Words of wisdom from young lawyers.

By Caroline Nevin

In a recent survey of 132 young lawyers enrolled in CBABC Family Law Sections, practitioners spoke frankly about the realities of their experience in law school and early years in their chosen career.

Of those who participated in the survey, more than half reported that family law constitutes more than 75 per cent of their practice. They gravitated to family law despite a less than positive perception of family law in law school. Almost three-quarters said that family law was either not promoted or not portrayed positively in law school; only 27 per cent said it was portrayed as a “reasonably good” or “very good” area of law in which to practice.

The good news is that young lawyers had dramatic improvements in their positive feelings about family law after actual experience in practising it. Of those now practising family law, 37 per cent thought it was “somewhat” or “highly” attractive/interesting when in law school; as practising lawyers, that number more than doubled to 78 per cent. Significantly, almost three times as many practitioners now rate family law as “highly” attractive/interesting compared to their opinion in law school.

When asked what they would say to a current law student considering family law as a career choice, respondents were remarkably consistent. Here are the top four things young family lawyers said new practitioners should know about practising family law:

• You will get experience in more areas of law than you will find in almost any other career choice: not just in family law but also tax, estates/trusts, property, criminal law, mediation and time in court.

• The downside is that it can be challenging dealing with highly emotional parties, can take long hours, and there is a long-term toll from dealing with difficult clients and cases. It’s not for the faint of heart; you need to plan to take breaks or burn out.

• You will never be out of business; it can be a lucrative area of law and it’s recession-proof.

• It is incredibly rewarding; you help people every day. No other area of law provides this kind of career satisfaction, especially if you like interacting with people.

In terms of what they now know that they wished they’d known in law school, the young lawyers said:

• Look at family law early on and decide for yourself if it fits – don’t get caught up in the focus on corporate/commercial law.

• If you do decide you’re interested in family law, seriously consider picking up courses in psychology, tax law, financial/accounting skills, and mediation/ADR/collaborative practice. And invest in your own emotional balance and stress management skills. It will make you a better family law lawyer.

• This is one area of law that case law alone won’t adequately prepare you for – you need to learn from experience, and with more senior lawyers as principals and mentors. (Note: there’s a reason these lawyers are involved in CBA Family Law Sections!)

• The Family Law Bar is a more cordial, collegial group than you think... a lot is handled by consent and mediation; it’s not all adversarial.

• There’s a shortage of family law lawyers, no shortage of work, and it can be an immensely satisfying career. 

This article was published in the August 2011 issue of BarTalk. © 2011 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.