I recently found Life in Law and thought that my experience with serving clients who are going through difficult times would be helpful to the LiL community. I had a corporate accounting practice for over 20 years. I can’t remember any of my clients crying during a meeting. Now I have a divorce advisory practice and I keep tissue handy. Regardless of the specific circumstances, divorce is hard. I can count on zero fingers the number of clients who’ve sailed through the process without grief, or anger, or fear. All of my clients are in need of emotional support as well as technical services. Helping my clients work through tough times is more fulfilling than minimizing corporate tax bills. Fulfilling work is, well, fulfilling, and I wouldn’t trade it. But it comes at a price. It is harder to “leave…

We’re ecstatic to announce that Life in Law is the recipient of a 2021 Canadian Law Excellence Award in the Bereskin & Parr Diversity Initiative of the Year category! We’re even more delighted that an initiative that grew from a lightbulb moment, was launched only a year ago and nurtured along despite the pandemic has been embraced so enthusiastically by the legal community. The goal has always been for Life in Law to have a positive influence and impact on reducing the exodus of women from the profession. Life in Law’s success and this amazing recognition is testament to what can be accomplished when we come together and support each other. The Key Media Canadian Law Awards celebrate legal excellence across the country and are awarded in two phases. The first phase recognizes the top submissions in each category with…

Guest Blogger, Jaeda Lee, shares her feedback on a session she attended on discrimination and systemic racism within the legal profession. Originally published on March 17, 2021. To read more about Building a Foundation for Change: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2019–2022, click here. 

Early this year, Erin Durant, partner and litigator at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG), wrote an article documenting lessons learned from her burnout in January of 2021 – read that article here. Since then, Erin has been featured in an article by The Globe and Mail, which details why we can no longer blame working-from-home burnout on “pandemic fatigue” but that there a multitude of other contributing factors at play – read it (with a subscription) here. Erin’s most recent post is called, “Why Speaking About Mental Health as a Leader is Not Brave – but Necessary” and the title speaks for itself. The article is a must read – you can find it here. The reality is, that we are all human and there is a lot of uncertainty in the world right now. We feel it too, and LiL is…

(Read Kim’s previous blog post on her transition to remote work here). Dear Curious Young Lawyer: I think that your question about mentorship is an excellent one. How to effectively provide and receive mentorship is relevant not only to those who have an alternate work arrangement in place (or are contemplating that), but this is currently an issue of great importance to so many lawyers and staff who are working remotely due to COVID-19. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to your question. However, I am happy to share my thoughts about some of the things that I think both mentors and mentees can do to promote and maintain these vital relationships in an increasingly virtual environment. Mentorship is more important than ever given the challenging times that we are in. At present, I think that mentors and leaders within…