XL Legal

Simi Botic shares her wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and advice about breaking free from perfection.  Simi’s a corporate lawyer turned holistic health and anti-diet coach, and intuitive eating counsellor, who helps women release their desire to be perfect, and heal their relationships with food and body image. Simi’s also the author of Letting Go of Leo: How I Broke Up with Perfection, a memoir about her own struggles with disordered eating, body image, and perfectionism – and her journey to recovery. Topics discussed include: How Simi realized the practice of law wasn’t for her The ways perfectionism has shown up in her life How she “broke up with perfection” Advice for lawyers struggling with the pressure to be perfect Tips for breaking free from “the prison of perfectionism” Here are links to the resources Simi mentioned during our discussion, along with a few others: Intuitive Eating Book and Companion Workbook, by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch’s Website Christy Harrison’s Food Psych Podcast The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, by Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer Kristin Neff’s Self-Compassion Website that includes several free guided practices You can learn more about Simi, her work, and her book here: Website Instagram YouTube This episode contains 45 minutes of Professionalism Content You can listen to the episodes here or by subscribing on your favourite podcast apps. And don’t forget to rate and review the XL Legal Podcast.

Ray Leclair shares his expertise and practical tips to help lawyers avoid malpractice claims. Ray’s the Vice President, Public Affairs at LAWPRO, the Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company. Before joining LAWPRO, Ray worked in-house, practiced with a major national law firm, and ran his own solo practice. Topics discussed include: LAWPRO as an innovative liability insurance provider and resource for lawyers Main reasons why lawyers report malpractice claims What lawyers can do to avoid malpractice claims Wire fraud scams targeting law firms and their clients To access LAWPRO’s wealth of excellent free resources, visit the following LAWPRO sites: LAWPRO practicePRO AvoidAClaim TitlePLUS For more information about practicePRO’s upcoming wire fraud program, visit Avoiding the Wire Fraud Nightmare This episode contains 45 minutes of Professionalism Content You can listen to the episodes here or by subscribing on your favourite podcast apps. And don’t forget to rate and review the XL Legal Podcast.

Darlene Tonelli describes her path to creating a happy and fulfilling legal career, and shares some of the lessons learned along the way. Darlene’s the founder of Inter Alia Law – a very different kind of legal services business. Before founding Inter Alia, Darlene worked in-house at a record label and practiced at a large Bay Street law firm. Topics discussed include: Inter Alia Law: the business model, Darlene’s blog, and the Lawyer Life Podcast Darlene’s career path and how it led to the creation of Inter Alia Law Differences between practicing in a traditional law firm and working in-house Why so many lawyers feel stuck in their current jobs How to get “unstuck” Advice to lawyers thinking about starting their own firms To learn more about Inter Alia Law, Darlene’s blog, and the Lawyer Life Podcast, visit Inter Alia Law’s website. This episode contains 35 minutes of Professionalism Content You can listen to the episodes here or by subscribing on your favourite podcast apps. And don’t forget to rate and review the XL Legal Podcast.

Lawyer/entrepreneur Aaron Baer talks about the two innovative legal training companies he recently co-founded – 4L Academy and Build Your Book Academy.  Aaron’s currently a partner and director of training and development at the Montreal-based digital law firm Renno & Co. Topics discussed include: Aaron’s journey from lawyer to lawyer/entrepreneur How Aaron’s experiences as a law student and junior lawyer inspired the creation of 4L Academy and Build Your Book Academy What’s missing from traditional law school and law firm training 4L and Build Your Book’s practical, engaging, and modern training approach The connection between legal training and mental health To learn more about Aaron’s training companies and programs, visit 4L Academy and Build Your Book. This episode contains 35 minutes of Professionalism Content You can listen to the episodes here or by subscribing on your favourite podcast apps. And don’t forget to rate and review the XL Legal Podcast.

Hindi Greenberg – a recognized expert on career counselling and outplacement for lawyers – shares her wealth of knowledge about lawyer career satisfaction and alternatives. Hindi’s the founder and president of the career consulting firm Lawyers in Transition, author of The Lawyer’s Career Change Handbook, and former practicing lawyer. Topics discussed include: Why so many lawyers are unhappy at work Advice to lawyers considering a career change Career alternatives for lawyers (both inside and outside of law) Common challenges lawyers experience when switching careers What new lawyers should think about – and look for – when choosing their first job For more information about Hindi and her work, visit her website – Lawyers in Transition – and make sure to check out her list of 101 Things You Can Do With a Law Degree. This episode contains 40 minutes of Professionalism Content You can listen to the episodes here or by subscribing on your favourite podcast apps. And don’t forget to rate and review the XL Legal Podcast.

Mary Paterson – a litigation partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Toronto – discusses what she looks for when working with an articling student. Topics discussed include: The articling program at Osler What the firm expects from its articling students Traits of a successful articling student How articling students can prove their value to the firm The importance of finding balance and maintaining intellectual curiosity Common mistakes articling students make and what to do when they happen This episode contains 40 minutes of Professionalism Content You can listen to the episodes here or by subscribing on your favourite podcast apps. And don’t forget to rate and review the XL Legal Podcast.

Eugene Meehan,Q.C. shares his expertise about appellate advocacy. Eugene’s the founding partner of the boutique law firm, Supreme Advocacy LLP, where he specializes in appellate advocacy and agency work. Topics discussed include: Differences between trial and appellate advocacy Preparing and presenting an oral argument Common factum writing mistakes Factum writing tips Eugene kindly wrote a companion paper for this episode entitled “Ten Ways to Lose at the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court of Canada”.  To request a free copy of the paper, email me at info@exellegal.com or Eugene at emeehan@supremeadvocacy.ca For more information about Eugene and his work, visit the Supreme Advocacy LLP website This episode contains 40 minutes of Professionalism Content You can listen to the episodes here or by subscribing on your favourite podcast apps. And don’t forget to rate and review the XL Legal Podcast.

After 30 episodes, I’ve decided to take a break for the summer. In the meantime, you might want to check out an earlier episode. All 30 are still available and accredited by the Law Society of Ontario for Professionalism Content. Wishing you a happy and healthy summer. I look forward to reconnecting with you in September. You can listen to the episodes here or by subscribing on your favourite podcast apps. And don’t forget to rate and review the XL Legal Podcast.

Paulette Nnorom shares her expertise about finding your first job as a lawyer. Paulette’s a lawyer, coach, and certified career and résumé strategist. She’s also the founder and principal coach at hireback.ca – an online coaching program created specifically to help articling students and LPP candidates in Ontario find their first job as a lawyer. Topics discussed include: Developing a focused job search strategy  Networking during the pandemic   Tapping into the hidden job market Preparing personal marketing material To learn more about Paulette and her work, visit https://21stcenturylawyer.ca/coaching/  and https://www.hireback.ca/ This episode contains 50 minutes of Professionalism Content You can listen to the episodes here or by subscribing on your favourite podcast apps.And don’t forget to rate and review the XL Legal Podcast.