I'm so glad I restarted this series. The profiles are rolling in and I am learning so much already! This post features Anita Szigeti and her practice in a really interesting area of law: mental health law. 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business. My firm is called Anita Szigeti Advocates (“ASA”!). We are an all woman firm. I have a junior associate lawyer, an articling student and a legal assistant. Our firm is also diverse and has been for many years devoted to all aspects of diversity, including employing racialized young lawyers and internationally trained lawyers. All our work is in the area of mental health law. Everything we do is related to mental health issues. There are two broad branches: mental disorder law in criminal justice and mental health issues in relation to civil commitment or forced treatment. We are true barristers in that all our work is litigation and we are in hearings pretty well every day and often all day. We appear before administrative tribunals addressing liberty issues. There are two of these: (1) The Ontario Review Board that considers the situation of forensic accused persons who are unfit to stand trial or have been found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for their criminal charges; and (2) the Consent and Capacity Board which deals with involuntary civil commitment, treatment capacity, long term care placement, capacity to manage property and related issues. We do appeals from both tribunals so we spend some time in the Superior Court of Justice and I spend a lot of time on my feet arguing cases in the Court of Appeal for Ontario. I have also appeared in the Supreme Court of Canada ten times. The other thing we do is act for intervener groups in all kinds of settings, including public interest intervention at Coroner’s Inquests. These are lengthy death inquiries with a jury who get to ask questions throughout! I have done probably 20 or more Inquests, including some that went on for many months. They fall into two broad categories: inquests into the deaths of individuals who are killed during their interaction with police and inquests into institutional deaths, often by suicide or medication adverse consequences or overdose. 2. Why did you go to law school? I wish I had a good answer here. I don’t. I had intended to become a doctor, like my mother. This was the plan since I was a little kid. However after two years of undergrad, I got very sick and nearly died. I ended up in hospital for the better part of a year having three major operations. I was not allowed to eat or drink during this time and I literally had nothing to do. So my then boyfriend gave me a practice LSAT book and I just kept doing those tests. At the end of the year, on almost a lark, I wrote the LSAT and all that practice paid dividends; I didn’t miss a single question. This meant I got accepted to the U of T law school and even got a small scholarship. There were no lawyers in my family and I had no idea what one did. However, I didn’t want to become a doctor after being so sick, so I figured I’d go to law school and find out what that was all about. Never really intended to practise, just pass some time. I was 20 when I started law school. The ultimate irony here, of course, is my law practice now takes me into hospitals every day for hearings. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? I fell into the practice of mental health law completely fortuitously. I began initially as a Hungarian speaking lawyer (I am perfectly bilingual and that’s rare in our profession) servicing the ex-pat community doing Wills and Real Estate and Family Law. It was a disaster. I was truly terrible at the solicitor’s work and was slowly starving to death, barely making rent. I was also unhappy. But I had no idea how to get out or what to do. I was completely on my own, isolated from the whole profession, before social media! One day a friend from law school who was working as a Patient Advocate inside what is now CAMH on Queen Street suggested I represent a patient at a Consent and Capacity Board Hearing. I was resistant but he was persistent. The very first hearing I had the client was involuntarily detained, but so far as I could tell had not done anything wrong. She was ill but on what basis was she effectively incarcerated? I could not make sense of any of it. I did my first hearing advocating for her release and never looked back. I instantly felt like this was what I was meant to do. Eventually, in hind-sight, a lot of my earlier life-experiences definitely had prepared me for exactly this kind of work. I had just never thought it was an area of law at all and wasn’t able to see the synergies there. However, I was deliriously happy representing vulnerable detained people and taking on the psychiatric profession, standing up tall for the client, levelling the power-imbalance in the room. Within that year I opened probably about a hundred such files. Over the next 10 years I opened 250-300 of these types of files each year. At some point I began representing people in related proceedings but where those with mental health issues came in to systems through criminal justice. I think this was because many of my regular clients were becoming criminalized. I was even more hooked by defence work. I fell in love with criminal defence lawyers as a group, because they are big-hearted, sharp-tongued and have the darkest humour. I started actively participating in the Criminal Lawyers’ Association (CLA), was elected to its governing body and continued leading various other volunteer organizations and groups. Somewhere in this journey, I realized I had become known for the work I did and was what I like to call a ‘big fish in a very small pond.” That suited me. I am not someone who likes to know a bit about a lot of things. I do like being the best at one thing, even if that thing is so small, most people have no idea what it is. It is my thing. 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? I suppose the logical answer would be a case I won in 2003 where I had been appointed amicus curiae in the Supreme Court. The case, known as Starson v Swayze, became a landmark decision and some people say changed the test for capacity to make treatment decisions. But that would not be my answer, though it is certainly a career highlight and winning is sweet. Oddly, if we are talking about professional highlights, I am most proud of the work I did on cases that were lost, and indeed lost brutally badly at times. I can think of two quick examples. In 1999 I was counsel to the then Queen Street Patients’ Council and the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre who wanted jointly to intervene in the Inquest into the death of Cinderella Allalouf, the sole female patient on a medium secure forensic unit at Queen Street (now CAMH) who got pregnant on that unit and died in childbirth. The Coroner denied the coalition group standing. We had about 48 hours to put together materials to bring a judicial review to Divisional Court. I remember we were working with the clients all night, then there was a huge snowstorm at the end of April and we had to run through it to serve people outside the Courthouse. My written and oral submissions were among the best in my career. I was in that ‘flow’ state Olympic athletes describe. We lost so bad. Precedent setting case law was made against coalitions of this nature. It was a disaster. I nonetheless remember it as some of the best work I have ever done and among the most meaningful. I have a similar recollection of representing an intervener group in the Supreme Court in a case called CLA v AG in 2012. I did my best work on my feet for those 15 minutes. I left it all in the Courtroom after re-writing my argument IN court based on what was going on around me. Huge loss. Disaster for the defence bar. Have never even read the Judgment. But when I remember how I felt arguing the case, how certain I was that the argument I was making was the right one and how important the case was to the administration of justice, I know I could not have done more. That’s what I am most proud of. Moments like that. Cases where I am completely committed and giving it my all to try to achieve justice for people who otherwise have no voice. It’s a privilege. 