WIDE-EYED & RELUCTANT TO ASK

Not taking time off is NOT a badge of honour, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You MUST carve out time for yourself - it will make you more productive, smarter, more strategic and importantly, more compassionate - to your clients and to yourself.

In this episode of the podcast, I talk about getting paid for your work, and the importance of communicating with your clients about money.

In this episode of the podcast, I talk about expectations: - those we have of ourselves and those we create for our clients, of us - and how to mange them.

Where do your clients come from? Where will your first, next client come from? It’s never too early to start thinking about that aspect of your legal practice; to make a plan, to form some early and good habits for marketing yourself.

On this episode, Michelle Abel and I engage in a wide-ranging discussion of mentorship and mentoring, not only from a theoretical perspective but also from actual experience - as we have, and continue to, wear both mentor and mentee hats.

“I am not smart enough.”

“I don’t belong here.”

“I am a fraud.”

“When will they discover I don’t measure up?”

These questions are common. They sneak up on us and they can linger. They can actually impact our motivation and drive. They can rob us of joy in life. Bennison Smith and I tackle imposter syndrome head-on, and without sugarcoating it unduly. Listen to our candid conversation and realize that if you share these feelings and doubts, you are not alone.

I am privileged to have had a chance to host on my podcast two incredible lawyers, women, mothers, spouses, mentors, leaders - Frankie Wood and Jennifer Gold - partners at Wood Gold LLP. We talked about Women in Law - a topic with which all three of us have lots of practical experience, and about which each one of us talks with commitment. No sugar-coating here: it’s the good, the bad and the ugly of lawyering as a woman. Full of honesty and emotion, but also fun!

Learn more about Frankie and Jennifer here: www.woodgold.ca

In the last 13 months, each one of us has had to grapple with the challenging of norms, including in our every-day lives, and to adapt in novel and sometimes counter-intuitive ways. 1L students experienced this period in a way no other students in their position ever had before. In this interview, Emily Wuschnakowski, who just completed 1L at Osgoode, offers great insight into the highs and lows of virtual law school, and advice on how one might tackle this challenging time, based on her own experiences.

Unless you actually want to be a penguin in a room full of seagulls, a flightless bird among other birds continually capitalizing on their ability to soar above the horizon, trying to fit in can be difficult and stressful. Some of that pressure, I venture to say a lot of it, ebbs once you accept who you are, and find your own place among all those seagulls, a place with a meaningful sense of self-worth.

As your quest to a career in law unfolds, you may be wondering whether your direction, to a specific area of practice; your choices, your focus, should not be more definitive than they are. These are natural questions; quite common, in fact. In this episode, I share my thoughts on the subject.