Law360 Canada (May 1, 2026, 11:37 AM EDT) --

Murray Gottheil

Newly qualified lawyers are not known for being mature, confident, well-rounded and psychologically sound. And why should we expect them to be? Most of them are young, having just emerged from years of student life. Few have had a significant prior career. They have likely graduated, with substantial debt, from schools that have not adequately trained them to practise law.

Perched upon that tenuous base, they find themselves facing a high-pressure environment where the gap between training and expectations can be huge.

Of course, some newcomers have it worse than others. There are those who are fortunate to have been raised in a professional or business family, giving them a leg up on understanding the demands of the profession. Often these folks also have contacts that can smooth their entry into the practice of law.

Others may be the first lawyer, professional or university graduate in their extended family. Their upbringing may not have prepared them to understand the demands of the profession, and they may not have any helpful social connections.

And then there are immigrants, including internationally trained lawyers, who face the headwinds of cultural unfamiliarity and prejudice.

Of course, few of us enter the profession with the perfect psychological profile, but clearly some have a leg up on others. Looking back, I realize I should not have been shocked when the firm at which I articled declined to hire me back, saying I did not have sufficient self-confidence.

What nobody had told me about the legal profession is that newcomers often face a “sink or swim” environment, and that law firms can chew you up and spit you out. I came close to sinking, but I learned to swim just in time. Some people can survive in that type of environment and come out stronger. I did. I know others who did not, and it was not because I was any smarter or more capable than they were.

Looking back over my somewhat successful career, the message I would give to the newbies is that the best thing they can do to be successful in the legal profession is to ensure that, prior to stepping foot in a law firm, they do everything within their power to develop their confidence and become their best psychological selves.

I would say to them: get counselling, go to Toastmasters, read self-help books and address potential addictions. Understand the majority culture and know how to address prejudice and misogyny. Understand their personal boundaries and whether they are consistent with those of their significant other, and how they may change if the composition of their family changes.

I would tell a younger me that, when I first set foot in a law firm, I had spent way too much time studying law and not nearly enough studying myself and fixing myself up.

Murray Gottheil is a retired lawyer living in the country, happy and driving a pickup truck. Reach him at murray@murraygottheil.com and see what he is up to at www.lawanddisorderinc.com.

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