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? I think the good news is that opportunities outweigh the challenges. There definitely are challenges, however. To this day, despite that I am 28 years at the bar, I get belittled and cut off and yelled at, dismissed and abused usually by people in positions of authority who are clearly threatened by forceful advocacy in front of them. I suspect, but can never know of course, that being a woman is part of the reason for the shabby treatment. I do not imagine, but also cannot know for sure, that men in my place experience the same level of disruption while just doing their jobs. Certainly I do not see men who are lawyers in my proceedings being shouted down like I so often am. This is very difficult. It is an extreme challenge because our civility rules really do not permit us to speak our minds in such situations so one has to be very careful to maintain respect for the tribunal and civility at all cost. This requires much tongue biting. Now for the good news: there is a great lot of room for women to become decision-makers. There is an urgent and desperate need for women to become tribunal adjudicators and in Ontario there are 150 or more such agencies. Many are still largely staffed by men, older and white men at that. There is so much space for women to occupy. In addition, of course, to applying to be appointed to the Bench, tribunal adjudication and also politics are great places to use a law degree effectively. The administration of justice benefits from increasing numbers of women in decision-making positions. I would encourage any woman who has any desire to be on that side of the equation to do it. In my experience women make sensible compassionate decisions. Women make fabulous leaders. We should aim to be in positions of power and agents for change at the highest levels. We should and must become leaders. We should not be satisfied to be part of the "team". This goes for various volunteer organizations as well. The CLA is a good example. It has had but a couple of Presidents who were women. While more women are on the Board, they can’t seem to rise straight to the top. That’s unfortunate and real change needs to happen. This means women actively seeking those positions as Chair, President, dare I say Prime Minister? 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? The main thing is exuding confidence. “Fake It till you make it” I have always found useful. Whatever you do, act like you know what you’re doing. Particularly within the law, hesitation, reluctance, uncertainty about your position all telegraph weakness and in a litigation environment, that’s fatal. The natural confidence comes from knowing your case. From working extra hard. Being more familiar with the facts and the law than anybody else in the room. Regardless of stereotypes or prejudices, competence can’t be entirely dismissed after a while. Success is within your grasp if you’re smart. The other thing is, and this takes some comfort and probably comes with experience and time, but if you can inject humour into anything, people remember that and they remember you. It is what draws people in and it is how they learn. Finally, find mentors who care about you and are generous with their time and their expertise who also care deeply and passionately about what they do. If you find someone who is prepared to take you under their wing, you will never feel totally alone, which is the scariest thing when you are starting out. The way to find your perfect mentor is identify someone you admire and offer to help her. Don’t ask her for coffee. Ask if you can write a paper for a conference she’s organizing or help her organize a CPD event for her bar or do some research or document summary for a big trial. Ask if you can help. Ask how you can help. And in the end, before you know it, you’re being helped too. Maybe you’re hired. Or you’re working together some other way and connected to the broader bar. And with any luck, you’re having fun and learning. I elaborate a lot on this in the podcast I did with Sean Robichaud as part of his “Of Counsel” series. If you feel like it, give it a listen. I am super proud of this too. ------------------ Thank you Anita for sharing with us your experiences leading in law, I learned so much! Stayed tuned for more posts and inspiring advice. 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: 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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I don't know about you but I need some good news right about now. And I believe there's nothing better than reading positive stories about women kicking butt in law, so welcome back to the Women Leading in Law blog series! Sit back and enjoy lots of upcoming posts about amazing women leading in law. First up is superstar Neha Chugh! 1. Tell me a little about your practice or business I started Chugh Law on May 1, 2014 – just me, with a passion for criminal law. Marriage, circumstances, and opportunity took my practice to Cornwall, Ontario – a small town between Ottawa and Montreal. I slowly expanded to family and child protection defence. My main area of focus is criminal litigation – trials, juries, pleas, sentencing, motions, research, discoveries – that is my comfort zone. After a lot of growth, I hired two lawyers to help me out with my expanding clientele – one with criminal and one with family experience. More clerks, more lawyers were on-boarded – we are now 5 lawyers and staff. I purchased a building in October of 2017 and we were able to pay it down, pave a parking lot, and complete some renovations. Overall, the growth has been unprecedented – we are humbled. I love my job. The funny moments and the hard days are all met with camaraderie and friendship with the lawyers at Chugh Law. We are all in the same boat. Some days it feels like a luxury yacht, travelling through crystal waters to the Bahamas on a sunny afternoon. Some days it feels like a dingy escaping the Titanic. Having a team to work with makes it so much better. I also love being self-employed and the freedom of choice that it brings me. While my schedule is largely dictated by the Court, I also have the ability to massage my schedule to fit in new challenges. This past year, I began teaching at St. Lawrence College, both at the Iohahi:io campus in Akwesasne and the Cornwall campus. This was a very valuable experience and I love working and dialoguing with students, preparing them for their careers as social workers and in the business world. Chugh Law also helps out the City of Cornwall from time to time when their prosecutor has conflicts. I worked as the duty counsel in the Akwesasne Court and look forward to starting as their prosecutor when the Courts reopen. I also started a PhD in social and cultural analysis at Concordia University for the prime reason that I was hungry to read, engage, learn, write and meet other like-minded individuals. My schedule works for me, it wouldn’t work for everybody. 