistant for different law firms while figuring out what to do about articling. That’s when I got a call to temp at an employment law firm in Yorkville for a brief week. That firm turned out to be Rudner MacDonald – and Stuart remembered me! And I ended up getting along with everyone in that firm so well as a temp that they asked me to come back for another week. And then another week. And then three months later, I was still there – and ultimately ended up staying there, articling, and becoming an employment lawyer. My passion for social justice never left me though, and I knew that as much as private practice presented opportunity for me, my heart was somewhere else. So, in 2019, I took the leap and began applying for jobs in the clinic system. I was actually away in India when I got a phone call from my now Executive Director at SCLS to come in for an interview. Of course, the interview was scheduled for the day after I landed. Fortunately, jet lag didn’t get in the way, and over a year later, here I am, doing a job and working with a team that makes me so incredibly happy. 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? Honestly, the fact that I am here, doing the meaningful work that I get to do every day in the clinic system for the clients that I do makes me prouder than anything else. I get to work on the kinds of things that I went to law school for to begin with. I might be biased, but the community we serve in Scarborough and the clients I get to work with are some of the most resilient, wonderful, and diverse that I have ever had the chance to work with as an Employment Lawyer. I work with a lot of recent immigrants and relatively precarious workers, many of whom do not speak English and are far more vulnerable to abuse as a result of their unfamiliarity. But they are some of the strongest people I have ever met. I learn so much from them and their perseverance in the middle of adversity every single day that I get to represent them. The fact that I can be that difference in enforcing their rights, being their voice in a system that might otherwise not recognize their experiences, or challenging discriminatory practices in the workplace, is more than I could have ever wanted from my work. If I have to pick single achievements, two other things come to mind. One is my election to the position of Chair of the OBA WLF this year. As I mentioned above, the WLF has been so integral to who I am as a lawyer thus far. I am so proud to have had the chance to make my own contributions to it as its Chair this year. The other is with respect to my work on unpaid articling in 2017 during the Law Society of Ontario’s Dialogue on Licensing. My colleagues Litsa Dantzer, Laura Abitbol and I conducted a survey of over 200 recent articling/LPP students to understand how prevalent unpaid positions were. We also anonymously documented stories of harassment and abuse as a result of the power imbalances in such articling setups. We used that towards our submission to the Law Society’s Dialogue on Licensing review in 2017. While I can’t say that it was directly because of our work by any means, the subsequent transitional training model that the Law Society adopted in December 2018 did include a requirement for paid placements. I saw a lot of horrible things happening to NCA students articling for free during my time, so even if we were 1% of the difference, that makes me incredibly proud. 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? I think as a woman in litigation, I am cognizant of the ever-persistent micro-aggression tactics that are still used towards women lawyers, and particularly the younger ones. For example, older male opposing counsel walking up and asking “oh you look so young! Where did you go to law school?” or “don’t get so emotional over this.” Or, as a racialized woman, just the never-ending refusal to say my name right (it’s not Reeeesha!) But I want to focus on the opportunity side of things. The women that inspired me to go to law school, practice in my chosen area, and join the OBA fought hard so that women like me did not have to think twice before doing any of those things. There is so much opportunity for women today to become leaders in the profession and experts in their practice areas. Just ask the WLF – we do an entire series called Pathways to Power which showcases this! (and which just won an award at the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations – not to brag or anything). The world is your oyster if you know what you want, are willing to work hard, and go for it, come what may. The age that we are in also sees an opportunity for women to really raise their voices, particularly in light of the #MeToo movement. This is an unprecedented time in which issues that should have gotten a voice years ago are now being spotlighted. Use this opportunity to use your voice for yourself and your clients. Use your voice to challenge the norm. Use your voice to keep making our profession and our world an inclusive place. Look for the opportunity to become a voice for someone else who might not have one in the justice system – and don’t just give them your voice. Listen and give them the voice that they need and deserve. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? These are challenging economic times for new law school grads. I’m sharing my story above in detail hoping that reading it will give someone else advice and hope should they find themselves in the shoes I was in back in 2013. I would also say that you need to know what you want and be persistent. Look for opportunities for growth even in the middle of challenges. Realize that everyone has gone through the same learning curves as you are, and it’s ok if you don’t know everything yet – because no one does. Build authentic relationships with the colleagues and other lawyers that you meet. And most importantly, be yourself. I cannot stress this enough. Law is definitely one of the more traditional professions, and all firms/workplaces come with their own cultures. Like any other relationship in life, you are going to be so much happier if you find somewhere that accepts you for you. As you develop as a lawyer, stay true to yourself – so for example, you don’t have to be an aggressive personality to litigate. You don’t have to be a networking person to thrive in private practice. As long as you find what fits your passion, you will find a way to get where you need to be. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you so much for your words of wisdom and encouragement Richa! I started this blog series because I was tired of hearing about women leaving law and wanted to hear about women leading in law. 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! ICYMI - previous posts profiled the following amazing lawyers: Vivene Salmon, Kim Whaley, Alisia Grenville, Frances Wood, Maggie Wente, Anita Szigeti, Neha Chugh, Christy Allen & Nancy Houle, Suzie Seo, Kim Gale, Alexi Wood, Melissa McBain, Erin Best, Gillian Hnatiw, Melanie Sharman Rowand, Meg Chinelo Egbunonu, Lisa Jean Helps, Nathalie Godbout Q.C., Laurie Livingstone, Renatta Austin, Janis Criger, May Cheng, Nicole Chrolavicius, Charlene Theodore, Dyanoosh Youssefi, Shannon Salter, Bindu Cudjoe, 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. Today's post features a true leader, Vivene Salmon the current President of the Canadian Bar Association and Vice-President, Country Compliance Manager, Global Banking and Markets Compliance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business. The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) represents 36,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers and law students from across Canada and is considered the voice of Canada’s legal community. The CBA is actively engaged with the Canadian legal community and provides quality legal information and training to its members. The CBA partners with leading thinkers and innovators within the legal profession, and disseminates knowledge about global and national trends about the justice system. The CBA is dedicated to supporting the rule of law and improving the administration of justice in Canada. 2. Why did you go to law school? From an early age I knew I wanted a career in law and/or journalism. I loved reading and I have a natural aptitude for writing. I can remember from a very early age sitting around the family dinner table listening to CBC radio and talking about the issues of the day with my parents and their friends. I was, and still am, passionate about public policy issues – to me being a lawyer has always been a calling not a job. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? I think most professional opportunities in life blossom at the juncture of hard work meeting opportunity. If you don’t put in the hard work in advance; it’s pretty hard to get opportunities to come your way and then leverage those opportunities into new experiences. 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? My most personal experience that I am proud of us is learning how to swim as an adult – once a week swim lessons and two times a week swim practice for two years. It was worth it! My most significant professional experience is becoming the first racialized person, first female in-house counsel and ninth woman to lead the Canadian Bar Association. 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? Unfortunately, it seems sometimes not much has changed to advance women in the legal profession since the release of the CBA’s iconic Touchstone Report in 1993. For racialized women, our trajectory in the legal profession can seem even more discouraging and disheartening. While women lawyer’s compensation is on average lower than their male counterparts – racialized women lawyers earn about 60% of what white men lawyers earn. It appears things are equal starting out in law school, but they are certainly not equal in the long haul. Or in other words, some are more equal than others. Despite the challenges and barriers still to be broken, I think progress is being made; but a lot more still needs to be done. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? I think it’s important to have confidence that you’re as smart as anyone else. Everyone brings something unique to the table. As much as possible, know what you want; but don’t be afraid to deviate off the path well-trodden and take some risks in your career. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you Vivene for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer these questions. Vivene also has a great podcast series with the CBA called The Every Lawyer: Conversations with the President. I was fortunate to recently be her guest, along with Kimberly Gale, and we discussed starting a solo practice. This podcast has featured several interesting guests, including Omar Ha-Redeye, Ian Holloway, Camille Cameron, Jordan Furlong and Ronit Dinovitzer. I started this blog series because I was tired of hearing about women leaving law and wanted to hear about women leading in law. 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! ICYMI - previous posts profiled the following amazing lawyers: Kim Whaley, Alisia Grenville, Frances Wood, Maggie Wente, Anita Szigeti, Neha Chugh, Christy Allen & Nancy Houle, Suzie Seo, Kim Gale, Alexi Wood, Melissa McBain, Erin Best, Gillian Hnatiw, Melanie Sharman Rowand, Meg Chinelo Egbunonu, Lisa Jean Helps, Nathalie Godbout Q.C., Laurie Livingstone, Renatta Austin, Janis Criger, May Cheng, Nicole Chrolavicius, Charlene Theodore, Dyanoosh Youssefi, Shannon Salter, Bindu Cudjoe, 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. Today's profile features Kimberly Whaley, founding partner of Whaley Estate Litigation Partners. Kim is a force to be reckoned with in the areas of estates & elder law! Read on for Kim's story and her helpful and practical advice on how to build your own law practice: 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business. In or about 2001, I joined an all-women LLP where I ran my own practice and later in or about 2004, started my own firm, in both instances, specializing in Will, Estate, and Trust Disputes; Fiduciary Litigation; Dependants’ Support Claims; Fiduciary Accounting litigation; Capacity Proceedings; Guardianships; Power of Attorney Disputes; Consent and Capacity Board Tribunal Matters; End-of-Life Decisions & Medical Assistance in Dying; Elder Law; Elder Financial Abuse; Solicitor’s Negligence; and, related wealth succession litigation and appeals. I also run a mediation practice restricted to these specialized areas. I have had the good fortune of having had my practice recognized by the Canadian Lawyer, Top 5 & Top 10 Estates and Trusts Boutique in Canada since 2014, and numerous recognitions by peers including in, Global Law Experts, Best Lawyers, Law Day, Lexpert, Who’s Who, Chambers and Partners Canada, National Law Journal’s List of Divorce, Trusts and Estates Trailblazers, Canadian Lawyer, Corporate International Magazine Global Awards and Martindale-Hubbell. I am a certified specialist (CS) in trusts & estates law by the LSO, and a qualified TEP (trusts and estates practitioner) with STEP worldwide, an academician with the International Academy of Estates & Trusts Law, and a distinguished fellow of the Canadian Center for Elder Law. As a woman lawyer, a single mom, and having being legally trained in England, I faced a few challenges in starting my Ontario legal career in 1998. Balancing being a lawyer, business owner and mom took some effort. For example, I recall, the conundrum of having to deliver my child to school on time, yet, having to be at an 8:30 am court in chambers appointment at the same time, this of course, took routine juggling - preferring of course to be at court meant taking my child to court and delivering her to school afterwards……Late! And, on another occasion, hoping that as she sat in the front row on Christmas Eve day at 361 University as I argued a motion that she did not leave, or talk to me, or for that matter anyone else! If only these were the extent of my struggles, maybe they are just the fondest memory struggles! 2. Why did you go to law school? Cliché as it may sound, I went to law school to give a voice to those unable to advocate for themselves. A strong sense of right and wrong prevailed in my inner psyche, and, incensed by my own perceptions of the wrongs, wanted a career opportunity to permit me the ability to right some of these wrongs, not standing idly by waiting for someone else to do the fixing. I liked education. My favorite year of schooling was the year I completed my Masters of Law in International Human Rights Law. I had the good fortune of an extraordinary academic mentor who challenged me and pushed me and who has reached great achievements in his own life and careers: Sir Malcolm Evans (Professor). I had an amazing, rewarding experience that taught me to think, and explore. I am not going to sugar-coat this, I really wanted to work in the Hague-still do! Nevertheless, the journey takes us in many directions with many avenues of exploration, and where I am now in the journey still fulfills my reasons and rationale for having gone to law school in the first place. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? I am where I am through chance and circumstance, not necessarily by design. I was born and raised in Canada. However, after graduating from Western I worked for a year in Toronto for the Royal Bank after being fired from the family business that I worked in from age 5 (yes age 5!), albeit I never ever wanted to work in it - so finally 16 years later…success, I was fired! I then moved to England to attend Law School, did an LLM, and worked at Allen & Overy and then Beale & Company. I was a construction litigator and with an affection for architecture, enjoyed my professional career. It was not an original choice, but an opportunity I was given and I chose to pursue it. After 10 years in England, I moved back to Canada to restart my legal career including doing abridged articles and attending the Law Society’s Bar Admission Course, writing four full law school courses & exams by self-study and working in the corporate department at Borden & Elliott, all the while becoming unexpectedly very pregnant with my now aged 21 beautiful daughter, Sammi. I was unsure of my plan….maybe to pick up my career as a construction litigator….though BLG was gracious enough at the time to offer me a job in their then busiest department -Mutual Funds! The thing about “plans” is that they do not always work out the way you expect. I sought advice from senior lawyers about what areas of litigation were (a) growing; and, (b) underserviced. I was looking for a way that I could build upon my business skills and practice law. The area of Estate Litigation kept coming up, so I started to investigate opportunities in that field. After spending a few years at two boutique firms learning all I could about estate litigation, I rather foolishly, started my own firm in or about 2004. I started out with my amazing Bibi Minoo - my estate clerk who was with me at then, Dickson MacGregor Appell and has been with me for virtually my entire estates career, and one associate lawyer in a tiny little office! We have now grown (we grow and we contract) to include me (just a girl I always say!), and 12 professionals, 5 litigation clerks, an office manager, office coordinator, in-take coordinator, a team of IT support, a book keeper and a marketing web/blog manager as well as others from time to time…My first associate left me and is legal counsel at the Ontario Court of Appeal - I forgive her though! I enjoy mentoring my team. We moved offices in November 2013, growing from 1500 square feet to 6000 square feet….with an astounding increase in rent and consequently, in the occurrence of night terrors! There have been both rewards and challenges in growing my practice, but I wouldn’t change a thing…well, that I would admit to anyway! The most rewarding for me personally, is the mentoring and teaching and watching young lawyers grow, learn, and come into their own. It might sound cheesy, but I love watching the transition to independence and confidence. My daily goal is efficiency and to maintain and improve on a comfortable and nurturing work place, a place to thrive and grow and learn…. Once I achieve this, if ever, hopefully I can resign to someone who will accept my resignation! 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? My most significant achievement is actually my beautiful, clever, talented daughter, Sam. Being a mom has truly been my most rewarding job, passion, and hobby all in one. I am more proud of her than anything else in my life and I am privileged she still lets me hang out with her! I have loved teaching legal courses at Queen’s University, the University of Toronto, Osgoode Hall and last year, taught the inaugural Estate Litigation Course at Western University. Most persistently however, I love being an avid and passionate advocate for the rights and protections of the elderly. Intent on educating the public at large, government advisors and officials, community groups including medical professionals, the Police, financial sector professionals, government, ministers, and other community-based groups on the many criminal and civil abuses of the elderly. Currently I am involved in advocating for seniors during the COVID-19 issues facing seniors in long term care and like facilities. I feel honored to have been the Civilian Co-chair of the Toronto Police Seniors Community Consultative Committee (TPS SCCC) since its inaugural year in 2017. This advisory committee is a liaison group that consults with the Chief of Police on issues of abuse affecting older and vulnerable persons and uniquely trains and educates both the Toronto Police and Ontario Police on issues of elder abuse. I have presented in every province in Canada (this is how I have seen our country), more than once on issues of elder law and elder abuse and developed my own webinar series on capacity. I have presented at international conferences on ageing throughout the Unites States, in Turkey, Japan, and the United Kingdom. I consult regularly within stakeholder groups including the Seniors’ Roundtable Ontario Securities Commission, Seniors Expert Advisory Committee (SEAC), the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE), the International Federation of Ageing (IFA), the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE), banking institutions, the Baycrest Foundation where I was made an honourable member. I blog, tweet, am active on social media and have a newsletter, released monthly for over 10 years now. I have enjoyed being a long-time volunteer both active in the community, within the Ontario Bar Association, and Canadian Bar Association, Law Society of Ontario. I am past chair of OBA Elder Law Executive, which I co-founded 3 short years ago, and am an honourable member of the CBA Elder Law Executive. I have been involved in various boards and executives including the editorial board for the Ontario Bar Association JUST Magazine, and awards committee as well as others including past chair of the trusts & estates executive. 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? Opportunities are all around us, focusing on opportunity as opposed to challenges, restrictions and limitations will give you the freedom to grow and thrive beyond such challenges to heights you never imagined. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? i) Know Your Stuff – Be a Technically Strong Lawyer: At the same time as you build your practice, you need to continue to build your knowledge of the law. NEVER stop learning, you can never know it all! Establish a list of willing mentors that you can ask questions of and bounce ideas off. Thank your mentors: chocolate…wine….whatever it is…be kind and take time to thank! Be human! Don’t take too much and make sure you give back! Once you’ve learned how to be a great lawyer, learn to be an excellent experienced lawyer. Become a subject matter expert, the “go-to” person on a particular topic, or niche area of law. As you develop your expertise you will develop your “personal brand”. ii) Network - Show Up and Be Seen: Some people hate it, some thrive on it, but it is unlikely that you will build any sort of business or practice without some sort of networking. You need to find a way to network that works for your personality and is enjoyable for you. Otherwise, you won’t do it, and it won’t work. Get out there and be yourself. The key point is to find something that works for you: be authentic. iii) Speak and Write: Part and parcel with networking and building your profile, are speaking and writing. I can’t understate the power of having your name out there attached to publications and speaking engagements. It builds profile. Get involved in the organizations that you belong to, if you can, and let others know that you are interested in speaking engagements. And always be authentic, write or speak about what interests you about your practice. iv) Keep the Referrals Coming: Maintain, work on, and develop relationships that are worth keeping. Every relationship requires effort. First: do excellent work. No one will refer another file to you if you don’t. Second: say thank you. Whenever anyone refers work to you, make sure you show your appreciation. Also, support your relationships with referrals back where appropriate. v) Look After Yourself: You can build the best practice in the world but if you aren’t healthy - both physically and mentally - enough to run it, it’s not going to be much good to you, or those you work with. You can’t build a practice if you are sick, depressed, or worse….dead. Take your vacations, celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, spend time with your children, your family and friends. Learn to say “no”. Learn when to delegate. Finally, DONT panic!!!!! ….like I do every day to this day- this is good advice but I have not mastered how to follow it yet……if you don’t get work right away from all that you do– keep planting the seeds. The people you are reaching out to may not need you right away - but by building your profile, reputation, and competency – one day!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you Kim for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer these questions. I am sure many lawyers will benefit from your advice on how to build a law practice. I started this blog series because I was tired of hearing about women leaving law and wanted to hear about women leading in law. 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! ICYMI - previous posts profiled the following amazing lawyers: Alisia Grenville, Frances Wood, Maggie Wente, Anita Szigeti, Neha Chugh, Christy Allen & Nancy Houle, Suzie Seo, Kim Gale, Alexi Wood, Melissa McBain, Erin Best, Gillian Hnatiw, Melanie Sharman Rowand, Meg Chinelo Egbunonu, Lisa Jean Helps, Nathalie Godbout Q.C., Laurie Livingstone, Renatta Austin, Janis Criger, May Cheng, Nicole Chrolavicius, Charlene Theodore, Dyanoosh Youssefi, Shannon Salter, Bindu Cudjoe, 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. |
Erin C. Cowling is a former freelance lawyer, entrepreneur, business and career consultant, speaker, writer and CEO and Founder of Flex Legal Network Inc., a network of freelance lawyers.
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