How female lawyers can find success in criminal law

Women have been notoriously underrepresented in the criminal defence bar. Long considered a male bastion, many female lawyers have had a difficult time making a career for themselves in this highly competitive and demanding area of the law. Long hours, unpredictable pay and client bias are a few of the reasons why women tend to exit criminal law in favour of something else.

But, like anything else, the criminal bar would benefit from a long-overdue increase in diversity. And in spite of the inherent difficulty in hacking it as a criminal defence lawyer, many women are eager to make a go of it.

Here are five essential tips for growing a successful practice in criminal defence.

Create opportunity

Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you; create them.

While circumstance may play a part, you are the author of your own opportunity. Your career is no exception.

Creating opportunity for yourself doesn’t have to follow a formula. Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and then align them in a way that is unique to you. Remember that no one is perfect. Oftentimes, it is these imperfections that create opportunities, including for personal growth, innovation and success.

After you’ve identified a path forward, don’t be afraid to explore it. It’s okay to stumble along the way, so long as you keep moving. Ultimately, it’s all part of the journey.

Commit to diversity

The criminal bar is not diverse enough. A commitment to fostering diversity will help foster a contemporary and competent bar well into the future — and that commitment starts with you.

Elevating and empowering other women and visible minorities enriches us all. Just because you may have had a hard time establishing yourself or accomplishing your goals does not mean that those who come after you should experience the same. Find ways to make the path easier for others. Put diversity into action.

This starts with support. Once you’ve established yourself, find ways to create opportunities for others. A cutthroat “me first” attitude will only get you so far for so long, and the bad karma will catch up to you. Recognizing that structural inequality exists and working to level the playing field will only strengthen our community, the profession, and ultimately yourself.

Remember: when you lift others up you also lift up yourself.

Cultivate connections

Women are much more powerful together than alone.

As criminal defence lawyers, we are highly competitive with one another and we often work in silos. But this type of competitive, isolated approach can be damaging and alienating. Friendships and professional connections create opportunities that can enrich your career and form new avenues for professional growth.

There’s a reason for the old saying “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Connections are powerful. They create community. Those who are supported by community are likely to have more options and information at their disposal, which can translate into powerful professional advantages.

Cultivate your connections and watch your career flourish.

Confront toxicity

It should be no surprise to any of us to learn that systematic discrimination is alive and well. Our clients experience it, and we experience it, too. Discrimination is one of the reasons why a high proportion of women ultimately exit the criminal defence bar in search of something else altogether.

Stereotypes about what a criminal defence lawyer should look like can take a significant toll on our careers. Sexist assumptions about competency do not often weigh in our favour.

Although many of us are encouraged to simply laugh it off, remember that discrimination depends on complacency. It thrives on silence and those moments when you smile and move on, instead of pushing back against it.

Instead of taking the path of least resistance, find resourceful and empowering ways to confront toxicity. This will help put an end to it. Although doing so might feel uncomfortable at first, shutting down sexism is the only way to put a stop to it.

Be your own cheerleader

Social niceties often demand humility. This is particularly so for women, who are frequently subject to different expectations and standards than their male counterparts. Often, women are taught to be accommodating and even self-effacing; but this is archaic.

You are an advocate. You advocate on behalf of clients as a career, so why not advocate for yourself?

Talk about your accomplishments, your talents and your goals. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge when you succeed at something, and to get the word out there. Brag a little — or a lot. Use social media to ethically promote yourself whenever possible. And when it comes to failure, don’t be too hard on yourself. Failure is a part of the journey and we all make mistakes. Acknowledge the disappointment and move forward. Take care of yourself and prioritize your wellbeing.

After all, if you aren’t going to be your own cheerleader, who is?