DON’T LET MENTORSHIP BE THE REASON YOU WON’T BET ON YOURSELF!

My Call Ceremony before former Attorney General David Eby. It is NEVER TOO LATE to bet on yourself!

I was ‘late’ entering the practice of law by most social standards. Though I did attend university immediately after high school, I had an adventurists soul and an incredibly good fortune to follow a music career that I adored. Hence, I only returned to school to obtain my law degree in my thirties.

There are advantages and disadvantages to returning to school as a ‘mature’ adult, as academic institutions like to label us. Advantages:

-        There was no time wasted in school, I knew what I wanted out of the experience;

-        I knew where I was investing my time, effort and energy, age had given me the advantage of clarity;

-        I was very clear from the beginning that the ‘big firm’ lifestyle was not my bag.

I had run my own business from the age of sixteen. I, by nature am extremely collaborative, and love creating teams and supporting other entrepreneurs, etc. Where I don’t play well with others is in atmospheres of following rules blindly, poor or lazy management and in atmospheres where people are unable to lead and/or teach.

Prior to returning to law school, I spent twenty years teaching music in the public school system, in music studios and privately. Being able to explain concepts to all kinds of learners, all ages and all spectrums of learning abilities was my job, and I took it very seriously. If a student didn’t understand a concept, it wasn’t because the student didn’t get it, it was because I had not yet found the language, tool or ability to communicate the concept. Frustrated with myself, I would return home mulling over how I could communicate this concept to my student in a way that they could conceptualize and understand it.

My background in music education is what helps me convert the complexities of the law to everyday language with my clients. However, it is my background in music education that makes me extremely intolerant of lazy mentorship and education in law firms.

My early articling experience was just that, a principal who needed help, thought taking on a student would lighten his workload, and was completely unprepared to teach or mentor. In fact, I was attending court within two weeks of starting my position, applying for a protection order in a high stakes case. My principal, I learned quickly, was not capable, nor did he have the patience to delve into the complexities and intricacies of the law. He was a genius, he worked hard, he got it, and his expectation was you followed suit. I have learned to be resourceful, because, I learned very quickly I was not going to get the mentorship from my principal.

As I entered into practice, I would receive job offers, none of which I took very seriously, until one day, a practitioner I highly respected approached me about joining her firm and entering an area of law I was highly passionate about. The promise: mentorship and education. She would (in her words) teach me everything I needed to know. My experience in music has taught me one thing, mastery takes time, lots of time and practice. I knew that if I was going to be the litigator I wanted to be, I wanted to learn from someone I believed to be impeccable at what they did.

Here is what I learned, the word mentorship and/or teaching, can mean absolutely nothing to those offering it, and the world to those seeking it. Mentorship in this case was used as an enticement to help fill the slot of having someone share the case load, but this mentor knew something I didn’t…she wasn’t capable of mentoring or teaching, nor was she interested in it. What has become increasingly clear to me over the years is teaching is a skill, in fact an art.

One of my dearest mentors, Gerry Palmer, is in fact renowned for his business law classes, he can take an abstract idea from letters on a page into a story and concept that you’ll remember forever and know how to apply the next time the circumstance arises.

What I have learned is that there are so many ways to gain mastery of your skills, and it is not always wrapped up in the convenience of having an in-house mentor, whose door you can knock on when you have questions. I am committed to my ongoing education and the idea of mastery, and that has taken various forms. Sometimes it is ‘paying for time’ and education through other counsel who take my time and theirs seriously when I pay for an education hour of their time. I can take my cases to them, ask my questions and receive practical, helpful and insightful advice. I have created a phone circle of practitioners who all know they can call each other (much like a phone tree) when issues arise and wise advice is needed. Finally, I have made introductions to more senior counsel in order to create community and networks in which we can continue our practical education. This approach has paid me back tenfold, allowing me the opportunity to expand my network and learn from great counsel.

In many firms, the writing is on the wall, if you are in a situation where the promised mentorship or education is non-existent, it won’t magically appear. If you are in a situation where you are blessed enough to be able to knock on someone’s door to address questions, ask yourself how you can continue that relationship in a mutually beneficial  way if you were not under the same roof.

More often than not, I am meeting lawyers who find the idea of opening their own practice daunting because they would be ‘isolated’ or lose the mentorship they feel they have at the firm they are at. The reality is, that counsel is in their comfort zone, not ready to bet on themselves and invest in their own resourcefulness to attain their next level of mastery.

Are you making this mistake? I think its time to bet on yourself! I would love to help you make the leap from Big Law to opening your own practice! If you are ready to bet on yourself, I’d love to hear from you at Info@Sabirlaw.ca.