Advocacy-Matters-Fall-2022

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Chloe Snider, Dentons Canada LLP
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Welcome to the fall edition of Advocacy Matters.
The 10+ Standing Committee has hosted
two virtual events so far this year – an October
event on mentoring and a November
event on biz dev – two topics that I think are
near and dear to the hearts of mid-career
advocates. We also hosted our first in-person
event on November 23, 2022 – a Cinq
à Sept cocktail reception at Leña Restaurante.
Through these events, we look to foster
community and provide support to mid-career
advocates broadly speaking. Please
reach out with questions or feedback about
our work.
The articles in this quarter’s publication
provide inspiration and suggestions on practise
management (life management?!) and
mentoring topics. First, congratulations to
Neha Chugh on receiving the 2022 Catzman
Award for Professionalism and Civility. This is
the first time that the award has been granted
to a mid-career lawyer. Proof of the power
of younger lawyers to lead the charge on
civility and on changing the practice for the
better, all while juggling busy family commitments.
It’s inspiring to see those managing
busy practices and home lives being celebrated
by our profession. We are honoured
to interview Neha in this issue. If you are
looking for some pro tips on how to juggle
everything at this “very difficult stage” of our
careers – check out Erin Durant’s Mindful
Moments piece. Erin provides her thoughts on
how to handle the stress of a busy practice with
limited time and without burning out. Megan
Keenberg’s Word to the Wise covers the evergreen
topic of mentoring and performance reviews.
No need to dread performance reviews.
Read Megan’s article.
Finally, Tamara Ramsey covers how to use
pronouns in a non-discriminatory way in The
Wrong Stuff Revisited. While the topic (use of
pronouns in legal writing) might sound dry, the
article is not. It provides thoughtful suggestions
about using gender-neutral words and examples
of how to rephrase sentences to avoid using
gendered pronouns. This article provides
some helpful suggestions to avoid this.
Before I go, I want to share my own takeaway
from The Advocates’ Society’s Fall Forum - the
first in-person young advocates’ retreat since
2018 - where I had the privilege of serving as
a facilitator during the mentoring roundtable
discussion. The theme that emerged during our
discussions was the importance of vulnerability
and honesty – as a mentee, opening oneself up
to seek advice or input from a mentor, and as
a mentor, being honest in response. Many of
these young lawyers have only practiced during
the pandemic so they are keen to form connections
and receive candid mentorship. Mentoring
and connection are key priorities for The
Advocates’ Society in the coming year.
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