When you think “a lawyer with a private plane”, the image that likely comes to mind is not of Julian Falconer. Julian did not add the “Falconair” service to his practice as a way to impress his friends and clients. As a human rights lawyer with a pilot’s licence and a sharp focus on Indigenous rights, Falconair has allowed him to meet with clients in remote communities that few other professionals spend time in. Running a social-justice-based practice is a constant learning curve that even 30+ years of practice cannot totally prepare you for. Julian has learned a lot during his time in the legal profession. The most important lesson being that doing work you are proud of makes every challenge and hard day worth it.
“Litigation with a conscience.” – Falconers LLP
The 1950s television show Perry Mason inspired a whole generation of future trial lawyers, and Julian was one of them. In his early years of practice, Julian split his time between conventional litigation and human rights work, with a focus on police use of lethal force. Come the early 2000s, he was legal counsel for the Aboriginal Legal Services and in 2008, he opened a Thunder Bay office for his firm, Falconers LLP. By 2012, Julian’s practice was fully dedicated to human rights and remains so to this day, 34 years after starting his career in law. He had pivoted to dedicate his practice fully to human rights and remains highly immersed in this work in the Indigenous context.
Falconers is built on a model of bridging the access to justice gap through conscience. The firm also bridges physical access to justice gaps through flight. Indigenous communities in remote areas face great barriers to accessing justice and just one of those barriers is the lack of legal help near them. As Julian grew to understand this issue, he realized that he had an ability to help that most other lawyers did not. As a pilot with over 3,000 hours in the air, adding Falconair to his access to justice toolbox has allowed Julian and his firm to cover large distances and make themselves available to provide legal help where there is little. The Canadian legal profession’s failure to help Indigenous people is something that Julian addresses in other ways through his work as well. He also acts for Kim Murray, Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Burials, and is passionate about this important work.
“We, as a profession, have a great deal to account for.”
There are a few philosophies that underlie the way in which Julian and Falconers approach their work in a respectful manner. Even after three and a half decades in the legal profession, Julian is still climbing the learning curve. Every community he works in teaches him something new every time he visits it. One lesson he shares is that reconciliation has to be more than just by word, it must be accomplished by deed. That said, in the law school context, Julian strongly believes that more emphasis needs to be placed on teaching students the importance of communication. The use of big words and legal jargon leads to inaccessibility. If you are putting prestige above respectful communication with clients, you are leaving your clients behind.
Over time, you can reinvent yourself and your work.
All the practice management experience in the world cannot change the fact that running a business focused on social justice is challenging. Julian has been running his own business since 1992 and still has not figured out the elusive work-life balance. The reality is that social justice work takes great personal sacrifice, like long hours for less pay, so a drive to make a positive impact is integral to keeping his practice going. Spending time connecting with the land also helps Julian stay grounded and content in where he is.
“It is important to appreciate the challenges that we have laid on our young people.”
Although the legal profession is known for changing at a snail’s pace, Julian has seen many changes happen in the 30+ years he has been a part of it; some for the better and some for the worse. It is easy for him and other senior lawyers to give young lawyers the classic advice of “work hard and make things happen”. However, Julian knows there are far more obstacles for young lawyers today than there was when he was getting started – one of the most challenging being debt. He doesn’t have a solution, but he encourages young lawyers to look for opportunities to expand as professionals and take advantage of opportunities that could lead to expected and unexpected benefits. Julian spent 13 years as a Bencher at the Law Society of Ontario (LSO), where he met brilliant lawyers. The experience and the conversations he had allowed him to see and better understand things that he would not have before.
“If at all possible, try to be proud of your work; try to follow a line that gives you a sense of pride and dignity.”
The reality is that a great portion of a lawyer’s energy is likely to be spent on their work. You might as well be satisfied with your work, knowing that you are doing the right thing for you. It may not seem like it in law school or even in practice, but it is possible to have fun as a lawyer. Find the things that you enjoy and find ways to incorporate them into your practice (or form your practice around them). You might not end up with a plane, but the possibilities are endless.