“My one piece of advice to up and coming lawyers is to hang in there if you feel over your head. Don’t give up. Things will get easier. The practice of law is very challenging, but it can also be equally rewarding. I volunteer as an advisor because I want to help to create a smoother path for other women in the profession. I feel very fortunate to have had mentors of all sorts all along the way with different perspectives and strengths. I am particularly thankful for the strong and successful female lawyers in my life who have been both approachable and generous with their time. I want to pay that forward.” – Kim Yee, Life in Law Advisor and Partner at Harper Grey LLP The Life in Law team is made up of a diverse group of Harper…

Dear Glass Half Full: Sadly, I do not think that COVID-19 has spurred better gender diversity in law. In fact, when I first read the question, I thought it has likely done the opposite. Rather than rely on my own hunch, I did some research and came across article upon article and the news, my friends, is not good. From the New York Times story “Pandemic Will Take Our Women 10 Years Back in the Workplace” to the recent CBC article “Pandemic Job Losses Threaten to Leave Women Behind Permanently”, studies on the impact of the pandemic, while not limited to the practice of law, indicate COVID-19 has harmed working women more than working men. It has been particularly devastating for minority women. The pandemic had forced all lawyers to think about our jobs and how we do them. It…

As I sit here typing this, in my home office, during what feels like my 4,000th day working from home, I find myself again hitting a wall. Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m one of the lucky ones. More often than not throughout this past year, the overwhelming feeling I have is one of gratitude. During this pandemic I’ve maintained an uninterrupted income and my family and I are healthy and COVID-free. What reason do I have to feel stressed or to complain? Do I even have a right compared to what others are going through right now?

We are excited to introduce you to our latest Guest Blogger, Jen Murtagh. An award winning coach to female leaders, Jen recently posted an amazing video to LinkedIn called, “How to Communicate with Power” – if you haven’t seen it you should definitely check it out here. Once we saw that video we knew we had to invite Jen to guest blog. Despite her busy schedule she graciously accepted and provided us with the following insightful post discussing how the frequent use of disqualifiers in verbal communication can sabotage us more than we think.

I recently attended the Canadian Lawyer – Women in Law Summit 2021 which aired virtually and on the heels of the recent national media attention around the disparity of income between men and women in the practice of law. At Life in Law we have blogged and linked to some of these media reports ending our posts with queries like – “What next?” and “How do we change this inequality?” As I listened to featured summit speakers, Robert Miller and Joelle Walker, CEO and principal of Miller Titerle respectively, I was reminded of a discussion I had a few years ago with a very senior male lawyer who, at the time, was on the verge of retirement. He practiced during a time when local firms were becoming national firms and national firms were becoming international firms and he posited that…