Episode 7 · June 2026 · 6 min
We threw a yacht party for 500 lawyers
The official recap of Goodlawyer Yacht Party 2026 — presented by Wordsmith — and a thesis test: the in-house community wants more connection.
Overview
This was not another startup mixer on a boat. Goodlawyer had thrown yacht parties before, built around the tech community. Yacht Party 2026 — presented by Wordsmith — was for the legal community, and the team is honest about the stakes: it was their first six-figure event, and the thesis was simple. In-house lawyers crave more connection than a webinar or a panel can give them.
The episode follows the trip from Calgary to Toronto, the airport run, and then Lake Ontario. Customers talk about meeting Koho and Hootsuite in person. Pauline Chan is excited to meet Andrew Katinis after years on the network. A sole GC puts the night in one sentence: the best advice she ever got was not from a formal panel. It was from talking to other GCs over drinks.
On the water the quotes get specific. Being a sole GC is lonely. You are expected to do a lot with a little. The community is a sounding board. One lawyer says the leads coming in already hot in the fractional space changed her life. Another, now a client after a long in-house career at Siemens, says she wishes she had known about Goodlawyer when she was not allowed headcount. The closer is already looking at 2027.
What to take from it
- The event was a bet: spend like it matters, and see if in-house lawyers actually want to be in the same room.
- The value is not the yacht. It is the informal advice sole GCs cannot get from a webinar.
- Customers use the night to say thank you in person and get live feedback from legal teams.
- Lawyers on the roster talk about life-changing leads, overflow help, and finally meeting people they had only known on the network.
- Community is treated as infrastructure, not marketing garnish — and they are already planning next year.
Who this is for
In-house counsel who feel isolated in the sole-GC seat. Lawyers on the network who want to know what the community looks like in person. Anyone who still thinks Goodlawyer is “the yacht-party company.”
Keep exploring
- World Cup Yacht PartyThe photo story from the 2026 Toronto waterfront night.
- The Goodlawyer communityDinners, summit, awards, and the gatherings in between.
- Practice on GoodlawyerHow independent lawyers join the network, set capacity, and get matched.
- Customer storiesHow in-house teams actually work with Goodlawyer.
Transcript
Lightly edited from the video for readability. Speaker labels added.
Michelle
Michelle, how’s the party going? It is electric. Let me tell you.
Brett Colvin
I won’t lie. This will be our first six-figure event ever, and that is a gargantuan amount of money to spend on a party. Nineteen members are about to jump on this flight to Toronto for our biggest in-person event of the year. We’ve thrown a few yacht parties, but this year is different. Those were designed around the startup and tech community. This time, the party is for the legal community, and our thesis is simple. The in-house community craves more connection, and we’re about to find out if that was the right call.
Customer
Sailing on Lake Ontario, it’s tough to beat. I’m stoked to get out there and meet a bunch of our customers in person. I’m looking forward to meeting up with the crew from Koho here and Hootsuite, so many others that I’ve worked really closely with over the last couple of years. I always love to catch up with them, get their feedback live, find out what’s new and shaking in their legal teams, and say thank you.
Pauline Chan
Pauline, here we are, Toronto Airport. Who are you excited to meet up with at the yacht party? I’m super excited to meet up with Andrew Katinis. He’s been on our network for a very long time, and we get to meet in real life, finally.
In-house counsel
Part of the reason this is so special to me is that I was a solo general counsel for years, and honestly, the best advice I ever got was not from a formal panel. It wasn’t from a specific webinar. It was from talking to GCs over drinks, over dinner, breaking bread. And that’s what we’ve created here tonight on this boat: a place for all of the in-house counsel in Toronto to get together and just have that real sense of community.
Lawyer
What I’m most excited about tonight is thinking about how the last 15 years of my career — when I was first told just put your head down, follow what other people are doing — has changed into something that’s so innovative, community-driven, tech-driven. Everything that I wished I had had back then is coming to life now.
Brett Colvin
Cheers, and welcome to the Goodlawyer network.
In-house counsel
Being a sole GC is really lonely. I think Marisa and I have shared that multiple times. We’re expected to do a lot with a little. Trying to be a jack of all trades. What I love about this Goodlawyer community is that it creates amazing networks. I am able to confide in the lawyers that I meet here and use them as sounding boards.
Lawyer on the network
I have to say, Taylor is the best part of Goodlawyer. He’s my favorite person. He plays good cop, bad cop with me and he’s like an absolute gem of a person. I would say that right now the practicality of having people support you — and the leads coming already hot in the fractional space — is a life-changer for me. It changed my life. Goodlawyer has shown me a completely different path that was available. I did not think I would continue on with law after I left my very long-term in-house career with Siemens.
Client
I wish I knew of Goodlawyer when I wasn’t allowed to have any headcount, but you guys would have saved my life. I am now a Goodlawyer client and I have been able to bring someone on board that’s been helping me use my time more efficiently, dedicate my time where I want to dedicate it, and they’re helping me with any overflow work.
Guest
What team are you cheering for in the World Cup? Well, I got two teams, of course. I got Argentina and Canada. I have to go Argentina because that’s where I was born, Canada because we’re here. And it’s amazing to see you now have a role with Soccer Canada. When you look around you at the yacht party, what kind of legal liabilities are you seeing? I’m thinking, can you zip-line off of this? There’s no signs that say you can’t.
Brett Colvin
Yacht Party 2026. You should have been there. All right, folks. That’s a wrap. I think that has to go down as the best yacht party ever. We had so much fun last night. Such an incredible community, and we can’t wait to see you back here next year, Toronto, for Yacht Party 2027. Stay tuned for the theme.
