Balancing act – Communitech

Driven by a passion for learning and being challenged, Christine Holmes was attracted to the legal profession and its diverse areas of law to explore. As she entered her second year of law school, Holmes was also pregnant with her third child.

“I had a female professor and I remember asking for one extra day for something because I was sick, and she said no,” said Holmes. “This wasn’t a real life deadline. This wasn’t the final. This wasn’t something culminating. There wasn’t a lot of compassion.”

The thrill of pursuing a career in law was overshadowed by concerns about rigid schedules and fitting into what appeared to be an established system in the legal sector. As she looked at Bay Street firms and the demanding hours they required, Holmes felt discouraged.

“I wasn’t the poster child for a Bay Street articling student,” said Holmes. “By the time I graduated law school, I was a single mom. I was asking myself what couple of years of my children’s development is it ok for me not to be around for?”

Holmes said if she couldn’t get to Bay Street, she would need to “settle” for a less prominent option. She ended up working at a boutique law firm where she found smart and skilled colleagues and eventually worked as in-house counsel for large corporations. Over two decades later, however, Holmes believes little has changed in the industry.

“I hear of so many women today in private practice at big firms saying they’re debating whether to have kids or to be a partner, and they just carry on,” said Holmes. “I’m still hearing these stories today. I’m not seeing the change and I don’t really understand it. My generation should now be in a position of power. So why has the system not changed?”

The number of women leaving the legal profession, particularly as they advance to leadership roles, is a major obstacle to achieving gender equality in law. Despite women starting out in law firms in almost equal numbers to men, only 19 per cent reach the highest level of partnership. For women of colour, this drop off is even steeper, decreasing more than five times between starting as junior associates and reaching equity partner status.

There’s also a difference between maternity leave and what Holmes said some in the legal profession refer to as “lawyer mat leave”.

“I have friends who took six or eight weeks because you couldn’t afford to miss a client file,” she said. “You didn’t want to lose it or want someone else to take over it for you and miss out. There’s a lot of pressure.”

Her professional experience in the corporate world reinforced her belief that the legal field needed a shift towards inclusivity and flexibility. In search of a balanced lifestyle, Holmes went out on her own as an independent consultant. She said the decision allowed her to travel and attend her children’s extracurricular activities and parent-teacher interviews.

“I’m making a good living, I’m paying my bills and I can live my life,” said Holmes. “I didn’t have to leave the profession to do this. I thought if I’ve done it for myself maybe I can create it for others.”

In 2019, Holmes founded LawyersInHouse.com (LIHDC), a virtual legal consultancy redefining work-life balance in the legal profession. LIHDC represents Holmes's vision of creating a supportive environment for legal professionals seeking a balanced lifestyle without compromising on career aspirations. 

“Why does the situation of your life dictate whether you can be in this profession,” said Holmes. 

LIHDC operates entirely on a virtual model, using technology to bridge geographical gaps and improve connectivity among its diverse team of legal experts.

“In 2019 pre-COVID it was a huge deal to go virtual and it didn’t make sense to many people at the time,” said Holmes. “Then the rest of the world joined us a year later.” 

Shared drives, video calls and chats help the team stay connected, flexible and balanced. LIHDC operates with a core team of six members, while lawyers join as independent contractors without exclusivity. LIHDC currently works with lawyers from across North America, Europe, the United Kingdom and Singapore. 

“To build teams and connections and get to know people, that’s hard organically when you're working remotely,” said Holmes. “You have to really focus on that and take advantage of many amazing tools out there to make communication more efficient.”

As a Communitech ecosystem partner, LIHDC is eager to support founders seeking legal help. Holmes says she wants to change clients’ interactions with legal professionals and wants to connect authentically with a focus on small businesses and tech companies.

“It’s hard for those size companies to get access to affordable but also really experienced legal counsel,” said Holmes. 

For Christine and her team at LIHDC, they plan to expand their reach across Canada and internationally as they challenge outdated norms and give legal professionals the ability to find balance between their careers and personal lives.

“In the legal profession, let’s do better,” said Holmes. “You should be able to connect with your lawyer, you should like your lawyer and you should be able to afford the legal services you need.”