2. Why did you go to law school? Rebellion. I have South Asian Tiger Parents. My mother wanted me to be a lawyer the moment she started watching LA Law in the 80’s and because of her crush on Jack McCoy from Law and Order. They pushed and pushed for me to succeed, and I always pushed back, never wanting to concede to their wishes. I started with a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology and a Bachelors of Social Work from the University of Waterloo. I love the study and practice of social work and the study of community development. I was passionate about it – my parents were in the background pushing law school. The more they pushed it, the more I pushed back. I went on to do a masters degree from the University of Guelph in planning and development. Amazingly, my parents were backing off about law school. I would say “PhD” and they would say: sure honey, if that makes you happy. That made me furious: they were supporting me? As a graduate student, I started a job with the federal government in policy studying community development. I talked to my parents about joining the public service permanently. “Honey, it is a great job for a woman.” What the heck! Where did these supportive people come from? I had to prove them wrong. I wrote the LSAT, I applied to law school and I got into every school I applied to. I chose Osgoode Hall because of their commitment to social justice and their reputation in the legal community. As an ongoing rebellion to my parents, I chose to be a criminal defence lawyer and not a prosecutor like Jack McCoy. Seriously though, as the daughter of immigrants from New Delhi, India, and as a first generation Indo-Canadian, I watched as my parents worked hard to make good lives for my two younger brothers and I. I also saw their deep fear of the state and how they managed to navigate the systems for us so that we could succeed. I was challenged to find ways to help individuals, powerless against state intervention and state action, to build a strong sense of identity, community, and to have a voice against illegal or incorrect state intervention. It is such a privilege to have the trust of community members to take their cases on for them. Often, it is just about helping community members understand why the state has intervened in their lives. I see this when child protection agencies intervene with families who have limited knowledge of the system. It is also rewarding to ensure that the state is subjected to the checks and balances that we would anticipate of our state actors. In Canada, no one is above the rule of law – working with our community’s most vulnerable is a constant reminder of the immense power of the state. 3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both? After three years of law school, and articles in downtown Toronto with the Honourable Justice David Berg during his time as a criminal defence lawyer, I found myself in the position of being a “trailing spouse” – the spouse that follows their husband for his career. Many marriages find themselves in this conundrum. My academic husband found his first step in Ottawa, so I applied to work with Peter Dotsikas and Terry Hawtin in their Ottawa office. I was pregnant during my articles and so we moved to Ottawa in July of 2011 with an infant. I spent two years in Ottawa while my husband worked on his post-doctoral fellowship. After two years, he had two academic job offers: Winnipeg or Montreal. I chose Montreal because it was closest to Ottawa, and I had heard of a small town called Cornwall located between the two cities. My Ontario law licence and my anglophone barrier would not get me far in Quebec. Cornwall was 45 minutes from our new home in Montreal, so the commute was not bad compared to Toronto and Ottawa traffic. I was also pregnant again with baby two. I closed my eyes and let the chips fall. I started in a one room office at the bottom of the stairs in a chambers like environment in Cornwall. We are now in a 4 story chambers that I own with 5 lawyers who work for me plus staff. With the 6 month old baby in tow in 2014, I started building the practice. After almost 6 years of practice, a third baby, and my husband achieving tenure, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t still feel like that wide-eyed, exhausted girl at the bottom of the stairs wondering if I will be able to pay the next month’s rent and phone bill. The reality of the situation was a combination of design, chance and also skill. Cornwall has faced the problem, especially in the criminal defence bar, of a greying bar. I came in as an outsider with few contacts, I am a woman of colour in a relatively homogeneous bar, and I am an extrovert with a social work background. I was able to use my social work skills to work with clients, especially very vulnerable individuals, mental health, youth, victims of abuse, individuals struggling with addiction. I was able to attract other young lawyers to join the me at the firm, which I think is a positive thing for Cornwall – a rejuvenation of legal ideas and approaches and a youthful energy. 4. What is your most significant achievement? What are you proud of? I made it and the chips were stacked against me. I am a woman, a mother, a woman of colour. I am an outsider. I did what businesses want to do when the odds are in their favour. We are the biggest barrister firm in Cornwall – and it took me just six years to achieve that honour. That is a significant achievement. But even bigger than that: I did it my way. That is my most significant work achievement. Completely unrelated, in 2013 I gave birth to my daughter with no drugs. It was not a fast birth either – I had blood issues during the delivery that made me ineligible for any pain medications or epidurals. In retrospect, I can’t believe what the human body – my body - can accomplish. When I am struggling with a deadline or from exhaustion with work and kids, I remind myself of that superhero delivery and it reminds me how far I can push myself. 5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? Find your champion, but be very cautious about what advice you are receiving and internalizing. Some people (especially men) will love to tell you what to do, how to do it, what their opinion of you is, and how you should change in order to meet their expectations of how you, as a woman lawyer, should behave. We are trained to look for a mentor – mentorship programs abound. But approach this relationship with caution and be weary of who you receive advice from in the guise of mentorship. To present date, I am still told: you are too vocal, you are too terse, you are too nice, you are too mean, you are emotionally driven, you are cold hearted, you are unprofessional, you are selfish, you are smart, you are dumb. It still hurts to be told this, and it is hard to remind myself not to internalize it. The advice givers always seem earnest and well intentioned, but the advice is not necessarily correct. Women especially need to be very careful about how they receive and process advice. We already have so many institutional barriers, relying on incorrect advice should not be an added setback. Looking for a champion is more than looking for a mentor – a champion is someone who wants to see you succeed and will help you open up doors to achieve your goals. I found my champions at home. My husband is my champion: he has supported me and encouraged me to set up my practice and apply for positions I never dreamed I could get. He pushed me out of my comfort zone with career decisions but has provided me with the scaffolding such as childcare, access to technology, and the resource of time, so that I could succeed. 6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career?
