Part II: Pursuing Alternative Legal Careers
*by Maitland Shaheen
Level has been fortunate to work closely with law students for the past 15 years, and has seen the ample opportunities that students and lawyers have to make significant social change. Whether it’s working with youth, advocating for environmental justice, or securing social justice abroad, lawyers across Canada shape their local and international communities through law.
In Part 1 of our Blazing Trails Mentorship series, we featured 5 of our experienced legal mentors generously offering their time and support to guide the next generation of legal leaders. For this edition, Level chatted with a number of Canadian legal professionals who’ve taken unique routes in their career paths to creating positive change. Follow along to hear from three inspiring professionals who remind us of the diverse ways you can change the world with a legal education.
---
Fraser Thomson
Lawyer, Ecojustice
LLB, Dalhousie University
What inspired you to attend law school?
I’ve been involved in environmental work since high school and have always had an interest in it. When I graduated university, I had done a lot of that kind of advocacy and political work, but was interested in the way that you could use the law as well. I knew a law degree would help me in political or advocacy roles in the future. With the types of issues that are going on in terms of climate change, it seemed like a really great opportunity to try to make a difference using the law.
Tell us about the legal skills used in your role at Ecojustice.
It really depends, but most of my work is focused on litigation. That can either be litigation in its more conventional form, where you’re writing submissions, doing legal research, and preparing to go to court. Because the types of cases we work on are either test cases or involve applying laws in novel ways, we’ll do a lot of preparation work before we take on a case. So, my practice is fairly conventional, but we do spend a lot of time developing cases and figuring out which ones are the best to bring on to enhance the law to protect the environment.
How did law school prepare you for the advocacy work you’re doing today?
Law school was so helpful in the way that it gave me a good grasp on the law. I didn’t end up taking that many environmental law courses, and I’m glad I didn’t, because I think what ends up being useful a lot of the time is knowing principles of different practices. Environmental law requires a broad range of knowledge.
Often when you’re fighting environmental battles, you’re trying to get government or industry to pay attention to you the critically important issues you're trying to raise. In litigation, it’s hard to ignore a notice of application or a statement of claim. In a lot of contexts, we’re fighting a typical David vs. Goliath battle, where we’re a small organization up against companies with next to unlimited budgets. At the same time, as long you have good laws to rely on, you’re one party versus another party in a matter before court. So, practising environmental advocacy in the legal context had its advantages for sure.
Camille Labchuk
Executive Director, Animal Justice
JD, University of Toronto
What inspired you to attend law school?
Before law school, I worked as press secretary to Green Party leader Elizabeth May—an environmental lawyer and activist. I saw first-hand how her law degree and legal knowledge helped her be effective as an advocate. I had become passionate about protecting animals, and I saw that there was very little legal work happening on behalf of them. I saw an opening, so I decided to study law so I could help build up the field of animal law in Canada and improve legal protections available to animals.
You had a more traditional legal practice prior to your current career path. Tell us about that.
After law school, I spent two years practicing criminal law with a great Toronto lawyer, James Silver, who shared my passion for protecting animals. Criminal defence lawyers are the guardians of human rights and civil liberties, and I was gratified at being able to help so many vulnerable people from marginalized segments of society. Practicing criminal defence also gave me the chance to be in court nearly every day, and work on cases ranging from shoplifting to first degree murder, so I honed my advocacy skills in that job. But my real passion was always animal law, so in early 2014 I left to start my own animal law practice.
You left to start your own unique practice. What was the transition like to your current position?
I had my own law firm and was doing mostly animal law cases, such as defending animal rights activists, filing animal cruelty complaints, and helping animal rescues. Being my own boss was liberating, and it also gave me the opportunity to spend virtually all of my free time volunteering with Animal Justice, which at that point was still just a small group of passionate volunteers. The organization continued to grow and pick up steam, and eventually I was tapped to become the executive director. I am grateful every day to lead the country's only national animal law organization, and I'm so proud of how we have helped build the field of animal law and raised the profile of animal issues.
How did law school prepare you for the advocacy work you’re doing today?
I didn't take a single one of the courses on the solicitor's bar exam because they simply weren't relevant to my interests or eventual career. No real estate or tax law for me! But I did make a point of taking every social change-oriented class on offer, and I managed to write nearly all of my law school papers on animal law issues. There's always a way to make your course research relevant to your passion. I also took every possible opportunity to develop my advocacy skills, like volunteering and working at Downtown Legal Services in the criminal law division, competing in moots, and taking a Trial Advocacy course. On top of that, I was co-president of the animal law club, and volunteered for any animal rights group that wanted my help. The contacts I made through that volunteer work in particular ended up being my clients when I had my own practice, and now my colleagues in the fight for animal rights.
