Book Review: BIGLAW by Lindsay Cameron

When I worked in a large firm in downtown Toronto, a colleague and I would say to each other: “Someone should write a book about our lives”. We didn’t say it out of arrogance; rather we said it because we felt like we were living in a work of fiction.

Well, we don’t have to write that book anymore because Lindsay Cameron, an ex-Big Law lawyer, has just written it. It is aptly called BIGLAW and the protagonist, Mackenzie Corbett is a corporate lawyer at a large firm in New York City who gets caught up/set up in a potentially career ending scandal.  The book covers some nightmarish scenarios for Mackenzie, including working non-stop on two very important and headline making deals and suffering abuse at the hands of senior partners while answering to their impossible and contradictory demands. Mackenzie is eventually forced to choose between her high-paying prestigious job and her family, friends, sleep and her overall health and sanity.

The book is lighthearted (don’t expect a serious tome on gender equality in the legal profession), a quick read, and had some laugh-out-loud moments. I loved Ms. Cameron’s discreet nod to “Working Girl” (one of my favourite movies). The mystery part of the novel can be quickly solved by the reader, but I think Ms. Cameron did it that way to show how out of touch MacKenzie had become with life that she couldn’t see what was right in front of her face.

I have to admit, reading this novel did produce some nightmarish flashbacks for me: sleeping with my blackberry on vibrate under my pillow, being woken up in the middle of the night to review documents, having to tell my mother that I couldn’t attend the 30th birthday plans she made for me, dealing with wealthy eccentric clients, etc. But I am happy to say I never had any partner treat me the way the partners in the novel treat Mackenzie. For the most part, the partners I worked with recognized and appreciated my hard work and were great mentors to me.

Overall a fun and entertaining book for those who have worked, are working, or are interested in working in Big Law, or who just want a lighthearted read. 

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