--------------- Thank you Neha for your thoughtful, honest, and funny answers to these questions. They were a delight to read and thanks for participating in this series. ICYMI - previous posts profiled the following amazing lawyers: 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. This blog post was not supposed to be about pandemics or self-isolation or quarantines or our uncertain times. I had prepared a draft post about freelance lawyering. But I cannot ignore how our lives have shifted. Every time my fingers touched the keyboard, I wanted to write about our new normal, and, in particular, a lesson I have learned. A lesson from a troll. Not an online troll that attacks people on social media, but an actual troll. Thanks to Disney+, our family was able to watch Frozen II at home earlier than anticipated. I won’t spoil the movie, but something happens, and everyone is scared, and not sure what to do. The Troll King (a.k.a. Grand Pabbie) has special powers and can normally “see” things. However, this time, he cannot see the future. This, of course, freaks people out, but the troll is calm and says: “When one can see no future…all one can do is the next right thing.” This has been my new mantra for the last week or so. Right now, I am sure many are feeling like me, unsure of what the future holds for us, our families, our businesses. As a self-employed freelance lawyer and owner of a small business, Flex Legal, I obviously need clients to give me work (in my case lawyers and law firm clients). If I don’t get work, I don’t get paid. I’ve already noticed a severe drop off in projects coming in to Flex Legal. I also know many people who have recently started their own law firms or sole practices. They may be regretting not having the steady paycheques or partnership draws right now. It is easy to panic and start imagining what the future will look like. If you are anything like me, you may be picturing the worst. But instead of dwelling on the future I cannot see, I’ve decided to listen to a cartoon troll and do “the next right thing”. What is the “next right thing” you can do? What is in your control right now? We can take this situation hour-by-hour or day-by-day and take small steps as we make our way to the future that we cannot see. Some of the small steps I have been taking: Set a schedule: This helps our family do the “next right” thing throughout the day. We know when we will wake-up, have lunch, go to bed etc., just like we did pre-pandemic. Take small steps to adjust to the new normal: I am fortunate as I do not have to adjust to working remotely. I’ve been working remotely for seven years now. However, not everyone is used to being away from their colleagues and friends. It can be isolating. Give yourself time to settle in and take small steps to find what works for you. What is the “next right thing” to make it better? Don’t like where you set up your home office? Try moving it to another room. Don’t like what you are wearing? Change into something more comfortable. Don’t like the schedule you set for yourself? Modify it. Listen to a Favourite Song: Music has helped me a lot. I grew up in a house that listened to country music (ugh) and the day I left home I swore I would abandon it for life (and did). It’s funny how I’ve been drawn back to listen to some of the songs of my childhood, and how they have been comforting. Make a playlist of your favourite comforting songs. Have a dance party in your kitchen. No one is watching! Take breaks: Your workday is not the same as it used to be. Yesterday I didn’t feel very productive but felt I needed to keep working as it wasn’t the “end of the day” yet. This was silly. So, the “next right thing” for me was to leave my desk and read a non-law book. I played on the computer with my daughter. I did a little laundry (full disclosure: I love doing laundry, so this was a fun break for me – yes, I am weird). Now today I feel much more productive. Take breaks from work, breaks from the kids, breaks from your spouse and do the “next right thing” for you. If you have kids, don’t be too hard on yourself or them: We can’t teach our kids full-time, work full-time, maintain our relationships with friends and family, and stay sane at the same time as being isolated in our homes. It’s impossible. Let them watch TV, let them be on the computer more. Find the “next right thing” that works for your kids (not the kids of the parents on Pinterest or Facebook or Twitter) to help them through this. Avoid too much social media and news: I check twice a day: once in the morning and once around dinnertime. It is easy to get sucked in. Don’t check your investments either (if you are fortunate enough to have some) and don’t dwell on the what-ifs. These small steps in monitoring what we are reading and watching can help keep us sane. Focus on the good, but don’t ignore the bad: We are all feeling some discomfort over this situation. The Harvard Business Review posted a great article explaining that this discomfort is really grief. Grief is a process. We cannot just ignore it and pretend everything is wonderful. But also, take some time to seek out some of the good. Look at all the amazing ways the courts have promptly modernized their processes over night. Look at all the helpers out there stepping in and stepping up for the vulnerable. If my paid work does dry up, I know I can tackle other things I have been putting off, articles I wanted to write, updating websites, my 2020 Business Plan, etc. These are all small steps I can focus on that will help me take this one day at a time. Like the Troll King, I have no idea what the future will hold. All I know is I can do “the next right thing”. What is the next right thing for you? Some mornings I wake up and I feel like I can change the world. I see the inequities that exist and I know that with some hard work, supportive people, and a plan, I can make a difference. Other days I read the headlines, spend 10 minutes on Twitter, watch the news and I think it's impossible. There is nothing I can do to change anything. Why would I even bother trying? How can one person fix so much that is wrong?
