Pride is widely celebrated across Canada throughout the summer. No matter where in the country these celebrations take place, at the root of it all is the recognition of LGBTQIA2S+ rights in our own cities and around the world. It is important that we continue to reflect on the progress that has yet to be made, and how we can be better advocates and create space for all members of our community.

I have been practicing law since 1992. I worked at private law firms in Toronto and Vancouver and for the B.C. provincial and Canadian federal governments. I have had rewarding work that felt important in the moment and challenged me to solve interesting legal, practical and policy problems. I have worked on multi-disciplinary teams with accountants, entrepreneurs, medical professionals, police, scientists, educators, developers, politicians and others. Looking back, I remember clearly many outstanding women I worked with and for. What made them great?

LiL co-founder and Harper Grey partner Kim Jakeman, recently published a post to the Dear LiL blog about understanding and addressing unconscious bias. In the post, Kim references the importance of being open to learning about the biases we hold and being honest to ourselves about them. In the spirit of ongoing learning we’d like to share that the Canadian Bar Association is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, July 29 on uncovering unconscious bias with Bilingual Unconscious Bias, Diversity, Inclusion and Equity trainer, Karima Kara. Find out more information and register here.    

”My one piece of advice to up and coming lawyers is a legal career is a marathon not a sprint; you can take your own path. Don’t quit just because you are on a different path than those around you. I volunteer as an Advisor because it is important for women to support women. I want to see more women like me stay in law.” -Mandeep Gill, Life in Law Advisor and Associate at Harper Grey LLP The Life in Law team is made up of a diverse group of Harper Grey women lawyers who volunteer their time as advisors on a weekly basis answering phone calls, monitoring the live chat on our website and responding to questions through the Dear LiL blog. We are growing organically through word of mouth – and we’d be delighted if you shared our…

Dear The Big Schmooze: When I was first called to the Bar, there were seemingly three business development activities you could do with a client that the firm would approve no questions asked – a lunch, a hockey game or a round of golf.