If you had told Sandra MacKenzie 18 years ago that her career would include going on a sheriff-led tour to see a Grolar Bear (yes, they’re real!) during a court recess, she would have laughed. At that time, Sandra was living just outside of Toronto, preparing to start law school at Windsor Law. These days, she is a Partner at Lawson Lundell’s Yellowknife office, where she has worked for 10 of her happiest years.
One of the things that attracted Sandra to the University of Windsor was their Experiential Learning program (an alternative to just sitting in class). Through the program, Sandra had the opportunity to clerk at the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories in Yellowknife during her final year of law school. Before signing up for this adventure, Sandra had never been north of Calgary and had no idea what to expect. She packed up a suitcase of books, preparing to spend her free time alone (and lonely), and arrived to find the small city covered by an almost dark sky in the middle of a frigid day in January. Sandra was not surprised that she enjoyed the job, but she was surprised by the fast friendships she made and the love she developed for the city and surrounding communities.
Following her brief introduction to the North, Sandra articled at a national firm and then transitioned to a smaller litigation firm in downtown Toronto. She felt that this was the path she should take because it was promoted so much in law school, but also felt a sense that this was not the right path for her.
After a few years of downtown lawyer-life and a few years of work convincing her partner, who is also a lawyer, the couple moved to Yellowknife “just for a couple of years for an adventure and to pay off loans”. They packed their bags, drove 9 days across the country and 10 years later, still have not looked back.
When asked what she loves most about her practice, Sandra quickly responds, “Sheila!”. Sheila MacPherson, Administrative Partner at Lawson Lundell Yellowknife, has been Sandra’s “dynamite” mentor since Sandra began working at the firm. The amazing sense of community at the office and in the North in general is something Sandra knows she could not find anywhere else. Her office takes a team approach to dealing with files, which worked well for her as a young female lawyer. If you need to take time off, like Sandra did with her two children, this approach makes it easier to transition out of and back into the practice.
There is no “typical” day for Sandra, but she generally is able to get home in time for dinner at 6:00 pm and always is home for her kids’ bedtime at 8:00 pm. Sometimes that means bringing work home, but the flexibility to get it done outside of the office means she gets to put her family first. She lives a 10 minute walk from the firm and often goes home for lunch.
Pre-pandemic, Sandra often flew in small planes (including an 8-seater!) all over the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Visiting these remote areas, she has been taken on tours by court staff and locals to see waterfalls, the high arctic tundra and of course, the Grolar Bear. She has also had the chance to learn about the challenges faced by small remote communities in the north, and the experiences of the various Indigenous communities that call the north home.
Sandra’s advice to lawyers who are unhappy in their current career is that there are a lot of amazing opportunities outside of the big cities and that you can find very rewarding work and a very rewarding life in other places. For example, as a relatively new call, Sandra was the President of the Northwest Territories branch of the Canadian Bar Association and was managing quite complex files at work; opportunities that are not available for juniors in big cities. Sandra places importance on life outside of work and working in Yellowknife has helped make this possible.
If Sandra had not been presented with the opportunity to try working in the North out while in law school, she would have never considered the possibility. That is why her biggest piece of advice goes to law students and young lawyers -take advantage of opportunities to do things like exchanges, clerkships and social justice fellowships because you never know where they will lead you, what they will expose you to or who you will meet along the way. The experience might change your life forever, like it did for Sandra.