When I saw that the Ontario Bar Association's Women Lawyers Forum was putting on a breakfast program called "Leaders & Changemakers" at the OBA Institute this year, I knew I had to attend. I couldn't miss the powerhouse panel of speakers. I needed to learn how these women became leaders and changemakers without getting discouraged. The February 5, 2020 program was moderated by Pia Hundel (Miller Thomson LLP) and Gabriela Ramo (EY Law LLP), with speakers, Michele Landsberg (Journalist & Activist), Barbara Jackman (Jackman & Associates), Leola Pon (General Counsel, Toronto District School Board) and Anne Posno (Lenczner Slaght). The program started with each speaker talking about her own journey and what made her a “changemaker”. At an early stage in most of their lives the speakers saw inequality and wanted to change the world to be a better place. For Michele Landsberg it was growing up Jewish in a very Anti-Semitic Toronto, and being one of a few female journalists in her day, that set her on the path of becoming a changemaker. Being told to think and act a certain way did not sit right with her. While it was often painful being the one singled out, it “gave her a backbone” and a critical stance on society. It was obvious to her that women were second class, and she wrote an essay at an early age arguing against the use of “he” as the universal pronoun. Ms. Landsberg also spoke about recognizing her own reluctance to new ideas. For example, in the 1970s when people started speaking about sexual harassment, she was skeptical. Then she began to think about the sexual harassment she had experienced. As a journalist, she would take her readers through her own reluctance to new ideas and that enabled them to move along with her. Barbara Jackman grew up thinking she had a say. Ms. Jackman had several siblings and they would vote on everything at family meetings, including bedtimes and chores. She spent her whole childhood trying to get her parents to see her point of view. She also wanted to be able to help people who had problems. This led to Ms. Jackman becoming a lawyer, and as a lawyer, she realized the most vulnerable were the people who did not have status in Canada. She began practicing in immigration and refugee law. Ms. Jackman told us that keeping her clients as her focus was what led to change. She argued significant cases on behalf of her clients that changed the landscape of immigration and refugee law in Canada. But it was important, she said, to recognize all of the cases she lost along the way to make it to the ones that she won. Leola Pon comes from a working class Chinese Canadian family with parents who owned a restaurant and worked long hours. She saw how some customers treated her parents unfairly or took advantage of people who did not speak English very well. Ms. Pon never set a path to make change in life, it evolved over the years with her childhood and early adult years as her foundation: “Being a changemaker assumes you have choices and options. Sometimes you don’t”. Ms. Pon did not start her General Counsel role at the TDSB looking to change the legal department, but there were structural issues. For example, the compensation structure was not adequate. It took three years, but she was able to change the compensation structure for the better. Anne Posno grew up in a family that helped foster her belief that she could accomplish anything. She didn’t think there were any barriers, but she came to realize that there are always new barriers to recognize. Ms. Posno noted that change comes in small steps. She spoke of the “phenomenal” women at her firm and the #ReferToHer campaign which provides a list of "experienced female lawyers to whom you can confidently refer work." Some takeaways from the program:
It was a great way to start the day surrounded by these leaders and changemakers. They reminded me that I don't have to change the world in one day (of course I would feel discouraged if that was my goal!) Instead, I will keep making small changes that are in my power, whether it's as simple as bringing my own travel mug to the coffee shop and not using plastic wrap or paper towels, or writing blog posts and articles calling out bad behaviour, or donating money to good causes, or supporting striking teachers, or voting in all of the elections (including the Bencher election), or being a good ally...These are all things in my control. I can make change, one step at a time. I keep coming back to a quote from Linda Silver Dranoff's book "Fairly Equal: Lawyering the Feminist Revolution" and I think it is a fitting conclusion for this blog post: Be aware of the areas that still require attention, and do what you can to be agents of further change. Speak, as I tried to do, for women who otherwise have no voice . . . I encourage those who follow us to do the same, to never ask “What can one person do?” but rather to say, “This is what needs doing, and this is what I will do about it.” How are you a changemaker? What change will you make? I was inspired to write this post by an article I recently read on how to exit an insulting job interview gracefully, called “Why Don’t More People Walk Out of Bad Job Interviews?” I started thinking, how can we avoid bad interviews in the first place? Interviews are a necessary part of finding and filling legal positions. What can we do as both interviewees and interviewers to improve the job finding process, especially in the current legal market? Interviewing for any job is very stressful, but particularly so for new law grads. Many have massive law school debt and the market is still pretty bleak. I meet with a lot of new unemployed lawyers or lawyers that are in-between jobs. Anecdotally, I've witnessed that the average time for a new lawyer to find a law job is between 6-12 months. That’s a long time. These lawyers feel like their lives are on hold. They also sometimes get excited about a job and after months of waiting and follow-up interviews find out the position went to someone else. They start the job-hunting process over again. With these added pressures lawyers are going into interviews already super stressed. And, being the interviewer can be equally stressful. Especially if this is the lawyer’s first time hiring an associate or law student. They will be spending a lot of time, energy, resources, and money on this individual, what if they choose the wrong candidate? Also, the associate or student will be working under the lawyer’s firm name and a brand the lawyer probably spent a long-time building. Can they trust the candidate to represent their firm? I half-jokingly tell people I have my own law practice because I’m just really bad at interviews. I’ve had a few good ones, but I have also had some that were extremely embarrassing. For example, in law school, during a full day of on-campus interviews I developed this nervous tick of licking my lips. Every. Few. Seconds. I. Would. Stop. To. Lick. My. Lips. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop! I probably looked like a lizard. Then, later in my career, I once ended an interview with: “Thank you for this, I love talking about myself!!” What?!? “I love talking about myself?” Where did that come from? Who says that? I was mortified. I’ve also had interviewers behave poorly. I was once interviewed by a panel of three people and the lead interviewer began by holding up the written component of the application, saying: “You do know that if you worked here I would have re-written this entire thing.” Another member of the panel would snort and roll her eyes every time I gave an answer. When they gave me a “situational” question involving a “big, burly client” I referred to the client with a male pronoun. The lead interviewer held up her hand and said: “I didn’t say the client was a HE, gender stereotype much?” The two women looked at each other, laughed, and started writing furiously in their notes. I was so confused by their behaviour. The third interviewer seemed just as puzzled and he kept giving me sympathetic looks. I knew I had absolutely no desire to work for these toxic people. I should have exited gracefully by thanking them for their time and telling them I didn’t think it was the right fit. Instead I sat there politely listening to their snorts and put-downs for a full hour trying to answer their questions to the best of my ability. I was holding back tears by the end. To this day I’m not sure if it was an interview technique to weed out people who couldn’t handle hostility or whether they genuinely thought I was completely useless. Besides abolishing interviews altogether (is that possible?) what can we do as both interviewees and interviewers to avoid negative interview experiences and improve the process of finding a job? Although I am not an expert (as evidenced above), for what it's worth, here are my thoughts: For interviewers:
For interviewees:
Do you have any tips for improving law job interviews? Having finally listened to my own advice, I took a solid two weeks away from the office over the holidays and it was wonderful. However, this means that I am late in saying thank you to the Clawbies' (Canadian Law Blog Awards) organizers and judges for awarding this blog with a "Best Blog and Commentary" Award for 2019. I also want to thank my nominators for their kind words.
