Gary Joseph | July 2023

This article was originally published by Law360 (www.law360.ca), part of LexisNexis Canada Inc.

I recently attended a very enjoyable retirement party. Yes, you read it correctly, a very enjoyable retirement party!

The location was great, food was terrific and the crowd was full of interesting lawyers and judges. I was very happy to connect with many old friends to chat with. Interesting people often ask interesting questions. One such question that was posed to me a number of times that evening was "do you do mediation and or arbitration?" To which I repeatedly answered "no, I am just a lawyer," I expanded on this saying my personality does not suit doing mediation (as a mediator) and if I wanted to arbitrate, I would have applied to be a judge. I guess the same can be said of my refusal to do collaborative law. It's just not me.

Most of the interesting people, recipients of my answer as described above, reacted in a similar manner. Either a forced smile or a questioning gaze. But the truth is, I am just a lawyer. I have wanted to be "just a lawyer" all my life and to achieve that goal is self- fulfilling and a privilege.

We, of course, today are flooded with lawyers who want to be or are mediators. In my view there are many mediators but only a few with that special skill to bring conflicting spouses together in resolution. An industry has flourished offering courses in mediation. These courses are also quite useful to lawyers who participate with clients in mediation, but I fear that many lawyers hoping to carve out new careers as mediators will fail. More is demanded of those who wish to arbitrate but again those who make it may find it difficult to build an arbitration practice.

The point of this rather dull piece (my view, I hope not yours) is about professional fulfillment. The law offers a broad array of career sub-choices, but those most be a match for your skills, training, personality and goals. I am very happy being "just a lawyer." Please don't look at me strangely when I say this. May I remind you that many if not most of the legal giants of our past (please don't cancel them) were just lawyers. Don't be something other than "just a lawyer" for all the wrong reasons.

Find your calling within our wonderful (yes, I believe it to be so) profession and reap your fulfillment from finding your place, You need not more.

Gary S. Joseph is the managing partner at MacDonald & Partners LLP. A certified specialist in family law, he has been reported in over 350 family law decisions at all court levels in Ontario and Alberta. He has also appeared as counsel in the Supreme Court of Canada. He is a past family law instructor for the Law Society Bar Admission Course and the winner of the 2021 OBA Award for Excellence in Family Law.

The opinions expressed are those of the authors) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author's firm, its clients, LexisNexis Canada, Law360 Canada, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

Press the button below to read the PDF version, or directly on Law360.