Canadian Lawyer InHouse

41 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE JULY 2016 "Doing a lot of work with California-based companies, it seemed to make a lot of sense to do that," she says. Before joining Vice, Zener worked for production companies, broadcasters, and distribution companies. She also had her own private practice. But perhaps more interestingly, Zener is a published novel- ist with a dark sense of humour. Her debut novel, Deathbed Dimes, follows a young law- yer and the daughter of a Hollywood fi lm royal as she discovers "the reality that if you can outlive your relatives, friends, and sometimes even strangers, your odds of hit- ting the inheritance jackpot are better than playing the lottery," according to the book's Amazon description. Terry Fallis, the author of Best Laid Plans, called the book "A funny, acerbic, and rau- cous read." Zener says she initially imagined the story in the book as one of her ideas for TV shows. But the ideas "never went any- where," she says, adding she later decided to turn them into fodder for a book. As a child, Zener always acted in plays and went to auditions for commercials. "Working in the entertainment industry, it's not an accident for me," she says. "I've always had creative interest." A mother to two young children, Zener is currently working on her sophomore novel, and also keeps a short stories and poetry blog called Satirical Mama. Her stories are quirky, funny, and sometimes outlandish. One of them, for example, takes place in a packed-room collective agreement meeting for toddlers. Using the same moniker on Twitter, @SatiricalMama pokes fun at the drudgery of parenthood. To juggle lawyering, parenthood, and writing, Zener says she relies on skillful time management, carefully chosen priori- ties, and a supportive husband. "If I didn't write, it would be like not breathing, but the next part of it is totally about entertaining people," she says. Zener admits being a busy lawyer, moth- er, and writer means some missed school outings and rain checks taken on lunch with friends. "But I make my friendships work, I make my family work, I made my career work, I make my personal hobbies work," she says. "And at the end of the day, I truly believe that having it all means whatever you choose 'all' to mean for you and not letting anybody else tell you it has to mean something else." IH P ro f e s s i o n a l P ro f i l e SECOND SNAPSHOT T H E L AW Y E R Naomi Zener T H E C O M PA N Y Vice Media Inc. • Called to the bar: Ontario, 2004; California, 2008. • Joined Vice Canada in 2015 to create the company's Canadian legal department. • Author of: Deathbed Dimes and the blog, Satirical Mama. • Legal counsel at CBC 2005-2007 Because business issues are legal issues. So if you want to get ahead in business, get the degree that gets you there faster. ONE YEAR – PART - TIME – NO THESIS FOR L AWYERS AND NON - LAWYERS law.utoronto.ca/ExecutiveLLM GPLLM Global Professional Master of Laws [Get a Master of Laws] Untitled-3 1 2015-03-02 9:02 AM

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