I love writing about life and law and I am just glad that someone out there enjoys reading what I write. :) Congratulations to all the winners and all the best in 2020! And another year has come to an end. I hope 2019 treated you well and all the best for 2020! Here's a look back at my ten blog posts with the most hits in 2019. Some are from previous years but still remain quite popular. Links are below, in case you missed them the first time around! 10. Building a Legal Practice: Say Yes, Until It Is Time to Say No (2019) 9. How Are Firms Improving Equality Diversity and Inclusion? First Post: Lerners LLP (2019) 8. My Biggest Mistake This Year (2019) 7. How do you do it? And How do you do it all? Dispelling Myths About Life as a Lawpreneur (2019) 6. As a Lawyer When Would You (or Should You) Report Another Lawyer for Professional Misconduct? (2014) 5. What are a Lawyer's Professional Obligations When Leaving a Law Firm? (2015) 4. Book Review: Full Disclosure by Beverley McLachlin (2018) 3. The Economic Costs of Mansplaining in My Life (2019) 2. Barristers Robes The Courtroom Equalizer (2017) 1. Women Leading in Law: Jessica Prince (2018) Happy New Year and thanks for reading. Starting your own legal practice, or business, can be overwhelming and terrifying. Some lawyers who branch out on their own are able to bring clients (or a full practice) with them from an old firm. Most of us are not that lucky. I started my own freelance lawyer practice, Cowling Legal Freelance, in 2013 from scratch. Through this I have learned several important lessons about building a legal practice and business. One of those lessons: Always say “Yes”...... until it is time to say “No”. WHEN TO SAY YES Unless you are independently wealthy, starting a legal practice with little or no clients means you have to say “yes” to files that show up, even if they may not excite you. Often people refer to this as practicing “Door Law” – your practice consists of whatever comes in the door. If you have a mortgage to pay and mouths to feed, saying "yes" is necessary. Obviously, you should only take on files that you are competent to handle, but use this as an opportunity to try new things and expand your skills. This is actually an exciting time! You may take on a file in an area that you never thought you would be interested in and discover you love it. I learned lots by saying "yes" in the early years of my own practice. One firm asked if I would do a flat fee project. I had never done one before as a freelance lawyer, but I said "yes" anyway. I quickly learned that I had severely underestimated and undervalued my time - a mistake I never made again. But, I now know how to flat fee out projects better and have a new service to offer my clients. I never would have learned this if I said "no". In the beginning I also said "yes" to things that took me well outside of my comfort zone or were a lot of hard work for little or no monetary reward. But, those opportunities turned into more opportunities and helped build my practice. For example, I answered "yes" when asked to write articles for legal publications and lawyer associations. Even though they didn't pay, and it takes a lot of time and hard work to write an article, it was a great way to get my name out there without having to pay advertising fees (low on clients, means low on cash). It was the same with volunteering for legal organizations. Saying "yes" to help organize a CLE event (not easy work), led to me being asked (and saying "yes") to speaking at a different legal event. A few lawyers saw me speak and sent work my way. Meeting the Dean of the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law over Twitter (through tweeting some of those time-consuming articles I wrote) and saying "yes" to having coffee with him, eventually led to my part-time position as Regional Alumni Advisor. This are just some examples. It can be scary stepping into new situations and trying new things – but just saying "yes" can open up so many opportunities and, in turn, build your practice. Saying "yes" meant I was trying new things, meeting new people and going to new places. It was so much fun saying "yes"....until it was time to..... SAY NO What is the downside to learning to say "yes" to everything? You get good at it. You get into a habit of automatically saying "yes". You want to have a coffee to pick my brain and expect me to travel 40 minutes to you in the middle of the day? Volunteer hours of my time in an area of law I am not really interested in? Write an article for a publication that has readers who would never use my services? Decrease my billable rate and put up with your abusive emails because you promise me lots of work? ....ummm what?! It really sounds silly to say "yes" to these suggestions, but once you get used to saying "yes" to build your practice, it can be hard to shake the habit. It makes sense to say "yes" when you start out because you have more time (all you have is time, when you have no clients!) but that changes once your practice is up and running and time becomes a precious commodity. Sometimes, even though you now have a steady flow of work coming in the door, you have files that excite you, and you've built a solid brand, as a business owner you still can't help but worry that the files will stop coming. Or, the writing opportunities will dry up. Or, the speaking opportunities will disappear. So you keep saying "yes" to everything even though you should be saying "no" to some things. Last December I felt the beginning of burnout creeping into my life. I had the constant feeling like I was holding my breath all day, waking up panicking at 3 a.m. convinced I missed a deadline, stress-eating (chips for breakfast? Why not?), I was irritable, cranky, tired…I knew something had to change. I was doing too much. So I decided 2019 was "My Year of Saying No”. Not with the intention of saying “no” to everything, but just to be more strategic with my use of "yes". The response to "My Year of Saying No" has been great. Most people have understood and respected my decision. Often it's not a straight out no (although sometimes it is, especially with difficult clients), but more of a "not right now". I ask that they check in again next year or I make a note to follow up when it is a better time for me to consider the