Legal Practice and Alternative Legal Careers:What I Wish I Knew during Law School

Christy Smith-Worthylake

Common Law ’07

November 1st, 2012

About Me

• In Law School sat on the LSUC’s disability working group

• In 2006/07 worked for the CRTC as a disability issues analyst

• Articled and practiced with the government of Canada from 2007 to 2009

• Left practice in 2009 and began providing consulting services

LESSONS FROM MY LEGAL PRACTICE

• Adapting practice to disability and vice versa takes time

• Must develop an understanding of the impact of a particular disability on legal practice

• Appropriate and ongoing support and mentorship is key

• Communication is critical

FINDING CONSULTING WORK

• Did not seek an alternative legal career. It just happened

• Used past experience and connections to network and find employment

• Connections were helpful in other areas

• Broadened experiences beyond disability and human rights

MAKING CONSULTING WORK

• Used experiences from practice to add value to services provided

• Developed multidisciplinary relationships

• Used legal and non-legal knowledge

• As in practice it was vital to understand my working style and how my disability affects my ability to work

IN SUMMARY

• Experiences in legal practice were vital to helping understand how to go about providing quality products/services

• Learned that all my experiences can help add value to products/services

• Can move easily between legal and non-legal sectors