The Lawyers Weekly - April 1, 2011

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
April 1, 2011 | 21

BUSINESS
CAREERS

PART 3
OF A
3-PART
SERIES

TH E

SOCIAL NETWORK

 Story by Christopher Guly  Illustration by Peter Bono

First-year Queen’s University law student Simon Borys is at least three years away from his call to the Ontario Bar, but he already has his future career in law pretty well mapped out.

The 28-year-old former police officer wants to practise criminal law either solo or with a small firm.

“It will allow me the flexibility to grow and change and adapt at my own pace,” say Borys, “One thing I found about policing is that it’s very slow to adapt. As a public-sector organization that is also paramilitary — which makes it even more top heavy— it moves at a dinosaur’s pace and I found that very frustrating.

“For someone like myself, who’s young,
ambitious, who’s driven, who’s aware of tech-
nology and who’s prepared to utilize technol-
ogy to further their ambitions, I find it very
difficult to work in an environment like that.”
While Borys’ lawyerly aspirations will find
him dealing with a Criminal Code dating back
to the late 19th century, his criminal law prac-
tice will also be immersed in a Web 2.0 world.

Like many of his peers, he’s connected to various social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. He has his own website ( Simon-Borys.ca) with a blog, which combines his policing past with his future as a lawyer. It features a section in which he explains applications of the law— from disturbances in schools to roadside alcohol-related driver’s license suspensions— Criminal Code sections he dealt with regularly as a cop.

Borys also has a section on police and law news (including a post on Toronto Family Court Justice Harvey Brownstone’s Family Matters online talk show) and a clever feature called “Police Myths.” (Sample question: Does a police officer always have to issue a ticket? Simple answer: No.)

In relying on his experience and expertise, Borys has carved out a niche for himself on the web and created a unique self-marketing tool that helped land him a part-time job this summer working with a criminal lawyer in Kingston.

Other practitioners in the city take note: Simon says you have “poor” usage of the Internet.

“Of the half-dozen or so regularly practising criminal lawyers in Kingston, only two or three have a strong web presence,” says Borys.

“Sole practitioners and smaller firms have relied on word-of-mouth referrals because they started at a time when that was the primary way they got business.