April 2026 (5-min read)

Prestige is a terrible career counsellor

By Brett Colvin, CEO of Goodlawyer

I didn’t go to law school because I felt called to be a lawyer.

I went because I was good at school.

By the time I finished my accounting degree, I knew accounting wasn’t for me. I was more drawn to entrepreneurship. My dad was a stockbroker, though he wanted no part of me following in his footsteps. He thought I’d make a good lawyer.

Then he died suddenly of a stroke at 51.

And if I’m being honest, grief made me less brave about betting on myself.

Law school became the answer. It felt like a way to make my dad proud, keep mum happy, and delay the real world a little longer.

In first year, while my classmates were applying for summer jobs, I was still running a painting business. I skipped the 1L recruit. At the time, it kicked off halfway through first semester. Law school was already pushing students toward career-defining choices before we even knew what a tort was.

That is an absurd way to start a profession.

By second year, my PhD mother helped me write an impeccably generic cover letter. I swapped names and sent it to every big firm on the list. Varsity soccer, a successful student business, and, to my surprise, Dean’s List got me in the door.

Twelve interviews over two days. Sprinting from office to office. Catching my breath in the lobby. Googling whoever I was about to meet.

That is not a serious way to make a life-shaping decision.

But it mostly worked. Right up until I butchered my Gowlings interview by leaving BLG in the cover letter and then asking what it was like to summer at McCarthy’s.

The truth is, when every firm asked why I wanted to work there, I didn’t have a real answer.

I read the websites. Talked to upper years. Did everything law students are told to do. I still had no framework for what actually separated one firm from another, or what life inside one really felt like.

In the end, I chose BLG because one of my best friends was already there.

Not conviction. Not insight. Comfort.

I got the offer, the validation, the Arc’teryx jacket, and the illusion that I had figured it out.

When information is missing, external validation makes the decision.

Prestige is a terrible career counsellor.

There’s a whole world of legal careers beyond Biglaw: in-house, fractional, legal ops, business roles, even building something of your own. That matters even more now that mentorship is no longer the exclusive domain of firms. It will matter even more as firms take on fewer associates.

And yet we keep sending students to the same shelf.

Years later, many discover the choice was never really theirs.

They confused being chosen with choosing.

If I could change one thing about law, it would be simple: law schools should show students the real options earlier. Show them what the work actually feels like. Show them how lawyers build lives, not just resumes.

In a way, I didn’t choose BLG.

I chose what felt prestigious and safe.

Brett Colvin
CEO, Goodlawyer

A Day in the Life of a Fractional Lawyer

What's it like to be a Goodlawyer? 

Brett spent the day with Pearl Chan — our first-ever Goodlawyer of the Year — to find out.

Watch the video on LinkedIn. 

Watch the video on YouTube.

Let Go of the Holy Grail Clause

By Zak Biggs

Across 30 years in law firms and in-house, Laura Frederick built her niche: contracts. Today, she runs How to Contract, helping lawyers sharpen real-world skills. Zak Biggs spoke with her about education gaps, the hill she’ll die on, and why memes work.

ZB: You've built your career around contracting. What made you want to train other lawyers on this?

LF: On a personal level, I'd accumulated 30 years of hard-earned knowledge and didn't want it to disappear when I retired. But the bigger issue is that the training pipeline has broken down. Law firms and companies used to invest in training junior lawyers. That's largely gone. 

People are landing in roles where they're expected to perform skills nobody ever taught them, and that creates real anxiety. My goal is to help lawyers gain confidence and reduce that stress. It's a life improvement path, not just a skills course.

ZB: What's a hill you'll die on when it comes to contracts?

LF: There is no perfect contract provision. So many lawyers waste energy searching for the holy grail clause — the airtight template that solves everything. But every provision was written with a specific transaction and risk profile in mind. Drop it into a different deal and it may not serve you. I've even seen lawyers build something so airtight the sword gets turned against them when circumstances shift.

Let go of perfection and focus on what's reasonable for the context in front of you.

ZB: You wrote about a breakthrough that came after you stopped "holding the beach ball underwater." What does that analogy mean to you?

LF: It means putting all your energy into maintaining a calm exterior while you're falling apart inside. It's incredibly common in law, where you're expected to be the person with the answers.

For years, I kept the plates spinning while my marriage was failing. I stayed far longer than I should have because I couldn't face the hard thing. What I learned is that all the energy you spend keeping up appearances is energy you can use to fix your life. Once I dealt with the truth I'd been avoiding, I found a peace I hadn't had before.

ZB: You've leaned into memes in a big way. Why do you think they resonate so much with the legal community?

LF: The best memes surface something that exists in everyone's experience but that nobody's named yet. When I post about the ‘Will vs. Shall’ debate, for example, lawyers pile into the comments because it's a collective frustration with no proper outlet. People feel seen and find community.

ZB: What's your favourite meme you've shared?

LF: The ones that hit a little too close to home, like this one.

Follow Laura Frederick on LinkedIn for more contract insights and legal memes.

UPCOMING LEGAL EVENTS

GC Dinner hosted by Goodlawyer (Toronto, April 30) 

We're taking over Coffee Oysters Champagne, a speakeasy-style bar with marble tables, candlelight, fresh oysters, and an exceptional champagne list. Hosted by Marisa Muchnik, Chad Aboud, and Elaine Wong from the GL team. Limited spots available, reach out if you are interested. 

Gloss and Gravitas with Goodlawyer (Toronto, May 8)

A fun afternoon at Lip Lab, where women leading in-house legal teams get to connect, celebrate, and step away from the day-to-day. Each guest will create a custom signature lipstick—blended, named, and theirs to keep. Limited spots available, reach out if you are interested. 

Legal Innovation Forum Toronto (Toronto, June 2)

A gathering of legal innovators across in-house and private practice to explore what’s next. Goodlawyer will be there and giving away tickets to our Yacht Party.

Goodlawyer World Cup Yacht Party (Toronto, June 4)

More GCs per square foot than anywhere in the country. 500 senior legal leaders on a yacht. We’re bringing together the people shaping the future of law for one night on the water.

GOOD VIBES

A playlist to help you lock in while bobbing your head. Just updated. 

Listen on Spotify

Thanks for reading.

Have a topic that you'd like us to cover in the next issue? 

Or a song that should be in Good Vibes? 

Just hit reply. We answer every email. 

Until next time,
Brett & Zak

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