Gary Joseph | May 2022

This article was originally published by The Lawyer’s Daily (www.thelawyersdaily.ca), part of LexisNexis Canada Inc.

For the most part change is a good thing. More specifically and germane to this piece, changes in the practice of law since I was called appear to me to be mostly positive, but I still regret some. I try so hard to avoid sounding like some old dinosaur lamenting the old ways of practice, but sometimes I just can’t help it. I am what I am, and I say what I think. So here goes ...

I sincerely regret the loss of true mentorship in the practice of law. When I was called in the late 1970s, there still existed this informal but very much recognized system of climbing the ladder to practice. Law school of course, followed by articling, followed by the bar admission courses and exams led to one’s call to the bar. But the training did not stop there. Young lawyers traditionally found mentors, again I say informally, but mentorship was most definitely seen as a further part of the ladder to be climbed to successful practice. Young lawyers found older more experienced counsel to lead them into the profession. In my view there is no substitute for experience and the challenges of providing legal services to the public are enormous. A guide through the many minefields presented is necessary.

Today much of that view has vanished. I recognize that the law society has an informal program for mentorship, and I understand that some of the other fine organizations such as The Advocates’ Society offer mentorship in some form. However, the world has changed. Some of the need for mentorship may have disappeared with the advent of social media and the Internet. Young lawyers have a vast opportunity to find information and some guidance from the net. Young lawyers today appear bolder for the most part than those when I graduated.

Most of you reading this article would not remember the movie The Paper Chase. Set in Harvard Law School in the early 1970s we share the frightening experience of the main character, Mr. Hart’s terrifying introduction to the law. I remember most of us law school graduates as much like Mr. Hart when we ultimately got called to the bar, somewhat tentative and slightly intimidated to be actually asked to practise law. Today, young lawyers are bolder, most assured. That is a good thing but perhaps not the best thing.

Perhaps we need to add to the CPD requirements some form of mandatory mentorship for new calls to the bar. More experienced counsel need to step up and perhaps achieve some of their mandatory CPD through mentorship of young lawyers. Somehow, we need to return to some of the old ways. All change is not good change. There are indeed some things in our past that should be carried forward so that the public is better served by our profession. Mentorship is most definitely one such thing. Please listen to me before this dinosaur becomes extinct!

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 of the Ontario Bar Admission course and the winner of the 2021 OBA Award for Excellence in Family Law.

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