Law Times

Law Times • January 18, 2016 Page 7 www.lawtimesnews.com COMMENT Ask yourself, are you a fish or a fowl? A lbert Einstein is quoted as saying: "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." In my opinion, the legal pro- fession is chock full of fish trying to climb trees, believing them- selves to be failures for not suc- ceeding. There is the Bay Street ar- ticling student fighting to be hired back while simultaneously dreading the offer because he would really prefer a nine-to-five job for less money. There's the corporate lawyer who finds deals and numbers boring but feels compelled to do her best and fears making a change. There there's the recently fired lawyer who wonders if she's cut out for law practice because she was let go, when really, the reason she couldn't make it at the firm was the sexual harassment she was enduring on a daily basis. These are just a few examples of stories I have actually encountered in counselling, with some alterations for privacy. In each case, the lawyers felt compelled to push forward and judged themselves unworthy because things weren't working out as they'd hoped. As lawyers, we're trained to be resilient and persistent and to push through challenges. We wonder if the problem is not "fit" but is instead our lack of perseverance or talent or even character. But the truth is a square peg will never fit into a round hole. You just need to see the shapes for what they truly are. Pushing yourself to fit into a space that is entirely unsuited to your talents, interests, and values is a prescription for compromise of your mental health. If what you do every day is dissonant with who you are as a person and as a professional, burnout and breakdown are the inevitable results. Unfortunately, people expe- riencing this type of breakdown are likely not viewing it as a val- ues crisis but instead are judging themselves as incapable and un- worthy. That leads to self-judgment, self-loathing, and emotional distress, often characterized by the onset of anxiety, depression, or addictive behaviours. Heading off these undesir- able outcomes is an entirely do- able enterprise. The proverbial fish can iden- tify the futility of proverbial tree climbing and can change their behaviour, their work venue, and their focus to have what they do each day more directly ref lect who they are. The good news is that the legal profession is full of oppor- tunities for change and explora- tion, even in difficult job mar- kets. Some even look beyond law practice for options. I would encourage struggling, inappropriately situated legal professionals to not give into the "not cut out to be a lawyer" trope too readily. For many, law practice may be a highly fulfilling career, if they could only find their place in the profession, which comports with their unique gifts and interests. It's not an easy journey, but it is nonetheless one worth pur- suing for all but those who are unquestionably misplaced in law practice and should be seeking opportunities in other fields. The key to finding your place in the profession begins with knowing yourself. If you've worked on Bay Street and you'd prefer to work nine to five, that's important information. If you're uncomfortable billing and asking clients for retainers, you may be more suited to in-house or government work. If you're a liberal, environ- mentally minded person, you may want to avoid taking files from oil companies. If you hate writing and drafting documents, but you enjoy oral advocacy, criminal law may be for you. Being who you are and matching your skills and attributes with your work is central to a fulfilling work life and the practice of law offers myriad opportunities for hitting that sweet spot. All of this requires a level of self-awareness and a curtailing of self-judgment. A dispassionate, objective assessment of where you are and where you want to be is necessary. All of the thoughts of failure and not being cut out to practice are a self-abusive distraction from the solutions, which are readily available. If you're struggling to figure all of this out, talk to someone. Reach out to colleagues and law school classmates, lean on your significant other, and make use of the Member Assistance Program (www.myassistplan. com) where you can access free, confidential counselling as well as peer support and many other services. The happiest, most fulfilled members of the legal profession are those who express who they are through their work. The corporate lawyer who loves the art of the deal is a hap- py, fulfilled lawyer. Fish belong in water. If you're a fish, get to swimming. LT u Doron Gold is a registered social worker and former practi- sing lawyer. He works with law- yers and law students in his role as a staff clinician and presen- ter with the Member Assistance Program as well as with members of the general public in his private psychotherapy practice. He's available at dorongold.com. The Lawyer Therapist Doron Gold More online services Modernizing Ontario's justice system BY MADELEINE MEILLEUR I t's no secret that access to justice is a very real, very difficult problem to address. There are more self-represented individuals in