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What do you like best about practising law in your area?
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What do you find challenging about practising law in your area?
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Linda Locke
Hazelton |
Tight legal community
Variety of legal issues to address in court and out of court
Collegiality of local lawyers and willingness to discuss the law and related options
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There’s a lack of lawyers who accept legal aid files, particularly relating to family law (Note: I’m the local Agent for Legal Services).
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Sarah Bowes
Kelowna |
We have a small, supportive bar.
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Lack of access to continuing legal education
High cost of attending workshops held in Vancouver
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Wendy Kavanagh
Kelowna |
The relaxed pace, the small bar and its friendly nature. In short, lifestyle.
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The travel required on poor roads in the winter
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Cori McGuire
Kelowna |
Work-Life balance: The natural beauty of the lake and valley offer a constant reminder that there is more to life than law work, including family, friends, recreation, and time to be still and reflect on your purpose. I also like the teamwork and respect between lawyers in the Okanagan.
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Continuing education normally involves the time, expense and inconvenience of travelling to Vancouver. The trip is a challenge but always rewarding if planned a few times a year.
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Peter Warner QC
Prince George |
The best features of solicitors' practice in the Prince George/ North Central B.C. regions are:
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The broad and diverse range of commercial work available;
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The hard-working, innovative and friendly client base; and
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The City offers a full range of services, but the region is a frontier of opportunities in business, sports and social activities.
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The challenges of practice here would include:
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Dealing with long distances and winter weather (if you do not have an outdoor winter sport it is a long haul); and
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It is difficult to confine your practice to a specialty, many solicitors' practices are a "mile wide and a foot deep".
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Sarah Klinger
Victoria |
I can walk to work, the bar is very collegial and I will invariably run into someone I know when I’m up at court. In addition the pace seems more relaxed than in larger centres.
There is a high ratio of lawyers, which means competition can be high, for personal injury files for example.
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The difficulty of getting off the island in inclement weather can make court appearances in Vancouver very difficult.
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Stephanie Sieber
Victoria |
Easier to balance work/life/family.
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It’s harder to specialize.
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I practised for 11 years in Vancouver before I moved to Kelowna in 1997. I have practised full time in Kelowna since July 1997. What I like the most about practising in Kelowna is the courtesy and collegiality of the bar. The difference was remarkable. It is not uncommon to fight a worthy battle in court with opposing counsel and then go for coffee or lunch together after. It is rare to have a reasonable request for an adjournment refused and if so it is done with apologies. The Section meetings are well-attended by the same people every month and the meetings become a social event as well as a learning opportunity.
The challenge I have noticed is that it takes a greater time commitment to stay connected with Sections and committees and to attend meetings and courses. I spend full days traveling rather than an hour or two to get to courses and meetings or I attend more meetings by phone. Some legal research material is not readily available as our access to periodicals is very limited. Some Section events are only held in Vancouver but by using telephone conferencing, I have managed to stay connected with my favourite Sections.
Barbara Young, Kelowna