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Legal Practice and Alternative Legal Careers: What I Wish I Knew during Law School. Christy Smith-Worthylake Common Law ’07 November 1 st , 2012. About Me. In Law School sat on the LSUC’s disability working group In 2006/07 worked for the CRTC as a disability issues analyst
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Legal Practice and Alternative Legal Careers:What I Wish I Knew during Law School Christy Smith-Worthylake Common Law ’07 November 1st, 2012
About Me • In Law School sat on the LSUC’s disability working group • In 2006/07 worked for the CRTC as a disability issues analyst • Articled and practiced with the government of Canada from 2007 to 2009 • Left practice in 2009 and began providing consulting services
LESSONS FROM MY LEGAL PRACTICE • Adapting practice to disability and vice versa takes time • Must develop an understanding of the impact of a particular disability on legal practice • Appropriate and ongoing support and mentorship is key • Communication is critical
FINDING CONSULTING WORK • Did not seek an alternative legal career. It just happened • Used past experience and connections to network and find employment • Connections were helpful in other areas • Broadened experiences beyond disability and human rights
MAKING CONSULTING WORK • Used experiences from practice to add value to services provided • Developed multidisciplinary relationships • Used legal and non-legal knowledge • As in practice it was vital to understand my working style and how my disability affects my ability to work
IN SUMMARY • Experiences in legal practice were vital to helping understand how to go about providing quality products/services • Learned that all my experiences can help add value to products/services • Can move easily between legal and non-legal sectors