www.canadianlawyermag.com 17
(she also considers publishing academic arti-
cles a "hobby.")
"I think part of why lawyers end up in law
is because they have this inner pitbull: We're
all competitive," she says. "You just have this
visceral response that you want to fire off an
angry email or say something rude or snarky.
[Mentors] kind of help you calm down. . . .
That kind of approach has stuck with me: to
tell the client, 'Look, it doesn't mean that we
can't escalate things if we need to, but that's
not where we want to start off.'"
Over time, Hibbitt says, she and her hus-
band (who she met early in law school) have
learned to work efficiently and carve out a day
a week to spend time on something other than
work, such as reading or skiing and snow-
boarding. She aims for three rides per week on
the cult-favourite Peloton exercise bike, and
she always makes time to honour the needs of
a most discerning client: her parakeet, a Pine-
apple Green-Cheek Conure named Yuki who
needs to follow an exact routine to maintain
her adorable nature.
Hibbitt also says the CBA and other industry
events have become not just professional obli-
gations but an important part of her social life.
"I'm often at all kinds of award ceremonies
or gala dinners, watching Supreme Court jus-
tices speaking, and I always feel so inspired,"
she says.
"That reminds me how much I love the
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profession and how fortunate I am. I'm just
inspired by all the accomplishments and the
amazing things that lawyers have done.
"It keeps you going sometimes. The day-to-
day can be really intense, and it helps to take
a step back, zoom out, get your head out of a
particular file or issue and just see the wider
purpose of the profession. So, I really love that
as well."
Hear more from Hibbitt,
who is a speaker at the Canadian
Lawyer Young Lawyers Summit
on June 11. Visit canadianlawyer-
events.com/young-lawyers
for more information.
