Something we don’t often talk about on our blog is how difficult it can be to do the type of work we do. We work long hours, many of which are thankless, fighting cases for our clients. We put our own money towards causes we believe in, like the Wilson appeal or the Murray case. There are lots of great days, but there are also the disappointing days when we don’t succeed.
It was a funny happenstance meeting and I was pleased to be able to put a face to the name and voice on the other end of the phone.
People don’t always understand the work we do. One look at our Facebook page reveals a very angry and sad series of opinions about what we do and who we represent. We take a lot of flack from people for defending alleged impaired drivers, criminals, etc. And so it’s always nice to get a piece of positive feedback from a client about the work we did.
This New Year’s Eve, I hosted a large party at my house. Much larger than anticipated due to some Reddit feed inviting all of Vancouver… but that’s another story. As I was speaking with one of my guests, I discovered that he had been a client of mine several months earlier. Because we represent clients all across British Columbia I do not often get to meet many of my clients in person, and this individual I had never met before.
It was a funny happenstance meeting and I was pleased to be able to put a face to the name and voice on the other end of the phone.
As we spoke, he began to tell me about how winning his case had impacted him. The situation he was facing would have had a huge impact on his ability to work, to maintain his employment, and to advance in his career. It was a situation where the police had apparently targeted this individual because of his racial background, making it very frustrating for him and for me as a Metis person. I was able to successfully resolve his case, and as a result he is now working in a more lucrative position in his field, with some amazing opportunities ahead of him.
We spent quite a while talking about this. I was overjoyed to hear how well he is doing and how my work had helped to keep his life on a positive path. The Christmas season is busy for us because of the Counterattack roadblocks, and it had been an exhausting one. This was exactly the pick-me-up I needed to start the new year. It was the highlight of my New Year’s Eve and reminded me how important it is for lawyers like us to do the work we do.