Crossroads to innovation and diversity: the careers of women lawyers in Quebec.

• Author: Kay, Fiona M.

The author examines women lawyers' status and mobility in Quebec. After outlining the structure of the legal profession in Quebec, the author reviews women's entry into the law. Although Quebec was the last province to grant women admission to the practice of law, the province today has greater representation of women than elsewhere in North America.

To illustrate the gender disparities in the contemporary Quebec legal profession, the author presents the findings of her 1999 survey of members of the Barreau du Quebec. The study reveals notable differences between men and women, particularly in terms of age, experience, remuneration, and representation in sectors of legal practice. Women lawyers tend to be less satisfied than men with the ability to balance work and personal life. Also, more women lawyers than men intend to seek new work or leave the practice of law, raising troubling issues of loss of human capital and legal talent from the profession.

L'auteur examine le statut et la mobilite des avocates au Quebec. Aprts avoir dresse un plan de la structure de la profession legale au Quebec, l'autaur revoit l'entree des femmes dens le domaine du droit. Quand bien meme que le Quebec fut la demiere province a admettre les femmes darts la pratique du droll, la province d'aujourd'hui a une plus grande representation de femmes dans le domaine du droit qu'allleurs en Amerique de Nord.

Afin d'illustrer les disparitts de genre dans la profession legale modeme au Quebec, l'auteur presente les resultats d'un sondage de 1999 aupres des membres du Barreau du Quebec. L'etude revele des differences notoires entre les hommes et les femmes, notamment en ce qui a trait a l'age, l'experience, la remuneration et la representation dans les domaines de la pratique legale. Les avocates semblent etre moins satisfaites que les hommes de la capacity a equilibrer leur vie professionnelle et personnelle. Pour autant, plus d'avocates que d'avocats ont l'intention de rechercher un nouveau travail ou de quitter la pratique du droit ce qui engendre des problemes de perte de capital humain et de talent juridique pour la profession.

Introduction I. The Legal Professions of Quebec A. Overview B. The Entry of Women into the Quebec Legal Profession C. Contemporary Studies of Quebec Lawyers II. Findings of the Study A. Demographic and Professional Profiles B. Minority Status C. Full-time versus Alternative Work Arrangements D. Contemporary Work Settings E. Size of Firms F. Fields of Law G. Geographic Regions within Quebec H. Education and Professional Training L. Mentoring J. Contemporary Work Responsibilities and Conditions of Work K. Job Satisfaction L. Balancing Personal and Professional Realms III. Conclusions Introduction

Although Quebec in 1941 was the last province to grant women admission to the practice of law, the province today has a greater representation of women within the legal profession (over 40%) than elsewhere in North America. (1) Parallel to this demographic transformation, the profession itself has undergone significant structural transitions. Structural change within law firm practice has consisted of a subtle rescripting of traditional roles, rising bureaucratization, and a movement toward salaried employment. (2) A new stratum of salaried partners, permanent associates, and equity partners has emerged in recent years. (3) The bureaucratization of law practice has led to a declining frequency of general practice and increasing incidence of early specialization, emerging sub-specialties in law, (4) and involvement in large-scale litigation. (5)

Yet, for women, as well as for ethnic minorities and the economically disadvantaged, the impact of these changes has been detrimental in many cases, with blocked opportunities at the levels of permanent associates and subordinate roles within bureaucracies. The overall hierarchical structure of the profession has remained intact, and possibly even intensified. (6) Women in English Canada and the United States continue to confront significant barriers to their advancement. (7) Research studies demonstrate that women experience limited success in securing articles and first jobs, (8) delayed partnerships, (9) reduced earnings, (10) under-representation in private practice (11) and elite specializations, (12) difficulties balancing career and family responsibilities, (13) sexual harassment (14) and discrimination, (15) and higher rates of attrition from law practice. (16) Despite these widespread transformations in law practice and evidence of significant gender disparities elsewhere in North America, there exists a paucity of research on the legal professions in Quebec, (17) particularly studies that focus on issues of gender and diversity. (18)

In this article, I examine the status and mobility of women in the legal profession of Quebec. The analysis proceeds in several distinct stages. In Part I, I provide an overview to the activities, structure, and governance of the legal professions within Quebec, the only civil law jurisdiction in Canada. I also examine the historic struggle of women to gain entry to legal practice in Quebec, which sets the stage for an examination of the contemporary situation of men and women in the Quebec legal profession. Part II introduces the research methodology, including sampling strategy and survey design, and summarizes the main findings of my survey of Quebec lawyers. Finally, conclusions and suggestions for avenues of future research are raised in Part III.