our courts than ever before, and the public's expectation of more convenient — particularly online — services is growing. Ontario's legal and broader justice communities have taken some tremendous steps to advance the issue in recent years, and they should be very proud. Just one year ago, my ministry stepped up its efforts with Better Justice Together, our plan to build a justice system that is faster, simpler, and less expensive for ev- eryone that depends on it. Innovation and modernization — two words not commonly used within the justice system — have be- come our mantra as we look to take advantage of new technology and ways of doing business that we hope will lead to better, more accessible services for Ontarians. Collaboration is fundamental to achieving our vi- sion of a better justice system. As this special edition of the Better Justice Together update will demonstrate, our progress to date is a testament to how the most innova- tive, useful, and practical ideas arise when people talk about shared challenges, and then identify opportuni- ties and create solutions — together. I am confident that with the continued support of our justice partners, including the judiciary, the bar, police, and advocacy organizations to name a few, the year ahead holds tremendous promise for what we can continue to accomplish. One of the first commitments under Better Justice Together was the creation of a justice roundtable. The roundtable serves as a forum to promote communica- tions and collaboration among the ministry and justice system stakeholders on access-to-justice issues. The roundtable [which Meilleur chairs] met twice in 2015 to discuss and explore two key family and crimi- nal access to justice issues: how to streamline the family court process and better support the mentally ill in our criminal justice system. Discussions so far have been constructive. This input will be invaluable as the min- istry decides what solutions to implement and how to move forward. Another collaborative effort — which focuses on de- veloping and implementing modernization initiatives across the criminal court system — is the Ontario Court of Justice Criminal Justice Modernization Committee, co-chaired by Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve and Dep- uty Attorney General Patrick Monahan. The committee chose four initiatives that aim to modernize current information-sharing processes, in- crease access to information for the accused, support enhanced judicial case management, and increase party accountability for meaningful and timely progress at bail and set date appearances. Work on these initia- tives is already underway and the committee anticipates these four will be rolled out in early 2016. The ministry's long-term strategy to roll out future online services is now underway. The ministry will focus on ways to make it easier for everyone who uses Ontario's justice system — including self-represented litigants and legal professionals — to complete transactions without having to visit a court- house or handle a lot of paperwork. Leveraging the Internet The small claims e-filing service was the first ex- ample of a court process made available online — which has led to more than 13,000 claims for a fixed amount (e.g. debt owing under a contract) being filed electronically since August 2014, and in more than 3,000 instances, the matter was fully resolved without the need to set foot in a courthouse. There are plans to expand the service to small claims for non-fixed amounts in the next six months. Another online project in development is an easy-to- use online child support service for parents to set up or change their child support payments without having to go to court. The goal is to launch the service in select regions in early 2016 and across the province over the summer. Improving access to information SCOPE (Scheduling Crown Operations Prepared Elec- tronically), is the ministry's in-house scheduling, docu- ment management, and case-management system, which allows the police and the Crown to share case disclosure electronically. This service is currently in use in Toronto, Durham, Ottawa, London, and Windsor, and has already shown benefits in court by providing real-time access to information on accused persons across regions. In addition, this past May, the Seamless Access to Justice in French pilot was launched at the Ottawa courthouse. e pilot is a joint initiative with Ontario's chief justices that aims to provide co-ordinated and timely access to justice in French, while helping to iden- tify best practices. LT uMadeleine Meilleur is the attorney general of Ontario. This was an update on the Better Justice Together initia- tive published by the Ministry of the Attorney General. u SPEAKER'S CORNER CORRECTIONS Linda Gillis Davidson's class action against the RCMP has not been certified, as we reported last week. Rather, the Ontario Superior Court ruled she could deliver an amended claim that will be able to proceed to a certification hearing. Law Times apologizes for the error and any confusion it may have caused. Judith Beaman is a semi-retired judge. Incorrect information appeared in the Jan. 11 issue.

• Cover