Canadian Lawyer

12 www.canadianlawyermag.com FEATURES CROSS EXAMINED REBECCA BROMWICH wanted to be Indiana Jones, but, nearing the end of her undergraduate studies in anthropology and archaeology at the University of Calgary, she realized she needed to explore other options. "What you actually do is dig in the dirt with a toothbrush — so, not at all like Indiana Jones," she says. "I really wasn't happy with the whole thing." She sat in the university cafeteria with her then-boyfriend and wondered about law school. After all, growing up in Calgary, Bromwich says she was always interested in philosophy, argument and civil rights struggles. "I was passionate about diversity and inclusion before I decided being a lawyer would be the way to pursue it," she says. "I really wanted to contribute to ensuring peo- ple's equality and fairness and a strong sense of justice." But her boyfriend at the time didn't think she had what it took. "You wouldn't be a good lawyer," he told her. "You're too much of a nice girl." Bromwich marched over to a pay phone and called then and there to register to write the LSAT — on what turned out to be the last day to sign up for that round. Despite not having long to prepare, Bromwich did well, was admitted and even received scholarships. "I was like, you can't tell me because of my gender I can't do this. Women do this! I guess I should thank him," Bromwich laughs. With that, Indiana Jones — and that boy- ation certificate in negotiation in 2018 from Harvard Law School. She left Carleton University to take on the role of national diversity and inclusion manager at Gowling WLG, where she's been less than a year. "My role is ensuring diversity and inclusion is woven into everything else we do," she says. Gowling has rolled out unconscious bias training and mental health first aid train- ing for firm leaders and made significant changes to the partnership admission pro- HAVING IT ALL, AND THEN SOME Canadian Lawyer learns why from Gowling's Rebecca Bromwich friend — were history. Following the completion of her under- graduate degree and first year of law school at UCalgary, Bromwich transferred to Queen's University. She graduated with her LLB in 2001 and LLM in 2002. Called to the bar in 2003, Bromwich worked in private practice for five years before moving to the United States in 2008 for her husband's medical career, where she obtained a graduate cer- tificate in Women's Gender and Sexuality "I was passionate about diversity and inclusion before I decided being a lawyer would be the way to pursue it. I really wanted to contribute to ensuring people's equality and fairness and a strong sense of justice." Studies at the University of Cincinnati. Upon returning to Canada, Bromwich was a Canadian Bar Association staff lawyer from 2009 to 2015, and she worked on her PhD at Carleton University from 2012 to 2015. The day she graduated, she was hired to teach and worked as a full-time staff member for a year before being promoted to director of the Graduate Diploma Program in Conflict Resolution at Carleton's Department of Law and Legal Studies, and she also got a medi- cess with which Bromwich has been involved since coming onboard. The goal is to increase the number of female partners to be at least one-third of the partnership by 2020. The firm is introducing standardized recruitment questions for students and staff, as well as offering alternative career path programs for lawyers who don't want to pursue the part- nership trajectory. Bromwich is also going to be seconded to Gowling's office in the United Kingdom,

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