Pauline Chan is called to the bar, but also found her calling at the barre, barre fitness classes that is. In the course of a day, Pauline jumps from advising clients on corporate agreements to advising them on building physical strength and pelvic floor awareness. Although learning the law came naturally to Pauline, loving the profession did not. Twelve years into her career, after embarking on a plan to leave law, Pauline unexpectedly found a way to enjoy it. She credits a series of interesting circumstances, outside pursuits, and the support of amazing people for getting her to her happy place.
Lawyer was not Pauline’s first career. She did not start thinking about law school until a pivotal point in her life. Pauline worked for her ex-husband and as their marriage was ending, she imagined she would keep her job until the divorce was finalized. Unfortunately, her ex thought differently and fired her. Pauline’s mom, a legal assistant, told Pauline that the firing was not legal. The realization that she, like many people, did not know her rights peaked her interest in law.
Pauline excelled in law school and got hired at a big firm for her articles. During her articling year, a senior lawyer commented on the fact that Pauline still had friends outside of law. He told her that this was rare, because lawyers have to cancel plans and work so much. This did not sit well with Pauline, who likes having other interests. She thought law would add to her life, not take it over.
A few years into her career, Pauline married her now husband and started to plan for children. She felt that her options were to get a nanny… or get a nanny. Pauline was not against having a nanny, but she wanted it to be a choice. She watched other lawyers spend all of their work, social and meal time at the office and this made Pauline fear losing her husband, friends and family plans to her job. She became so unhappy that she fantasized about jumping in front of a car and getting hurt badly enough to be off work for at least a few days. She told a mentor about her dark thoughts, and he quickly helped her find a new job. Pauline is eternally grateful for this help.
Pauline moved into an in-house role, which was exciting but also felt a bit isolating. The job was a step in the right direction, but still was not quite right for her. She was still experiencing a high-level of stress as she discovered she was both responsible for giving advice that was often minimized and putting out the eventual fire that her advice would have prevented in the first place.
At this point, Pauline began to imagine an exit strategy from the profession. She had always been into wellness, so started experimenting with different fitness classes in Calgary. She fell in love with Barre fitness and developed a bond with one of her instructors. Pauline planned to ask the instructor to go into business together and as it turns out, her instructor had the same plans. The two now run Barre West together, along with a third partner.
While dreaming up this new business, Pauline began growing her family. She took mat leave from her in-house job while pregnant with her first child. She knew that in order to care for her baby and run a new business, she would need more flexibility. Working from home was a priority, because it would allow her to balance everything more easily. Pauline decided that the only way to have this much flexibility would be to start her own practice.
Pauline began by taking on contract counsel jobs, working for companies who need help, but don’t want a full-time commitment. This means doing 5-20 hours of work per week for each client, on terms that they agree on. If Pauline needs more time for family or her studio, she can turn down work.
While Pauline opened her fitness studio, she welcomed her second child and still planned on leaving the legal profession. That was until she discovered Goodlawyer.ca . Goodlawyer is a platform that efficiently connects good lawyers to entrepreneurs looking for top notch yet affordable legal work. The platform takes care of marketing/business development, the onboarding process, client service, and payment collection, leaving lawyers to focus only on getting the work done. With Goodlawyer, Pauline gets to work with a lot of small businesses who really value her help and who couldn’t otherwise afford the help. Working with small business owners through the Goodlawyer platform has totally changed Pauline’s outlook on law.
Running two businesses and raising two children would not be possible alone. Pauline’s husband has mostly stopped working in order to be a fantastic stay-at-home dad. Her parents help with childcare and her amazing business partners take on a significant amount of work at the studio. Pauline still works the long hours she worked at a firm job, but at the end of her days, she now has energy and feels happy as she can control the who, what, when, where, why, and how of her work, whether its law, fitness, or some other entrepreneurial venture! Despite the difficulties of business ownership, she feels comfort knowing that each struggle is temporary and is 100% in support of her own goals, and overall her life is much more fulfilling.
Pauline did not just take a leap and land in a perfect position. Becoming a business owner is a step-by-step process that constantly moves forwards, backwards, sideways, and every other possible direction. You can’t predict what will happen, no matter how much you prepare. It is a journey, as is life, and the end goal might change as you find what works for you and adapt.
Regardless of where your path takes you, Pauline emphasizes the importance of having supportive people around you. If you want to go solo, she strongly recommends getting involved with Goodlawyer. The platform connects you with other solo lawyers, which provides you with some of that needed support.
Above all, Pauline urges new lawyers to consider their options and resist being pushed in a direction that is wrong for them. The legal industry is slow to adapt, but don’t let that stop you from trying things that have not been done before. There are many lawyers across the country who have found creative ways to make law work for them, like Pauline, and there is opportunity for you to do the same.