BUSINESS
CAREERS
Social media a portal
to firm differentiation
Strategy
Continued From Page 23
pages, lawyer biographies, and the home
page. Make sure your site prominently
highlights the solutions you provide, your
track record of success, the manner in
which you work, and the kind of person
or people you are. Look at your website
with a client’s eye and remove everything
that doesn’t further your business objectives. (If your firm has distinct practice
areas, connect your social media content
directly to those areas and their dedicated website pages.)
Social media is an excellent way for
smaller firms to compete, because it
scales so easily and affordably. You can’t
afford full-page ads in a national maga-
zine or billboards at the airport, and you
shouldn’t try—leave mass marketing to
the mass firms. A small law firm can
punch far above its weight class through
a superb website, a powerhouse blog,
tremendous content distribution, and a
hard-earned reputation for great results
on a small budget.
Jordan Furlong is a senior consultant with
Stem Legal Web Enterprises, providing
advice to the law profession on social
media, online content, and communications strategy. He is also a partner with
Edge International.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Toronto
WELCOME TO OUR
NEWEST ASSOCIATE
We are pleased to welcome Ahmed Shafey as an Associate to the
Baker & McKenzie Toronto Office.
With experience in commercial litigation, Ahmed joins the more than
800 lawyers in our Global Dispute Resolution Practice who help
efficiently resolve legal, regulatory and commercial conflicts wherever
they arise.
PLEASE JOIN US IN
WELCOMING AHMED
TO OUR TEAM!
Baker & McKenzie has provided
sophisticated legal advice and services
to many of the world’s most dynamic
and global organizations for 60 years
through more than 3,900 locally
qualified, internationally experienced
lawyers in 70 offices in 42 countries.
Ahmed Shafey
+1 416 865 6964
ahmed.shafey@bakermckenzie.com
Baker & McKenzie International is a Swiss Verein with member law firms around the world. In accordance
with the common terminology used in professional services organizations, reference to a “partner” means
a person who is a partner, or equivalent, in such a law firm. Similarly, reference to an “office” means an
office of any such law firm.
PROFILE
Kathryn Smithen
Woman overcomes
echoes of her past
MICHAEL BENEDICT
Months after being admitted to the
Bar, fellow lawyers still tell 49-year-old
Kathryn Smithen that she has no busi-
ness practicing law. “It hurts,” the former
prisoner says, “but I can’t crumble.”
Indeed, Smithen is not the crumbling
type.
Growing up in Toronto, Smithen says
she was a “stupid, mixed-up teenager”
who first ran afoul of the law at 17. Over
six years, she was convicted several times
for fraud, theft and forgery. There were
more convictions a few years later and 18
months in jail. “I stole to survive,” she
says, “but that’s no excuse.”
A marriage gone sour that left her a
single parent with a daughter further
hardened her resolve.
The result: After 18 months of deliberation, the Law Society of Upper Canada
gave her the green light in 2011 to practice, determining that she now is of good
character and entitled to hang a shingle.
But first came an attempted journalism career. While in prison, she freelanced some columns for the Toronto
Star. An editor there encouraged her to
go to journalism school. Upon her release,
she started at Toronto’s Ryerson University. Unable to get a student loan because
of her criminal record, she took to
escorting to support herself and daughter, a profession she stopped when her
daughter found out.
There were no media jobs in Toronto
when she graduated, and she was not
prepared to launch her career elsewhere
and leave behind her then 14-year-old
daughter, who was in a shared custody
arrangement. “I had to look for another
career and thought I would pursue what
I always wanted to do — law.”
At the time, Smithen thought it was a
long shot at best, but people told her
she had a chance. She applied to law
school and was pleasantly surprised
when Osgoode Hall accepted her as a
mature student.
“I told them I was an ideal candidate,”
Smithen says. “Having been an offender,
a victim of violence and a bankrupt, I
knew the system inside-out. I could provide a unique perspective on what works
and what doesn’t in the justice system.”
Name:
Kathryn Smithen
Law school:
Osgoode Hall Law School
of York University
Career Highlights:
2011 Called to the bar, having
overcome a criminal past.
In her second year, Smithen had
another hardening experience. She represented herself in a successful child-sup-port case against her ex-husband. “I made
some mistakes in court, but I think I did
exceedingly well,” she says. Not only did
she win the action, but the judge awarded
her more than $50,000 for her own costs.
Articling was another challenge.
Offers were quickly withdrawn when
Smithen informed firms of her past. She
finally persuaded a criminal lawyer, who
was looking for a secretary, to take her
on. “I agreed to provide secretarial services since I could do 140 words per
minute, if he would mentor me,” she says.
These days, Smithen works 14 hours a
day, six days a week, handling mostly
legal aid family law cases. She has a sole
practice—“at my age, I want to be my
own boss”— and shares office space with
three other lawyers.
“I have a clear vision of what I want to
accomplish,” she adds.
Her goal is to help people with family
law issues who are deterred by high legal
fees. “Because of my life experiences, I have
a special affinity for kids and victims of
violence,” Smithen says. “And I’m not afraid
to take on clients with a controversial past.”
She acknowledges that she is on a
steep learning curve and says it would be
“arrogant” to suggest family law reforms
although she points to enforcement of
support orders as a weak link.
Looking back on her own experience
with the law, Smithen says she felt
unfairly treated much of her time in custody and support battles, but now has
come to terms with the process. “The
system works well,” she says, “but often
very, very, slowly.” n
