I initially wrote this post during the pandemic. I’ve been thinking a lot about the future.
Not just the immediate #leavinglockdownlife future of maybe mid-June here in Toronto, but thoughts about the capital F future. Next year. 2022. Of hitting the big 5-0 in 2024. And a kind of urgency about money. How much I have/don’t have given how old I am (47). About making it (income), making “enough” of it (financial security), and making it last (retirement thoughts). Especially as I hotfoot towards my half century milestone and beyond, single, sans children, a lifelong renter without a realistic prayer of a (defined benefit) pension and no lottery win in sight.
It’s the kind of thinking that also forced me to evaluate HOW I currently make my money (eDiscovery with a side of freelance lawyer fyi). Freelancing was a work decision I made initially to facilitate taking care of my dad; but which I continue to do because it aligns with the life(style) that I want to build. That said, in the midst of pandemic upheaval, I’d be lying if the thought of a “real” job hasn’t started to sound really, really appealing. Especially the idea of benefits. OMG. Let’s just say I haven’t been to dentist in forever because 1) it’s expensive and 2) I live in mortal fear that my teeth have silently been melting in my mouth to the tune of thousands of dollars to fix i.e. it’s expensive.
But I digress. The truth is that at this point, changing to more traditional employment for the sake of some level of financial security feels like a sacrifice. Like I’d be losing more than I’d be gaining. So while I never say never, it is never for now unless the exact right opportunity comes along.
So where did that leave me?
I’ll tell you.
The gap between what I SAY I want and what I’ve done to make sure it happens is big.
I’ve been working in legal tech, the leading-edge intersection of law and technology, for years but have not consistently nurtured the agility and creativity that animates so much of the industry into my own thinking
I got stuck in being comfortable.
I stalled out of my development.
What got us here is not what will get us there
First let me say: This is not an exercise in self-flagellation.
Shit happens. Has happened. Is still happening.
It is, however, a call to action. To myself and everyone out there - freelancers, solo practitioners, more traditionally employed lawyers, people who work outside the law: We need to think differently in this post-pandemic world (and kudos to you all who have already gotten here. I, as usual, am late to the party).
This is what happened while we collectively were trying to survive the pandemic:
- “work” is not what you remember. The notion of how and where one “works” has fundamentally shifted. And despite what some employers may prefer, there is no putting that genie back in the bottle
- technological trends in the legal industry advanced light years over the course of 2020 - and are here to stay. Commoditisation of the legal sector; blockchain and smart contracts, advances in AI. Ignorance is not bliss - and in fact may be downright irresponsible.
- basic technical literacy became a work competency requirement for every lawyer. Every lawyer MUST have some basic level of technical literacy - it is no longer a “nice to have”. Zoom, Teams, Slack Google Hangouts technology or whether it’s reviewing master services agreements that you clients have with Zoom; or reviewing privacy and employments policies now that WFH is the norm - you get the idea
- tech principles are beginning to permeate the design and culture of how firms operate. Design Thinking agile principles; experience with SCRUM methodology is an asset.
- self-directed upskilling and reskilling outside of the law is no longer a luxury. Upskilling is to provide (someone, such as an employee) with more advanced skills through additional education and training or to acquire more advanced skills through additional education and training (Merriam-Webster) upskilling occurs when workers improve upon existing skills and deepen their abilities and impact within their area of expertise Not only are some of those principle permeating the resdesign of work Reskilling: according to the Cambridge Dictionary (online version), reskilling is “…the process of learning new skills so you can do a different job, or of training people to do a different job.” Reskilling involves training employees on an entirely new set of skills to prepare them to take on a different role within the company.
When I think about meeting this new digital, AI and data-driven world that seems to be unfolding, I’ve begun playing with this idea of “lawyer” as only one of my competencies, but not the entirety of it. Becoming multidisciplinary. Challenging the traditional skills and mindset of our “profession”. I’ve been playing with this lawyering as a “profession” - lawyers as guardians of the law, slow to innovate (unless forced to), siloed, Understanding that my ability to be relevant, employable, engaged will depend more on my fluency in hard and soft skills outside the law including coding, data analytics, creativity as just a few examples.
