Canadian Lawyer InHouse

3 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE MAY/JUNE 2018 www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse Director/Group Publisher: Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Managing Editor: Jennifer Brown jen.brown@thomsonreuters.com Copy Editor: Patricia Cancilla Art Director: Steve Maver Account Co-ordinator: Catherine Giles Sales and Business Development Sales Manager: Paul Burton paul.burton@tr.com 416-649-9928 Business Development Consultant: Ivan Ivanovitch ivan.ivanovitch@tr.com 416-887-4300 Business Development Consultant: Kimberlee Pascoe kimberlee.pascoe@tr.com 416-996-1739 Account Executive: Steffanie Munroe steffanie.munroe@tr.com 416-315-5879 Canadian Lawyer InHouse is published 6 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto ON. M1T 3V4 (416) 298-5141. Fax : 416-649-7870 Web: www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/groups/3380194 Twitter: @CLInHouse Editorial advisory board: Sanjeev Dhawan, Hydro One Networks Inc.; Jonathan Lau, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario; Fernando Garcia, Nissan Canada; Joe Bradford, Bradford Professional Corp; Dorothy Quann, Xerox Canada. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Canadian Lawyer InHouse disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement #40766500 ISSN 1921-9563 Copyright © 2018 H.S.T. Registration #R121349799 To subscribe or change addresses Call (416) 649-9585 Fax (416) 649-7870 or e-mail Keith Fulford at keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto ON. M1T 3V4 By Jennifer Brown Editor's Box SEND YOUR news AND story ideas TO jen.brown@thomsonreuters.com @CLInHouse @canadianlawyerinhouse Millennial lawyers are creating their own multi-faceted careers I n this issue you will read the second in our series on millennial general counsel. After you've read the profile, please take the time to view the video interview we did with Mike Anderson, general counsel at WE. His enthusiasm for what he and the organization does is infectious, and you'll see the future of in-house. Both Anderson and Amy Avis of the Canadian Red Cross, who we profiled in the March issue, identified early on that they wanted to apply their law school training in non-conventional ways, skipping the private practice step in their journey to in-house. They aren't the first to do that; but in today's climate, where so many are wondering where today's law grads will get their articling opportunity or if there are indeed enough jobs for young lawyers at law firms where they have traditionally received their base training, I think Anderson and Avis demonstrate that what one decides to do with a law degree in the future will have more to do with personal goals and desires and less to do with the old-school tradition of slogging it out according to a path that no longer fits the goals of many people or organizations. Anderson identified early on that he didn't want to pursue a traditional large law firm career. As he explained to me, "I wanted to use the gifts I had been given to help others." Pursuing a job, Anderson saw the potential and possibility of WE's "legal manager" job posting evolving into a much larger role. And he was right. Four years later, the job he has grown at WE has given him experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sector in areas such as intellectual property, charity law, marketing and child protection work. Anderson's role was continuing to evolve even as I was finishing the profile of him. Last month, he officially joined Inter Alia Law, a virtual alternative services firm that provides in- house legal support to companies and startups on an as-needed basis. Inter Alia focuses on the technology, entertainment and media sectors. It also allows Anderson to continue with WE as its general counsel and receive added support and mentoring from those at Inter Alia Law. It's a great example of how young lawyers and, in fact, I think lawyers of all ages can vary their legal career by considering other options outside the typical job descriptions of in-house and law firm life. I was inspired to do the series on millennial lawyers after seeing Ian Connett, the 30-year-old legal director of Collective, an advertising technology company in New York, speak at McCar- thy Tétrault LLP last year. While the average age of general counsel at younger companies is in the mid-40s, I think there are opportunities for especially business-minded young lawyers to jump in to in-house life. At the time, Connett was going by @MillennialGC on Twitter. He is now also founder of Quantum Jurist, a legal tech consulting and technology venture. Connett was speaking about being an enabler to the sales team and in a very refreshing way was speaking more as a member of the business team. The opportunities are there in tech and other startups as well as non-profit for those lawyers who want to have a legal career but apply their personal and career goals in a different way. Millennials also embrace the use of technology to solve problems, aren't as afraid to take risks and want to find personal fulfilment in their work. That may not be happening for young grads trying to get interesting work in law firms these days. IH

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