If you have lost your passion in law, remember why you went to law school, is Emily Lukaweski’s advice.
Emily’s qualities that were outside the mainstream in law school and working for traditional law firms have been assets in her current career. Emily is a creative thinker and collaborator. She struggled with exams but excelled at writing papers. She does not like to win at all costs, which made the uber competitive nature of school and firm life a poor fit. Emily enjoys innovating and looking to communities for inspiration and collegiality. Although these may not be “traditional” lawyer qualities, they are what make her good at being the kind of lawyer she is happy to be.
After spending three wonderful years in Newfoundland working for the provincial Government and in private practice, Emily decided to move back home to Toronto. She built her practice working as a contractor for other law firms and as virtual in-house counsel for small and medium sized businesses. She considered joining a more traditional firm structure, but none of them have felt like the right fit.
Working as a solo practitioner or freelancer does not mean always working solo. Emily has found and continues to find support in her endeavours through several online communities, including a Canadian women-in-law Facebook group. She also does work with goodlawyer.ca, a Canadian legal tech Startup that connects people looking for flat/fair fee legal help with lawyers on a contract basis. Being involved with GoodLawyer has connected Emily with other Canadian lawyers passionate about making legal help more accessible.
The majority of Emily’s work now is in immigration and business law. The intersection of the two areas of law – economic immigration – takes up most of her time. She loves experiencing her clients’ excitement when they are successful in their life change, whether that is coming to a new country or starting a new business. Emily was not always interested in immigration law, but her enthusiasm for trying new things introduced her to it. While working at a firm that did not have a practice in this area, a big immigration file came in and was assigned to her. She took on the challenge of learning about the area of law and it has quickly become one of her favourite areas of practice.
This same kind of openness and an innovative spirit led Emily to become involved in a legal tech Startup called Atlas Community Inc. Atlas is still in its early stages of development, but will use automation and human-centered design to help make the immigration process more accessible. It will assist people in navigating their way through the system by figuring out what resources they need and providing them with checklists and a place to store their documents.
With contract work, a solo practice and a legal tech Startup on the go, why not throw a yoga instructor into the mix? Emily is thinking about it, as she loves the practice. Working solo can be busy, but it gives Emily freedom.
She would rather be jumping through her own hoops than someone else’s. She gets to run her practice the way she wants and deliver services in a way that is based on her values and strengths.
She can also make time for the things she loves, like yoga and travel (she is lucky to be able to periodically work remotely from other countries)
Emily’s current practice was not the end goal of any strategic plan, it was the place her heart and head led her. She wants other lawyers to be aware that the change they want can happen when the timing is right. Maybe you need to wait until you have enough money saved up before you make the change, or you feel the need to grow your knowledge base. If you are going solo, it can be really hard the first couple of years and taking the time to prepare for that is helpful.
Another lawyer, Priya Sankarapapa, recently told Emily to follow her head and listen to her heart, it speaks softly but always has vital information. Emily is doing just that and encourages other lawyers who are unhappy or at a crossroads to remember why they went to law school in the first place.
Remember what made you passionate about law, and what excites you and look to find that passion in your practice and the people you surround yourself with.