“How I Became a Lawyer—By Mistake”, No. 4

“Eugene,

I too ended up in law school by accident. I graduated from high school planning to become a high school teacher. I hoped to teach biology and English—two of my three favourite subjects. I spent one semester in the education faculty and decided it was not for me. So, I transferred to Arts where I thought I could do my degree specializing in Canadian lit and still finish up as a teacher by doing only one year of education at the end. It was a plan, and I thought it was a good one. But I also wondered what I could do with an Arts degree if that plan did not work. Medical school? Couldn’t bear the prospect of calculus and physics. Law? Hmmm. That was kind of interesting.  

The LSAT was a horror show with its incomprehensible math and logic sections, but I studied hard. My boyfriend had tickets to David Bowie (or was it Rolling Stones?) and gave “mine” away to a friend because I had the LSAT the next morning, and he felt he was being supportive by not distracting me.  We are not together now. I’d like to think it had nothing to do with that concert. Anyway, I wrote the LSAT and naturally I had to do something with the scores. No way was I going to go to law school on the other side of the country, so I only applied to UBC and UVic. Luckily, UVic accepted me, and you would think the rest would be history. 

Not so fast. I had to start late. I had some surgery right at the start of the term. Three weeks in, I joined my cohort. I was such a mess, they thought I was an older student—and their teaching assistant. It took another month for them to realize I was just one of them.  I recall a fair amount of misogyny—not amongst the profs, but some of my fellow students. I was even treated to the unsolicited opinion of two male students “conversing” in stage whispers in the library about how women didn’t belong in law school. Yes. In the mid-80s, this was a real conversation. I was trying the new, not so radical me for my new profession and kept my response to a full-on stink eye.  I have a pretty good stink eye, but I regret not going in for the complete behaviour correction. Enough said on the topic because it would not be my last clash with the old boys’ network and glass ceiling and that’s not the point of my email.

I swore off family law and tax law but was happy to take whatever else would support me in a career in criminal law—which I did not pursue. I became a commercial litigation lawyer, had a career in that for some years, and then was appointed to the provincial court in BC – where I now preside primarily over family and criminal cases. And teach family law at the local uni. Never tempt the fates. They stand by ready to mock you.

Regrets? Not really. But I think I would have been happy as an English teacher.

Stella.”

Thank you: Stella Frame, B.C. Provincial Court, SFrame@provincialcourt.bc.ca.

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“Eugene, 

Quickly here is my story.

I went to law school by mistake and out of spite.

I was at a job fair in my last year of commerce and went to a job fair. I approached the table of one of the big insurance companies for information about working there– the guy working the table refused to give it to me, telling me no one will buy our product from someone like you (I am in a wheelchair and have a slight speech impairment).

As my Scottish grandmother would say, his attitude put a wasp in my kilt. I told the guy that I was going to go to law school so I could one day sue him and his company for discrimination.

Part of that became true -I went to law school, got hired at the DOJ, and now practice public law.

I forget the guy’s name and the company, but his non-politically correct comment at the time sent me on a path to a very cool career in law – and I still consider myself the luckiest guy in Canadian law.

Cheers

Martin.”

Thank you: Martin Anderson, Department of Justice Canada, Martin.Anderson@justice.gc.ca.
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“Hi Eugene,

I became a lawyer through sheer panic!

I floundered a bit during my undergrad. I was a film school drop out before I did a BSc in Biological Anthropology at U of T. I learned that I really, really, like bones. So, I shipped off to Scotland to do my MSc, where I studied under one of the world’s best forensic anthropologists. That was the greatest year of my life. It sounds morbid but I loved being in the cadaver lab. After I graduated from that program, I tried to find work in the field but couldn’t get my foot in any door. I felt I had two choices – get a PhD a become a forensic anthropologist or go to medical school and become a forensic pathologist. I chose the latter (spoiler alert: I failed).

I flunked the MCAT. I was absolutely devastated. I remember bawling to my stepsister, who worked at a law school in the UK. She said something like “Why don’t you just come over here and do law school? You’re sure to get in”. I laughed in her face. Absolutely not! I’m supposed to be a scientist!

Three months later, I landed in Leicester, UK. I did well in law school. I had always been a good student. Though I didn’t have the passion for law that my classmates had. I felt silly. Weak. I had given up my dreams, and instead of trying again for med school, I panicked and did something I didn’t really want to do. But I graduated with distinction and secured a job at a great firm, where I still work today.

I was tempted to abandon my articles to give nursing school a shot. I even met with the head of the local nursing school to see what my chances of getting in were (they were good). My father encouraged me to at least complete my articles and get called to the bar. My mother, who, whenever I cried on her shoulder about how stressful being a lawyer was, would gently remind me that it wasn’t too late to go to med school. I don’t cry much anymore. And I’m glad I listened to my father.

I have lost most of what I learned during my science degrees. Every now and then I test myself by naming all the bones in the body. I still consider myself a “medical enthusiast”. I thought I could satisfy that enthusiasm by doing some medical malpractice work. As it turns out, it is difficult to come across a decent med mal case. Even harder to win one!

Jennifer.”

Thank you: Jennifer Helleur, Budden Hiscock Lawyers, jennifer@buddenlaw.com.

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“Eugene,

I just finished reading today’s Last Word, click here. Curious and only on my first cup of coffee, I scrambled to find the three buttons that enlarge the print on my computer screen.

Your encouragement to email you one’s own accidental lawyer story caught my eye, inasmuch as I’d been telling people for decades how I went to law school on a dare from a friend (make mental note to write something and send it to Eugene some day before I pass on). 

What a brilliant piece of writing. What an interesting tale. What portals of imagination and thoughts were utilized and rekindled from memory and experience, now shared with other accidentally coerced individuals.

Thank you. Many thanks. Gratitude.

Ken.” 

Thank you: Ken Koshgarian, retired