opportunity. It hasn't been easy, but life is much more manageable. For those of you who are like me, and find it hard to say "no", here are some things to consider: Is that client questioning your hourly rate at the beginning of the relationship? Is she not respecting your time and calling you 15 times a day before she has even signed your retainer? These are red flags of a difficult client. It is okay to say “no” to clients like this. If someone wants to have a coffee with you to "pick your brain", it's okay to ask them to come to you. It's okay to limit it to 15-30 minutes. It's okay to even say "Sorry, I am tied up for the next little while, can you check in with me in a month or two?" You've been asked to write an article. Is it for a publication that your clients or referral sources read? Is it on a topic that interests you? Or, will it be a pain to write? Will you have time to write it during your workday? Or, will you spend your family time or "me-time" writing it? It's okay to say "no" if the publication is not a good fit, or suggest another topic, or ask if it can be published in the next issue if the timing does not work. If you are asked to speak at a conference, is it paid? Who is the audience? Will it benefit your practice? Will they cover expenses (travel, etc.)? Do you have to write a lengthy paper? It can be flattering to be asked to speak, but if there are only a few "pros" and lots of "cons" it might just be a waste of your time and energy. Building your practice, or keeping your practice busy, is an on-going endeavour and it can never stop. So, it is good to keep taking on clients, keep writing, keep speaking, keep networking, etc. BUT once your practice grows and your time shrinks, you must be more selective in what you say "yes" to...Otherwise burnout may be around the corner. The truth is…I really enjoyed this book. The former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, Beverley McLachlin, shares her life story in “Truth be Told”,[1] starting with her small-town roots, to her seat on the bench, her rise to the Supreme Court, and her "retirement". McLachlin tells the story with sincerity and with the clarity of an experienced writer who has kept her audience and the purpose of the book in mind. Perhaps I enjoyed this book so much because I found parts of her story to be very relatable, in particular her childhood experiences in the small town of Pincher Creek, Alberta. I too grew up in the country. The closest village, Mount Pleasant, had a population of, at most, 500 people. McLachlin speaks fondly of life on the ranch, the wide-open spaces, fresh air, and nature. She also highlights the feelings of isolation and hard work that come with living in the country. (We even had the same chores as children: “Bringing in firewood, washing and drying the dishes, sweeping the floor after every meal, helping outdoors..”[2]) Speaking of her regular visits to the small-town library, McLachlin states: “The Pincher Creek Municipal Library saved my life. Or so it seems to me now. Would I have survived without it? Probably. Would I have grown to be the person I am without it? Most certainly not.”[3] Like Pincher Creek, my village had a library with a small collection of books housed in the “Women’s Institute Hall”. The librarian would put on summer reading programs for the local country kids. Much like McLachlin, I looked forward to my trips to the library so I could bury my nose in a book (or two or three). Moving beyond her childhood and Pincher Creek, McLachlin highlights the influence of family and in particular her husband, Rory, who encouraged her to become a lawyer, something she had not considered. She talks about her marriage, her son, her career as a lawyer and a law professor, and the struggles with Rory’s cancer diagnosis and death. McLachlin writes with such honesty I could not stop the tears from streaming down my face. (I happened to be in my hairdresser’s chair when I read about her husband’s passing. My hairdresser was alarmed as she thought she had hurt me.) On her life as a judge and ultimately the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, McLachlin shares her stories with perhaps a little restraint but with a great respect for the legal profession and the rule of law. If you were looking for some legal gossip, you will be disappointed. A few peripheral stories of human interest with an air of conflict but nothing scandalous here. (Which is understandable.) McLachlin also balances her personal story with information about the state of Canadian law and important Canadian cases, including insights into Rodriguez v British Columbia (Attorney General), Murdoch v Murdoch, R v Ewanchuk, Carter v (Attorney General), Bedford v Canada, etc. She discusses the criticism she received from several feminist groups for penning the majority decision in R v Seaboyer (which dealt with rape-shield provisions and the Charter). She explained that: “My personal inclinations could not prevail over the constitutional imperative of maintaining the right to present a full defence. As a judge, my duty was to apply the law and call the case the way I saw it, adding guidelines as to how the law could be amended in conformity with the Charter. Sometimes a judge must make unpopular decisions that may go against her deepest preferences.”[4] What shines through is that McLachlin loves the law and has a deep respect for it as well as the need for judicial independence (despite some unnecessary criticism on Twitter regarding her judicial independence for her joke about naming her puppy “Harper”). It was an interesting book and a well-told story of a woman navigating her career. Of course, she discusses some of the sexism she faced but it’s the same frustrating story I’m sure you’ve heard before, so I won’t repeat most of it here. One story that stood out though was when she spoke at a legal conference a few weeks after being appointed to the Supreme Court. She opened her speech by telling the audience what Justice Bertha Wilson told her after she took her place on the bench after signing the oath: “Three down, six to go” (referring to the three women now at the Court – Wilson, L’Heureux-Dube and McLachlin). The next morning there was an op-ed in the paper where the writer wrote: “How dare the new justice suggest that the Supreme Court of Canada should be composed entirely of women.”