The View From Up North: Where Did All My Classmates End Up?

What are your law school classmates doing with their careers? Columnist Steve Dykstra did research to find out.

I graduated from Queen’s Law in 2002 and got called to the Ontario bar on a sunny summer day in 2003. Alright, I can’t actually recollect the weather, but I romanticize it as pleasant because I remember it as a day of hope and excitement. It could never rain on a day filled with such optimism, right?

My classmates and I stood before future Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella, who swore us in as solicitors of the Courts of Ontario. Our families watched proudly. It was the beginning of our careers. We had notions of changing the world and using our incredible legal education for good, not evil.

We had no idea what we were getting into.

Fast forward 12 years (almost to the day). I was cleaning my bookshelf and came across the commemorative booklet they gave each graduate at our call to the bar ceremony. It listed the names of all of my Queen’s classmates. I suddenly had a very strong desire to find out where each of them was. So I spent about six hours researching, trying to find all of them.

I thought I would share the results, and some of my thoughts:

Demographics

Total number of classmates: 149
Total men: 76
Total women: 73

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Thoughts: No surprise, almost 50/50 split.

Where Is Everybody?

Total in private practice: 48
Total in government: 32
Total in private companies: 15
Professors: 6
Disbarred: 2
Deceased: 1
Not practicing: 45

Thoughts: I have several thoughts on this. First off, I was shocked to find out my classmate, Lisa, had passed away two years ago at age 37. We were all so young and vibrant when we graduated. When I started researching, it never crossed my mind that somebody might have died. I didn’t know her well at law school, but I always thought Lisa was a super nice lady. I feel bad that I missed the announcement and wasn’t able to send my condolences.

Second, I’m surprised only 45 are not practicing in some manner. If I had to guess beforehand, I would have guessed much higher — maybe half. With all the negativity surrounding the practice of law, I just get the feeling that all lawyers want to jump to an island and escape. I guess the reality is, even if you want to leave it behind, most law jobs are well paying. It’s hard to find something outside the law that’s as lucrative. Thus, a lot of lawyers may dream of escape, but then reality gives them a backhand.

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Third, I was surprised 32 of my colleagues work in some branch of government. I think there’s a perception in Canada that government is a place where lawyers go to put up their feet. It’s totally opposite in the United States, where young lawyers use government service as a booster rocket for their careers. Canada, not so much. I’m not saying the perception is right — I have met many talented, hardworking government lawyers — but it’s hard to escape back to private practice or in-house once you move into government.

It did not surprise me, however, that there are only 48 lawyers left in private practice. A big surprise is only 15 of my colleagues work in private companies. I would have guessed much higher. Lawyers look at in-house positions as the Holy Grail — a way to escape the ridiculous pressures of private practice, still get well paid, and maintain an excellent quality of work. Having said that, supply and demand rules the day. I suppose there just aren’t that many good in-house jobs and it’s insanely competitive when one comes open.

Private Practice Breakdown

Biglaw partners: 3
Biglaw associates/counsel: 2
Small/medium firms: 28
Solo practitioners: 15

Thoughts: Although I’m not surprised only 48 of my colleagues remain in private practice, I am surprised only five remain in Biglaw. I would guessed a much higher percentage of those remaining in PP would still work in big firms. It seems like small/medium-sized firms are the preferred homes for those stuck in PP, although I’m happy to see a sizable number of my more entrepreneurial colleagues have gone out on their own.

In-House Breakdown

General Counsels: 4
Other Roles: 11

Thoughts: I’m surprised we have so few general counsels. After 12 years of practice, this is the stage where GC roles should open up, especially at smaller companies. Perhaps I’m too ambitious for my classmates.

Superstars

I was hoping we would have one bona fide rockstar in the group — someone who has blown the doors off the legal world (or any other world). Again, perhaps I’m a bit too ambitious for my classmates. There’s no one I can point to as an absolute superstar. Having said that, a few of my classmates are doing some very cool things.

My friend, Waikwa Wanyoike, was a student activist in his native Kenya, when being a student activist could get you killed. He left his homeland under political threats to travel halfway round the world to Canada. Once he landed here, he got his legal education and practiced for many years.

He is now back in Kenya working for the Katiba Institute. Over the past decade, Kenya has undergone a lot of political change, including promulgating a new Constitution in 2010. The Katiba Institute was established in 2011 to help facilitate the implementation of the new Constitution. Thus, Waikwa is on the frontline of change for his country. That’s a great use of a law degree.

Another friend, Sarah Bradley, is a professor at Dalhousie Law and the Chair of the Nova Scotia Securities Commission. She must not sleep much. Pretty impressive, though. Catnaps, Sarah, catnaps.

Yet another friend, Owen Rees, is the Executive Legal Officer of the Supreme Court of Canada. As ELO, Owen acts as Chief Justice McLachlin’s consigliere. In non-Italian, he’s the CJ’s principal advisor. He also handles media relations for the Supreme Court. Owen was literally a kid when he got to Queen’s Law; probably the youngest person in our class. A little over a decade later, he advises the Chief Justice. Pretty amazing.

Without looking at other classes, I have no way of knowing whether my class is typical or not. But, it was sure fun to research and reflect. I salute my fellow graduates. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, I hope you’re happy and healthy.

That’s the View From Up North. Have a great week.


Steve Dykstra is a Canadian-trained lawyer and legal recruiter. He is the President of Keybridge Legal Recruiting, a boutique recruitment firm that places lawyers in law firms and in-house roles throughout North America. You can contact Steve at steve@keybridgerecruiting.com. You can also read his blog at stevendykstra.wordpress.com, follow him on Twitter (@IMRecruitR), or connect on LinkedIn (ca.linkedin.com/in/stevedykstra/).