This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Advocates’ Society Fall Forum in Collingwood, Ontario. Below are a few of my favourite quotes and lessons from the conference:
- “Comparison is the thief of joy.” This was my favourite piece of wisdom from the weekend. It’s so true and all too easy to fall victim to. We are all guilty players in the game of upward comparisons, at one point or another.
- Relationships are the key to building a practice. Your relationships with colleagues, your relationships with friends, your relationships with other junior lawyers in other firms are all sources of potential clients.
- Excellence requires that you spend time outside of your caseload learning the law.
- There’s no shortcut to mastery. You have to put in the time and work to learn the fundamentals.
- Be a joiner. All great lawyers are involved in ventures beyond their job. They are a part of the broader community. For example, join the OBA, the Advocates’ Society, local lawyers association, the PTA, a charity, etc.
- Learn from experience by reflecting on it. Do post-mortems after discoveries and court appearances. Ask yourself what went well and what went poorly and why that is so.
- Train your client about what time you will answer emails and calls.
- Protect your vacation time.
- Offer judges electronic materials, including expert reports, closing arguments, and charts that provide a list of the witnesses (e.g. a cast of characters).
- In oral argument, address first what you want and then explain why you want it. It is not simply a time to regurgitate your factum. It’s an opportunity to address questions that the judge may have about the facts or the law.
- Be genuine; be kind; be curious.
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