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How I Became a Freelance Lawyer by Laura Chaves Paz

3/23/2016

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This is the fourth post in our series "How I Became a Freelance Lawyer" by our Flex Lawyers. Today's post is by Laura Chaves Paz:
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After finishing law school in Canada, I started looking for opportunities to work in international law with clients seeking advice on how to navigate the challenges of moving across different legal jurisdictions. I wanted to use my skills, and my personal experience, as a multicultural lawyer, to help others in an increasingly globalized world.
 
I am not a typical lawyer. I have a law degree from Argentina, a LLM from the US and a civil law degree and common law degree from McGill in Canada. You might say my legal career spans from the South to the North Pole. My focus has been diverse, including labour law, criminal law, constitutional law, international law, and immigration law. I have had the opportunity to live in many countries and experience different cultures and languages.
 
I have experience working with clients from different parts of the world and also from different legal systems. This includes drafting legal norms for the legislative branch in Bosnia & Herzegovina, working with grassroots organization to create new criminal laws on trafficking in Latin America, and advising clients on labour issues in Argentina and Canada.
 
With such broad interests and experiences, it was difficult finding a job that allowed me to combine these skills with the flexibility to work on a variety of topics. I first started as a consultant for organizations in Canada and around the world and in that capacity experienced the freedom that comes with being a freelance lawyer. I quickly realized that I could use my unique legal background and experiences to assist other lawyers and law firms. 
 
Every day brings new challenges. To navigate those challenges, I not only get to use my legal skills but also my creative, business, and networking skills. I love the variety of legal issues I work on and the people I meet on any given day – from an employment contract to helping a family sponsor a refugee.
 
Managing my own freelance lawyer practice also allows me to embrace my other passions in life like art and design and allows me to balance family life and friends with work. ​
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Flex Featured on New Legal Podcast: Building NewLaw

3/1/2016

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Flex Legal Network is excited to be featured on a new Canadian legal podcast that launched today: Building NewLaw. 

The co-creators of this new venture are Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold, both tax lawyers at the law firm Counter Tax Lawyers. The Building NewLaw website describes Peter and Natalie's reasons for launching the podcast and what they hope to achieve: 
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"We know that other people in the legal industry are building wonderful things.  We tend to like odd, creative, hardworking, and obsessive people that are building interesting things and pushing to do better.  We started Building NewLaw to give us an excuse to call these people.   We hope that the Building NewLaw Podcast is much more.  We hope that Building NewLaw will create a platform that allows us all to share, learn, and gain inspiration.  We believe that, together, we are smarter, better, faster, and stronger. We believe that, together, we can create the new legal industry standard."

The first four episodes were released today:
Episode 1: Welcome to Building NewLaw with Peter and Natalie
Episode 2: Ask Your Client Questions & Build the Solution with Morgan Borins of Caravel Law (formerly Cognition LLP)
Episode 3: Freelance Lawyering and the Unlaw Firm with Erin Cowling of Flex Legal Network 
Episode 4: Remaking Law Firms (Part 1) with Dr. George Beaton of Beaton Research + Consulting

This is a great podcast for anyone interested in finding out more about "New Law" or the Canadian legal landscape in general. We look forward to listening to future podcasts!​
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Flex Legal Network Inc. ("Flex Legal") is not a law firm and does not perform legal services. Flex Legal is a company that matches freelance lawyers/law clerk members of our network with law firm/lawyers in need of freelance lawyer/clerk services.  Flex Legal's network of freelance lawyers practice independently and not in an association or other relationship for the joint practice of law. When a law firm/lawyer engages the services of a Flex Legal freelance lawyer the contractual relationship is solely between the freelance lawyer and law firm/lawyer. Flex Legal does not review the legal work provided by the freelance lawyers/clerks with the network.  Each lawyer is solely responsible for her or his own work product and general business activities to the exclusion of any other lawyer and Flex Legal. The information provided in this website should not be construed as legal advice. Transmission of information from this website is not intended to create, and its receipt does not constitute a solicitor-client relationship with Flex Legal or any of its individual network lawyers or personnel. Use of Flex Legal services does not establish a solicitor-client relationship. Flex Legal will protect the confidentiality of information, but information you provide to Flex Legal may not be afforded legal protection as solicitor-client communications. Flex Legal expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all of the contents of this website. See also our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.


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We are committed to anti-racism and know we are not doing enough. Right now our activism is donation-based and we are listening and learning, and amplifying BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) voices. We know we must take sustained, intentional action to combat racism. One step we are taking is assessing our annual budget and developing a plan to support BIPOC owned businesses, vendors, and contractors. Acknowledging the lack of BIPOC representation on our team, we are committed to improving this lack of diversity. We want to continually and sustainably do the work to build an anti-racist business and community where everyone feels safe and valued. If you would like to contact us about our anti-racism commitment or how we can improve our allyship, please reach out: info@flexlegalnetwork.com . For law firms looking for ways to support the BIPOC community see this article by Lulu Tinarwu for the CBA National Magazine.
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