Why Mentorship?
My mentorship program is for lawyers who are seeking legal consultation, strategy, help with ethical issues, help with managing their work/life balance, learning drafting skills, learning trial preparation, help with building a personal brand, transitioning to another job or finding a job. I have been a litigator for 36 years and I wish to share my knowledge with lawyers so that they can avoid pitfalls, be successful in attaining their goals, and learn how to have a successful and satisfying career. I have been a mentor to lawyers for over 20 years and I know that many of you will face situations where you are not sure what to do. Mentorship is about providing you with guidance, de-briefing after a particularly difficult court hearing, encouraging you to self-reflect and offering you feedback. It is also about teaching you how to not be a perfectionist, learning how to delegate, learning to pre-plan, avoid procrastination and embrace new technologies that will reduce the chances of burnout. It would be my pleasure to work with you to achieve your goals.
Who Is This For?
Newly called lawyers lawyers transitioning into family law lawyers who want mentorship in representing clients on motions, at conferences at a trial. Lawyers in solo practice Lawyers practicing in association with other lawyers, with little to no mentorship.
Why Hire Me As Your Mentor?
36 years of experience in family law including child protection law. Experienced trial counsel & Experienced negotiator. Certified Mediator. Author of several published family law books by Thomson Reuters, including Matrimonial Property law in Canada and Child Protection law in Canada. Past panel lawyer for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. Past solo practitioner, in-house lawyer, small and mid-size firm family law lawyer. Member in good standing with the law society with no Law Society investigations and no LawPro involvement in 36 years of practice. Proficient in LawY, Lexis Nexis, AI, Westlaw AI and other legal research tools. Provided Mentorship to junior lawyers for 20+ years, most recently as Director of Legal Development and Knowledge at mid-size multi service law firm.
Why Do I Need Mentorship?
Law school does not prepare you for practicing law. Reading case law doesn’t provide you with judgment and know how. Legal books don’t provide you with what you need to know to make compelling arguments. Resources on how to adequately prepare for a trial are lacking. Negotiating skills comes with experience and learning from others. Dealing with ethical issues requires experience. To build confidence in your knowledge and in your advocacy skills. To avoid law society investigations and Lawpro reporting. To avoid negligence claims.
What Is The Mentorship Program?
It is legal consultation, legal information, legal education, legal strategy. It is Not legal advice provided by me to you to be shared with your client. It is providing you with the tools you need to tackle trials, motions, conferences. It is providing you with ways to negotiate settlements. It is providing you with ways to handle difficult clients. Subject to you obtaining agreement from your client about sharing information about their case with me, I review all court documents or other material to help you strategize, provide you with my input on how to present compelling arguments, review your draft court documents to ensure that critical information is not missing or inaccurately provided. If you will be embarking upon representing a client at trial I will provide you with tips, to do lists and guidance in preparing for trial and be available to you to provide coaching throughout the trial.
Programs
General Coaching
Regular check-ins with you about your practice. Legal Education. File/ Document Reviews and Input.
Case & Trial Mentorship
Trial Preparation Checklists: Opening/Closing Statements, Objections, Examination in Chief, Cross-Examination Review Materials and provide input on completed checklists. Provide consultation on trial court processes. Review court documents and evidence to provide you with strategy.
Practice Management
Avoiding Law Society complaints (understanding the rules of Professional Conduct). Guidance while answering to Law Society complaints. Dealing with LawPro. Dealing with disgruntled clients. Applying AI efficiencies to your practice. Providing time management tools and techniques to avoid burn-out. Providing Legal Education.
Career Transition Coaching
Assisting with job searches. Resume review and optimization. Interview preparation. Providing AI techniques to support your transition into new areas of law or expand upon an existing area of law. Providing time management tools and techniques to avoid burn-out.
Don't See A Program That's Right For You?
I am more than happy to work with you on a program and payment structure that is tailored to your specific needs. Just book a free Mentorship Consult !
For example, you may prefer to retain me solely for the purpose of writing submissions for you in an upcoming motion, for the purpose of drafting a factum, or to provide you with strategic advise on a particular file.
30 min