OPINION
Tuesday, November 10, 2015 5
Alternative Lawyers
From Out-laws to In-laws
lisa-marie williams › contributor
E
v e ry y e a r , t hou s a n d s of hopeful
applicants submit personal statements
describing who they hope to be and what
they hope to accomplish with a JD from
Osgoode Hall Law School. As someone whose
interest in the law stemmed from a desire to better
understand the related fields of public policy and
governance, Osgoode made sense. But as I moved
through first and second year, I eventually realized
that as much as I admired Clair Huxtable, Jack
McCoy, and Alicia Florrick, their professional
lives didn’t suit me. Rather than succumb to my
disappointment, I decided that there had to be more
and I needed to find out what ‘more’ entailed. This
desire for ‘more’ led me to seek out and interview
a diverse and engaging group of legal professionals
who have established alternative careers in law.
But before delving into what I gleaned from these
interviews, I should explain that I believe Alternative
Lawyers fall somewhere between traditional
practice and post-practice on the professional
spectrum. Based on my reading of The Creative
Lawyer and Life After Law, Alternative Lawyers
appear to ground their careers in the intersection of
law and other sectors including politics, business,
arts and entertainment, education, journalism, and
law enforcement, among others.
In each interview, I tried to deconstruct the
participant’s decision to take the leap from a
traditional legal practice environment to the everevolving hinterland of Canada’s legal services
market, or the broader ‘lawscape,’ as I sometimes
call it. My conversations with these professionals
revealed strategies for honing particular legal
skills and leveraging them in a range of law-related
sectors. Though some of their current careers fall
outside traditional practice contexts, it became clear
that these professionals all consistently draw on
legal skills gained from law school and subsequent
experience in
conventional
law jobs. During
Osgoode’s 2 016
C a r e e r We e k ,
students wi l l
meet Renatta
Austin and Doron Gold —two Alternative Lawyers
who will be participating in the JD Advantage Panel
taking place on February 3rd.
Renatta Austin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Criminology and Political Science from University of
Toronto, a JD from the University of Toronto, as well
as a Master of Arts degree focused on Public Policy
and Public Administration from the University of
Western Ontario. Currently, Renatta is a Torontobased lawyer committed to providing flexible and
affordable legal services to the public. She provides
government relations advice and support to nonprofit organizations and community groups.
Doron Gold holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political
Science and Government from York University,
a JD from Osgoode Hall Law School, as well as a
Master of Social Work degree from the University
of Windsor. Doron is a psychotherapist and former
practicing lawyer. Doron’s current practice focuses
on individual, family, and group therapy related
to issues of depression, anxiety, career and family
stress and addiction. Doron works primarily with
lawyers, law students, judges, as well as other
professionals.
As panelists, Renatta and Doron (along with
other Alternative Lawyers) will address students’
increasing anxiety and curiosity about where
(else) a JD can take them. Renatta and Doron will
share: (i) what they learned about themselves as
a result of going to law school and practicing law,
(ii) how they leverage their law degrees in their
current work, and (iii) what steps students can
take to engage in or pursue a career in Alternative
Lawyering. Osgoode’s 2016 Career Week will engage
high caliber professionals, like Renatta and Doron,
from sectors perceived as existing on the fringe of
traditional black letter law to participate in a series
of experiential learning workshops and panels.
Osgoode students will use these events as spaces for
reflecting on:
• What Alternative Lawyering entails,
• Where in the broader legal services market
Alternative Lawyering exists,
• When to pursue Alternative Lawyering,
• How law students might prepare for Alternative
Lawyering careers,
• Who might be best suited for an Alternative
Lawyering path, and
• Why all Canadian law schools should take a
more aggressive and coordinated approach to
connecting students with Alternative Lawyering
opportunities.
It is important to state openly that we (as the
organizers and hosts of Osgoode’s 2016 Career Week)
do not seek to pul