[5] Interestingly, just last night at the Women's Law Association of Ontario’s 100th Anniversary Gala, Justice Andromache Karakatsanis also referred to Justice Wilson’s quote in her keynote address (this time "Four down, five to go"). I have yet to see any criticism of the Justice’s comments in any newspaper or more importantly, on Twitter. Perhaps we have made some progress. What also was clear from the book was that McLachlin had many champions in her life, urging her forward, and suggesting the way: her parents, her siblings, colleagues, Rory, her son, and her second husband Frank McArdle. If only all women had the support she had and continues to have. Not too long ago I came across the handwritten notes that I took on my one and only appearance at the Supreme Court of Canada. I laughed when I read the little notation I made at the top: “Beverley McLachlin said my name!” Although I was not speaking that day, Chief Justice McLachlin announced all counsel present and I was beaming with joy. Despite the fangirling, I am aware she is not perfect, we all make mistakes, we are all learning. However, she has contributed so much to the legal profession, to the law in this country and to Canadians as a whole (much of which I have not mentioned here but you can read about in the book). While her presence at the Supreme Court of Canada is missed, I hope this means she will now have time to write a sequel to her novel, Full Disclosure. I recommend this book to all lawyers, law students or anyone with an interest in the law or who enjoys autobiographies. You can buy the book in several places, including Indigo or better yet, check out your local independent bookstore. [1] Beverley McLachlin, Truth Be Told: My Journey Through Life and the Law, (Toronto: Simon & Schuster Canada, 2019) [Truth] [2] Truth at p 38. [3] Truth at p 34. [4] Truth at p 233. [5] Truth at p 201. I’ve made a mistake. A mistake that I know I should not make, I never intended to make, and I swore I would never make, but I did: the summer is over, and I didn’t take nearly enough time off. I know there are more serious mistakes for a lawyer to make (the Law Society isn’t knocking on my door, demanding the revocation of my licence to practice law), however, this seemingly small mistake is having repercussions – a rippling effect - on my job and life. How I Messed Up I had the best of intentions to unplug this summer. In the past, I would work extra long days on Monday to Thursday so I could take Fridays off in July and August and enjoy the warm weather. This year I found myself saying, “Sure I can schedule that call/meeting on Friday, no problem”. Or, thinking to myself, “I’ll just pop into the office Friday morning and take the afternoon off”, only to look up and see that it was 6pm. No worries, I thought, there’s plenty of summer left. In July we loaded our three kids into the car and drove to remote Maine for a relaxing seven-day long vacation (I know, I know, “relaxing vacation” and “three kids” don’t normally go together). On our arrival, I found it so peaceful…almost too peaceful. My phone was not making any noises. I wasn’t receiving any emails. I mean none. No OBA emails. No Law Society emails. No “Let me do an SEO audit on your website” emails. What was going on?! I looked at the service bars on my phone…. ack…. No cell phone reception! This might sound ideal to some, but as a sole practitioner and sole owner of a business (Flex Legal), and usually the first point of client contact, I started to panic. I quickly logged on to the WiFi at the rental home and sure enough - “ding, ding, ding” - the emails started rolling in. And, of course, something was up with one of our clients. There was a miscommunication between the lawyer client and a freelance lawyer. Both were looking to me to assist. By the time the issue was resolved it was three days into my vacation. On the seventh day I was finally starting to unwind, and . . . it was time to go home. But, no worries, there was still plenty of summer left, it was only August. On my return to the office I did not feel relaxed. I did not feel rejuvenated. I felt lethargic. I would go to the office with a long to-do list and I would barely get through a few items. Normally I am energised to get to the office in the morning, but 8 hours would go by and I wondered, what did I do all day? Anything? Instead of recognizing that I needed a break, I pushed through, I stayed at my computer all day, everyday. I didn’t get anything done, I told myself, how could I justify taking a day, or days off, now?! And then August was over.(*) We are now well into September (almost October!) which happens to be my busiest time of year. There is always an uptick in business for Flex in the fall and I teach at the University of Toronto. My calendar is full of conferences, networking events, volunteer meetings. My window of opportunity to take a proper break is closing. Take That Vacation, it will Make you a Better Lawyer! I’m not giving you any earth-shattering information. We all know that taking a real vacation makes us less stressed, more focused, and in return, better lawyers, better employees, and better bosses. Even though I love my job, I still need a break from it. I need to unplug and unwind. I need to think about something other than the law. When I do, I return to my practice with more energy and commitment. When I worked for someone else, I always took all my allotted vacation. I felt I was working hard and I rightly deserved the time off. Now that I have my own practice and business and can, in theory, take as much vacation time that I want, I take even less. I need to change that. So, here is what I have learned, and what may help to ensure that you and I take our important vacations:
p.s. VACATION ALERT: I will be out of the office starting on July 6, 2020 and will return to the office on July 27, 2020. I will not be checking email during that time 😊. (*) I did convince myself to sneak off to an afternoon ball game one day in August (photo below), which was quite lovely, but it was not an uninterrupted break. Next time I will leave my phone at home! Photo by chen zo on Unsplash |
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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