Futureproofing - Proposing A New Approach to How we lawyer
Do you ever feel that life has been divided into B.C. (Before COVID) and A.C. (which we actually haven’t gotten to yet)?
Anyhoo.
Before 2020 B.C., I’d never heard of the word “futureproof”. I’m sure it’s some repackaged version of someone’s tried and true advice, but it’s clear that in its 2021 iteration of “indispensability” and being a “linchpin”, like here (https://medium.com/the-mission/how-to-future-proof-yourself-2dab379f953d or the Tim Ferris view as leader in a “category of one”, it is the product of the financial trauma of the pandemic.
In theory, I support the idea making yourself so indispensable that your employer thinks twice about firing you. But if Oprah asked me to define it, here’s what I would say:
Futureproofing is the ongoing practice of professional and personal self assessment that drives the deliberate and dynamic development of a portfolio of professional skills, competencies and habits that ensure one’s ability to be properly compensated and is aligned with both the needs of a rapidly evolving world and one’s personal values and lifestyle choices.
Traditional employee, freelancer, entrepreneur - my version of futureproofing applies to everyone. It’s not meant to be another thing you have to do. It’s not just about staying employed. It’s about HOW you stay employed, engaged, aligned, curious, growing and ultimately manage the ying and yang of work choices and life priorities.
And especially for the people like me, the Unsuitables, the reason why I write this blog, this idea of futureproofing may resonate because of its potential broaden not only your skillsets (and therefore your options), but also may be helpful in making your sense of agency in your work/life more powerful.
Futureproofing Resources
So now that I’ve sold you maybe halfway on the idea of futureproofing, let me offer you some places where you can start dabbling for FREE (non-exhaustive compilation of a mix of sites I’ve used before and some I’ve not).
Becoming a Microsoft and Google Power User
Crafty Counsel: https://craftycounsel.co.uk/boxsets
I found this British-based firm site while I was doing some additional research on legal tech (Check out Lawtomated.) What’s great about these videos (besides being free) is that they are made by lawyers for lawyers. They are short, easy to understand and incredibly helpful.
Computer Science Basics for Lawyers
Harvard University: https://online-learning.harvard.edu/course/cs50-lawyers?delta=0
Online General Courses:
Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/browse/social-sciences/law
I am a big fan. Some courses are paid but there are many that you can audit (which is what I do. The last one I did was on Content Marketing.
The Toronto Public Library and LinkedIn Learning (formerly lynda.com): https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/signin
Digital/Data
BrainStation and General Assembly offer great free introductory talks and thought leadership sessions on a range of topics including digital marketing, data science, web development, and product management among others. I’ve found it a great place to find out more about potential roles of interest but also to keep abreast of what’s new and evolving in the digital space.
Staying n the Know
I find newsletters, especially the ones that aggregate news to be particularly helpful in staying plugged in. Here are a couple that I follow.
Mondaq - I remember what a lifesaver this service was when I was a first year associate responsible for monitoring the news and reporting on developments of particular areas of interest. You can curate what news you would like to receive and it was an invaluable launch point for doing further research.
BetaKit
Other (more random) Certifications
SEO Optimization, Google Adwords
Coming full Circle
Let me take you back to where we started: me having decided that the freelancer life was for me and thinking about how to reverse engineer what changes I needed to make now to realize my late, late, late middle aged life of professional and personal milk and honey. And here we are, 1000 words later.
You buy my version of futureproofing. Or you many simply find it an interesting thought experiment. Regardless, I encourage you think about the trends and changes A.C. (After COVID) and where you’d like to find your footing in them.
Because at the end of the day, we are all simply trying to end up in a life that we can say is intentionally and unequivocally ours.
Until the next one.
