A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor—such is my idea of happiness. – Tolstoy
After living in Calgary for several years, my Dad opened his own law firm in a small farming community. He had just finished articling, had a wife and two children, and no money. It was one of the best things that ever happened to us.
I am not a rural lawyer (yet), but I have developed a great deal of experience working in our family law office, running my own registry business, and being involved in our community. I have also had opportunities to speak with a variety of lawyers, about their professional experiences.
Deciding where to practice law should be an informed choice. By distilling my perspective into one day, I aim to share a picture of what practicing in a rural community could look like. Additionally, I hope to engage considerations of entrepreneurship and work-life balance.
In the morning, I contemplated what to show my classmates about a rural lifestyle. While enjoying my coffee, I watched a 
beautiful sunrise and four moose in our field. I thought, “This is already going to be good”.
My drive to the office did not involve waking up early to avoid traffic, and only took ten minutes. Next year, I will be able to drive my son to school, because my work day begins around the same time. Although that means, he will argue with me to listen to Johnny Cash in the car.
Having my own business in a small community, and being close to my son’s school, will help me balance a busy career with being an involved parent. I will have the flexibility to meet with his teachers, coach his sports teams, and be home for dinner.
One drawback of small communities is that they tend to lack anonymity. For me, this was a positive. Having a more public life pushed me out of my comfort zone, and taught me to be an open, honest, and accountable person. Qualities which I hope to instill in my son.
At the office we have transparent fees, which are mostly flat rate and quoted directly from a lawyer. We often provide free consultations and notarizing, which has brought us a lot of repeat business and loyal clients.
Our clients have personable relationships with us. We care about the people in our community, and we are respected and appreciated by them. It is important for us to be involved in the community, in order to understand their particular needs.
We provide a variety of legal services, including Family, Wills and Estates, Secured Transactions, Real Estate, Corporate, and Litigation. Sometimes, in a rural setting, these regular transactions take on a unique form. For example, instead of registering a lien on someone’s car, it may be on a tractor or the quota of “eggs from chickens”.
Fridays are busy Real Estate days. One of the local bank managers knows this, and tries to help our Paralegals by hand delivering documents or drafts we need. We also have collegial relationships with legal staff in the surrounding communities. It’s nice to have such friendly interactions with other law offices and banks, because so much of our work is interconnected.
In the afternoon, we drove to court in Calgary on an interesting estate matter. We usually travel to court in Didsbury, Airdrie, Red Deer, Calgary, and sometimes Edmonton.
Even though we serve a large rural area, we are still only about 50km away from the Calgary Courts Centre. The travel time is significant enough that we think twice about bringing small issues to court, but not enough to dissuade us from going when needed, or from catching the Flames games.
I know of many sole practitioners in rural communities who would like to retire, and pass their thriving businesses on to young lawyers. I hope my story will inspire some students to inquire further into the merits of business ownership and rural law.
This is great, Claire – what a vivid, meaningful picture of your life in your community and in the profession. And it’s a very nice companion piece to Brandon’s post. It makes me want to come and work for you!
Claire,
Great post. The idea that the big city firm is the only realistic and profitable way to go after law school is an ideal that I think many law students and new calls fall into. It is not to say that the rural or small town practice is the right way to go, but I agree with you that it needs to be an informed decision. If you are willing to live where you would have to commute for “big town amenities” and are able to see the perks of a small town, then it may be the right choice. Not only that, starting your career with an emphasis on work-life balance can help prevent those bad habits that lead to early burnouts in the profession. Working late or on weekends is almost a fact of life for lawyers but when they become an all to regular thing or expected, to me that is a problem. My experience has been that work-life balance in a smaller community actually exists and if that is important to a person, then take the plunge and get out of the city.
Hey Kelly, great to see a L21C alumna! 🙂 Thank you for the comment and for sharing your experience.
PS guest posts are always welcome 🙂
Thank you Kelly!
I love this post Claire! I have just finished going through the formal recruitment process for the ‘big law’ firms. My approach to applying to these firms were not necessarily based on an informed decision, but more so on the idea that this is THE path to follow – to echo Kelly’s point.
I believe that factors like: where you want to live, how you want your life to be outside of work, as well as where you see yourself in 5-10+ years are all important considerations when making a decision on where to begin your career.
I think you make a great point that lawyers looking to retire in smaller communities are looking to pass on their practice to young, thriving lawyers. This is an opportunity for many of us who come from smaller communities to experience and potentially benefit from!
Claire,
I grew up in a small town and loved every minute of it. Your piece certainly painted a great picture for those thinking about small town practice and life. Hopefully it inspires some people to broaden their horizons and look outside of the big city.
Claire,
Thank you for sharing. You mentioned that operating a business in a rural community has required you to become a more open, honest, and accountable person, and I believe that the legal profession as a whole could benefit from increased transparency in the way legal services are provided.
A recurring theme in Richard and Daniel Susskind’s The Future of the Professions is the need for lawyers to demystify the work they do in order to provide clients with a clear understanding of the steps being taken to solve their legal issue(s). Fortunately, the market in urban centres has moved in this direction as clients are demanding more value for their money, which has resulted in lawyers providing more transparency with respect to issues such as billing practices.
It’s refreshing to know that some rural communities have maintained a certain expectation of its lawyers while clients in urban centres are beginning to follow suit in their desire for more accountability from their lawyers.
That was an amazing post Claire and really gave me a true insight into what it is like practicing in a rural community. I was born and raised in Vernon and have always considered moving back to practice in the future for many of the reasons you point out in your article. The ability to cut out commuting time and have the time to see family and friends can never be understated. In addition, the ability to be held accountable and remain open and honest in a small community is greatly beneficial and is another reason why practicing in a small community is great for many young lawyers.