“The practice of law can be really tough and isolating at times. Getting involved with your firm, with the legal profession and with your broader community has an endless number of benefits. It makes practice a bit more fun if you are involved with your firm and really makes you feel like a part of your firm. Getting involved in the legal profession helps you to understand the bigger picture beyond your particular case and helps you to get to know more of your colleagues. Getting involved in your community will help you realize the incredible skill set that you have and how that skill set can be used to help people in your community that are not your clients. Getting involved in your firm, the legal community and the broader community gets your name out there, helps you become…

Dear Practicing Patience: Thank you so much for reaching out. For those of you that are just jumping in, we recently blogged about our interpretation of the in-house counsel compensation survey conducted by The Counsel Network (read that post here). We read with interest the article that you sent along, and can’t say we are surprised to hear that women in the practice of medicine are subject to similar gender pay gaps and systemic biases to those experienced by women in law. Such bias exists across professions and is simply wrong. The article provides a cogent, well-researched explanation for why the wage gap persists in medicine. Of course, studying this issue in the practice of medicine is somewhat easier given there is more transparency with respect to compensation than there is in the practice of law. In Canada this is…

I just finished reading the highly praised “Me and White Supremacy” authored by Layla F. Saad., antiracist educator. Briefly, this book is structured as a 28-day anti-racism guide that specifically targets readers that are white, or white-passing. The guide aims to help readers identify the impact of and navigate the often-hidden mechanisms of white supremacy and systemic racism in our own lives. I strongly urge all who have committed their life to combating racism to not only read this book, but to do this book. I did, and I will tell you that it was a necessary learning experience for me. Three key things I have learned from this book are: 1. It is not enough to not be racist and if you think it is, this book is written for you. 2. If you bought this book because you…

“One piece of invaluable advice I received was from my late father, who practiced law for nearly 40 years. He told me to remember that a lawyer’s job is not to simply recite the facts as presented by your client; that is called dictation. A lawyer’s job is to listen to their client about his/her story, critically review the evidence, and then tell your client’s story in a compelling and effective way. I try to follow this simple piece of advice in every aspect of my practice, starting with the drafting of pleadings to finalizing my written and oral arguments. I consider “story telling” to be at the heart of legal advocacy.” – Lindsay Johnston, Life in Law Advisor and lawyer at Harper Grey LLP The Life in Law team is made up of a group of women lawyers who…

On September 30th, Lean In Canada and McKinsey & Company released their 6th “Women In The Workplace Report” which focused on how COVID-19 could erase gains made by women in management and senior leadership positions (read the report here). On Thursday, October 22, the Vancouver Chapter of Lean in Canada will host a virtual discussion titled, “The Pandemic and Gender Equality: Addressing the Regressive Effects” focusing on the individual journeys of three women battling the repercussions of the pandemic in their workplaces. The Vancouver Chapter of Lean in Canada dedicates itself to empowering women to take action by providing support and opportunities for members to connect. Read more about Lean In Vancouver here. Register for tomorrow’s discussion by clicking here.