Jodi Kovitz
Founder and CEO, Move the Dial
LLB, York University
Did you ever practice more traditional law?
I was a family lawyer from 2006 to 2012, and then worked in strategic business development, at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.
How did you enter the job you’re in now?
When I received a call to apply for the role of CEO of AceTech Ontario – an organization that was created to help CEOs and top executives of scaling technology companies in Ontario engage, learn, and grow – I jumped at the opportunity and was hired.
At the first quarterly dinner I attended, I was meeting the membership and also sharing my big vision for the organization for the first time. I looked around the room, and it struck me that the tech leaders in attendance were predominantly white men. Of about 130 members, only three women were in the room. This surprised me and planted the very first seed for an idea I had, and what would ultimately become #movethedial.
While I worked on #movethedial during my time at AceTech as a side project, it became clear to me that this was a grassroots movement with incredible momentum and impact behind it - It required my dedicated focus. So, in January 2018, I took a leap of faith and with the support of some truly extraordinary friends and allies, I made this movement my full-time focus.
Today, we have connected with a supportive and growing community of more than 10,000 people. We held our first #movethedial Global Summit earlier in November. It brought together 800 executives and emerging leaders from across the technology and business ecosystem, and 200 youth – all of which share a deep interest in technology and innovation. We also featured a highly diverse roster of insightful and inspiring speakers, representing many of the world’s leading tech companies. Of the 50 executives, tech founders, funders, and youth speaking at the event, the majority were women, half were people of colour, and included members of the LGBTQ community.
How did law school prepare you for the advocacy work you’re doing today?
Law school played a very important role in preparing me for the work I do today. For example, it taught me how to build a sound argument. I also learned how to be an advocate, communicate effectively, and articulate my thoughts – all of which has enabled me to secure funding for #movethedial, engage with our communities, secure speakers, and connect with senior business and technology leaders. Because of my experience at law school, I can also draft my own contracts, and review and understand contracts prepared by my lawyers.
What advice do you have for students interested in working in your field?
Find your dreams and do what you are most passionate about. Today I am an entrepreneur in the tech industry and found my purpose by listening to my passion. It doesn’t matter have far you are down the road – you don’t have to feel like you are stuck; if you follow your passion you can always shift. And if you love practicing law, then give it your all and try not to take yourself too seriously.
Adi Rao
Student at Law, Amnesty International
Joint JD and MA in International Affairs, University of Ottawa and Carleton University
What inspired you to attend law school?
I never really thought I’d go to law school. During undergrad at the University of Alberta, my work with World University Service of Canada (“WUSC”) got me really interested in migrant justice advocacy. As a result of working with really inspiring people, and folks who really pushed the envelope to challenge these issues in court, I decided I’d give it a shot. In many ways, law can really empower you to make the change you want to see. There’s no need to let an unjust law stay in place and stand in the way of justice, and a law degree gives you the tools to challenge that.
What’s a normal day of work look like for you?
The articling program at Amnesty really gives you some incredible opportunities. Most of the time I’m working on Supreme Court interventions. You also sometimes get to travel the globe - I was in Geneva last week with Amnesty participating in our submission to the United Nations, which I think is a very unique experience and something that I’m extremely grateful for. Day to day can be a lot of Canadian jurisprudence and looking through U.N. documents.
What would you say to students interested in working in your field?
I think we need so many more advocates in these professions. There are not enough people doing this work, and there’s a lot of work to be done. Everything that we do has to be done with access to justice in mind. There are so many communities and folks who don’t have access to justice, and our profession is built in a way that it excludes huge parts of the population. If you are thinking of going to law school, then you should go to law school. If you’re thinking of practising law, then you should practice law, because we need you.
---
Next Up: The Importance of Legal mentorship
We would like to give a special thank you to Fraser, Camille, Jodi and Adi for generously taking the time to speak with us, and for guiding the next generation of legal leaders!
Found these three diverse perspectives insightful? Keep your eyes peeled for part 3 (we’ve seen it around here somewhere) of our Mentorship Series. You'll hear from some of our current and past mentors on the important role mentorship plays in activating your law degree to build a successful career. Enjoying the series? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @leveljustice to keep up-to-date with more thought-provoking content.
*Maitland Shaheen is a Level volunteer and senior at the University of Ottawa, studying a joint honours BA in Communication and Political Science. An aspiring lawyer, she is passionate about human rights, feminism and justice.
**Note: Responses have been edited for accuracy and clarity.
-Banner photo credit: @goian on Unsplash