A law student’s perspective

by Pauline Rae

The June President’s Forum was a great success. The speakers and breakout sessions were fascinating, and provided a sampling of the issues and opportunities for women in law.

As a law student who has just completed second year at UBC and is in the middle of the articling application process, this symposium took place at the perfect time. Despite the fact that there are more female than male law students, law school itself is still very competitive and male-oriented. With some wonderful exceptions, it has not provided the most positive learning environment. As law students, we are constantly bombarded with negative information, horror stories, and rumours about the profession. The emphasis on the “big downtown firm” track is overwhelming. While many women have achieved success in downtown firms and it is the right career path for some, it often feels as though we law students are on a conveyor belt straight to downtown. Rarely are other options discussed or encouraged at law school.

How encouraging it was to hear some good news for a change! In what could have been a serious gripe session, I was energized and uplifted by the many positive stories told by women who have achieved success – whatever their definition of success may be – both within and outside of their careers. I was reminded of the immense variety of career opportunities that exist in law by listening to the stories of women who have taken diverse career paths to reach where they are today.

Despite embarking on a career in a profession that is still archaic and male-oriented, I feel inspired and hopeful about my future. There is still an enormous amount of work to be done to improve the position of women in the field, and to improve working conditions for all lawyers, but these strong and successful women gave me added strength and courage to continue the struggle, and to follow my own path to success.

This kind of forum is critically important for female lawyers, and especially for female law students and young lawyers, to help them chart a passage through what is sometimes a hostile and difficult environment. I believe that we need and deserve such a symposium on an annual basis. For me, this forum was an inspirational taster, a starting point for getting women talking and networking, and working together to make the profession a better place to work for everyone. Without doubt, this symposium should be an annual event.

Pauline Rae is a law student at the University of British Columbia, and currently works as Curriculum Assistant for the Program on Dispute Resolution in the UBC Faculty of Law.

This article was published in the August 2001 issue of BarTalk. © 2001 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.