What do you like best about practising law in your area?

What do you find challenging about practising law in your area?

Linda Locke
Hazelton

Tight legal community

Variety of legal issues to address in court and out of court

Collegiality of local lawyers and willingness to discuss the law and related options

There’s a lack of lawyers who accept legal aid files, particularly relating to family law (Note: I’m the local Agent for Legal Services).

Sarah Bowes
Kelowna

We have a small, supportive bar.

Lack of access to continuing legal education

High cost of attending workshops held in Vancouver

Wendy Kavanagh
Kelowna

The relaxed pace, the small bar and its friendly nature. In short, lifestyle.

The travel required on poor roads in the winter

Cori McGuire
Kelowna

Work-Life balance: The natural beauty of the lake and valley offer a constant reminder that there is more to life than law work, including family, friends, recreation, and time to be still and reflect on your purpose. I also like the teamwork and respect between lawyers in the Okanagan.

Continuing education normally involves the time, expense and inconvenience of travelling to Vancouver. The trip is a challenge but always rewarding if planned a few times a year.

Peter Warner QC
Prince George

The best features of solicitors' practice in the Prince George/ North Central B.C. regions are:

• The broad and diverse range of commercial work available;
• The hard-working, innovative and friendly client base; and
• The City offers a full range of services, but the region is a frontier of opportunities in business, sports and social activities.

The challenges of practice here would include:

• Dealing with long distances and winter weather (if you do not have an outdoor winter sport it is a long haul); and
• It is difficult to confine your practice to a specialty, many solicitors' practices are a "mile wide and a foot deep".

Sarah Klinger
Victoria

I can walk to work, the bar is very collegial and I will invariably run into someone I know when I’m up at court. In addition the pace seems more relaxed than in larger centres.

There is a high ratio of lawyers, which means competition can be high, for personal injury files for example.

The difficulty of getting off the island in inclement weather can make court appearances in Vancouver very difficult.

Stephanie Sieber
Victoria

Easier to balance work/life/family.

It’s harder to specialize.