Finding Your Way in Law
It took me a long time to find my path in law. I went to law school with the broad goal of “helping people” but had no idea what that would involve. I quickly discovered that I did not enjoy working with people experiencing legal challenges and that there were no support systems for lawyers whose practices were causing stress (or trauma, although we didn’t use that term then.) Like many other lawyers, my solution was to grab a job that was very different from what I was doing, convinced that I just needed a blood-less practice area, and I enjoyed practicing securities law for about seven years.
I found things that I liked about the work—I loved the idea that corporate transactions told stories and enjoyed developing the story arc in closing agendas and master agreements. I enjoyed being my office’s designated grammar geek and opining on correct usages of English in consultation with my collection of resources. But if someone asked me about a file months later, my recollections of the subject matter were not that clear—the subject matter didn’t inspire me, and I could tell that my fascination with how we told the story was not what they wanted to hear.
I struggled with the fact that while it was good legal work, and that I was doing decently at it, it just wasn’t my passion. And it took me even longer to wrestle with the issue of whether I had the right to have a practice area that I found compelling and that I would choose to read about out of interest and not because I had to. My approach to practicing law was too much akin to university: I worked on what I needed to do and delivered my best rendition, and then emptied my data banks.
I found my niche by happenstance. A friend mentioned that his corporate employer wanted to hire a part-time lawyer and I leapt at the opportunity for better work-life balance. The position supported the human resources initiatives of the company. I had a bit of relevant experience but, quite frankly, I got the job because my friend vouched for me, and I realized that I had found an area of law that I loved for its substance.
I had ruled out employment law for family reasons. My father was a union man, becoming the Chair of what was then called the Canadian Air Line Pilots Association. My (ex) husband was a corporate guy, so I steered clear of what I thought would be potential drama. But when I landed in that field, I discovered that I could bridge the divide between the two sides and at last be able to communicate with both. This was in part because I worked with enlightened (and non-union) employers who believed that all employees—even terminated ones—should feel they were treated fairly (on an objective test, at least.) In fact, employment law allowed me to work on fascinating issues with people with similar values, and ultimately it equipped me with many of the skills that I use as the ED of Assist.
I was thinking about this because I read a great article about finding your niche this week. I am fortunate that the work I do involves collaborating with my American colleagues in the ABA’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs, which requires me to have an ABA membership. I don’t know how much an ABA membership is, but perhaps because I work for a not-for-profit, my membership fee is amazingly affordable., and I often find interesting content in their publications. Perhaps i can summarize a few key points in case the article is behind a paywall..
The article is titled “Finding Your Niche by Being Yourself.” I was drawn in by the title because, when I was trying hard to be a corporate lawyer, my joke line was that I didn’t have imposter syndrome, I was an imposter. I meant that I was literally trying to be someone that I wasn’t because I thought that being that image of a lawyer was what I needed to do to have a career in law.
You could have blown me over with a feather if you had told me that I could build a successful niche practice by being myself!
And then I read the tagline for the article, “The author’s love of the macabre let her to a niche in funeral law.” Macabre and funeral law wouldn’t be my thing, but we don’t all have to be the same. I was fascinated that funeral law was a thing! I was drawn into the story of how a lawyer managed to put a subject matter that interested her together with a practice area.
So, here’s the scoop. The author, Emily Ann de la Cruz, was an associate working in insurance defense when a partner asked for someone to do research about dead bodies. Ms. de la Cruz had always enjoyed horror films, scary stories and taxidermy specimens that her grandfather, a lawyer, kept. She did well on the research assignment concerning a negligent embalming and then continued to read up on topics related to embalming and human decomposition. Instead of being grossed out, she was energized and felt a loss when the resulting trial was over.
She continued to seek out work in the funeral industry, writing articles and joining associations within the funeral industry, and she developed a practice area that fascinates her!
Here is her advice for lawyers who haven’t found their niche:
I hope my experience inspires others to do the same thing in their own way. Ultimately, it comes down to being unapologetically yourself and embracing whatever you are genuinely interested in. Figure out what your thing is, and then explore potential ways to incorporate that thing into your practice. Maybe it will work out, maybe not. But you will never know if you do not at least try. Just be cautious if your interest in taxidermized piranha teeth because those are, as a wise man once told me (her grandfather), pretty sharp and quite dangerous.
I have never thought about funeral issues as a legal practice area—I am more of a sunshine and puppy dogs person—and I found my niche engaging with people’s stories (in their work lives) and finding viable solutions to their employers’ dilemmas that were respectful and dignified to the greatest degree possible. This doesn’t appeal to everyone either. But we are often told that two things are inevitable, death and taxes, and for all of us who would rather gargle with glass rather than read the Income Tax Act, why not be open to a field which touches all of us, and in which we hope people and their remains are treated respectfully and with dignity.
Have you ever stopped to list the things that truly interest you? And then consider if any of those interests can result in legal work? When you are genuinely interested in the subject matter, reading about it can be a pleasure rather than a slog. I will read case studies of employment issues any day over business news stories—that should have told me something.
We won’t all have the experience of having a senior lawyer asking for research support on a topic that interests us. The reality is that we may have to make our luck, so to speak. Many law students and young lawyers are drawn to sports law or entertainment law because they love the stories embedded in that area of law, and their love of the stories helps them slog through hundreds of pages of league collective bargaining agreements or agency agreement. But just because a couple of glamourous areas are over-occupied doesn’t mean that all areas of interest are full—so please think about your interests that are a bit less mainstream.
Here is a suggestion about how you could approach the issue of figuring out what actually interests you if you are as repressed as I was as a young lawyer. Why not make a list of what you are reading? Sure, books count, but when you open a newspaper or magazine, what stories do you read from beginning to end and which ones get a cursory glance. There are no right and wrong answers and there is absolutely no judgment about your reading choices—this is just a tool to look at your actual patterns.
This morning, I admit that I clicked on a People news feed article about Wayne Gretzky and his family. I think all of us who lived in Edmonton during his tenure are prone to doing this still. He talked about how he wanted his children to find something they are passionate about the way he was passionate about hockey. He said,
What happens with passion is that you take that extra step, you put in that extra work, you out in that extra time because you have a dedication and a love for it.
He didn’t say that you work your tail off to fulfill someone else’s vision of what a lawyer is supposed to be.
No one ever said law is easy—and it isn’t. But if you can find an area of law, or an aspect of an area, that inspires you, working hard to succeed is much easier.
I am being honest about reading about Wayne Gretzky—and I’m not sure I would have clicked on an article about Warren Buffett or some other business leader. I am into human interest and that is okay. And I found a way to practice law that allows me to be authentic,
If you find yourself going through the motions like I was, doing a job that doesn’t resonate with who you are, please think about how you can take the solid legal skills you have developed and apply them to something that interests you more. There are legal issues that affect chefs and restaurants for the foodies, and gym ownership and liability issues for the physical fitness fans, and there are even animal and veterinary issues for those of us who love our pets. Identify your passion and explore the legal issues. Learn enough and then volunteer to speak at an industry conference or write an article. You don’t have to know more than everyone on the planet to speak or write about a topic—you just have to know more than your audience.
If you want to explore finding your path, we have a webinar for you on Thursday, May 9th, part of our Mental Health Week/Lawyer Mental Health Week programming. Having an authentic career is not a luxury—it can be an important component of your well-being.
See you there!
Loraine