I. The Legal Professions of Quebec

1. Overview

   Legal practice in Quebec is confined to members of two incorporated professional organizations: the Barreau du Quebec (19) and the Chambre des notaires du Quebec. (20) A distinction is drawn in Quebec between avocat(e)s, whose responsibilities are largely those of lawyers elsewhere in Canada, and the more specialized notaires, who are concerned with the formalization, authentication, and preservation of title documents, wills, and other legal instruments. (21) In English Canada, lawyers operate as both barristers and solicitors, although they may identify their work as primarily either that of solicitor or barrister. (22)

   The current system of exclusive jurisdictions in Quebec specifies that notaries traditionally practice in the areas of real estate, wills and estates, marriages, and family mediation; while litigation (criminal law, civil litigation, divorce, and so on) and advocacy are the realm of lawyers. Only lawyers can be appointed as judges. (23) Notaries hold a position as both legal counsel and public officials and are trained to express legal opinions in all areas of law. (24) The existence of two corporations with differently defined jurisdictions has significantly affected the evolution of the civil code over the past century. Since the mid-1880s the two corporations have competed to assume the mantle of "true defender" of the code, to define the civil law curriculum within law faculties, and to promote differing approaches to law reform. (25)

   In contemporary Quebec, avocat(e)s dominate the legal profession through their legislative roles and by sheer numeric representation. At the time of this study (1999), notaires represented 15% and avocat(e)s represented 85% of Quebec's legal profession. Among the province's 17,946 lawyers, 40% were women. Women's representation among notaries was even higher: 43%. (26) The representation of women within the Quebec legal professions is greater than elsewhere in North America. (27) Yet, little is known about the involvement and experiences of women in Quebec legal practice. To better understand women's participation in Quebec, it is important to examine their historic entry to the practice of law in Quebec and the gains they have made over the past sixty years.

2. The Entry of Women into the Quebec Legal Profession

   The first woman to be admitted to the Bar in Canada was Clara Brett Martin in 1897 in the province of Ontario. All other Canadian provinces, with the exception of Quebec, took steps to admit women to the profession in the years following Brett Martin's landmark victory. (28) Women entered the legal profession in New Brunswick in 1905, British Columbia in 1912, Manitoba and Alberta in 1915, Saskatchewan in 1917, Nova Scotia the next year, followed by Prince Edward Island in 1926, and Newfoundland in 1933. (29) In 1941 Quebec became the last province in Canada to pass legislation allowing women to practice law. Women finally entered legal practice the following year, two years after obtaining the right to vote. (30)

   Since the second half of the nineteenth century, numerous reasons have been invoked to refuse women access to the legal profession. Reasons often emphasized women's delicate nature and procreative destiny, as well as the psychology of women that was perceived to be incompatible with the logical character of the legal system. Other reasons centred on the interpretation of legislation and whether the term "person" was intended to exclude women from law practice. (31) The Quebec legal profession received its first challenge with Annie Macdonald Langstaff. She first applied for admission to the Quebec Bar in 1914. Langstaff found herself in a peculiar dilemma before the law. She was a single mother with an eight-year-old child, separated from her husband since 1906. She was "separated as to property", meaning she could administer but not sell property, and was not permitted to conduct business without the permission of her husband. Not knowing the whereabouts of her husband further complicated Langstaff's difficult situation. Following graduation from the Faculty of Law at McGill University, Langstaff attempted to take the examination preliminary to becoming a student-at-law in 1914. The board of examiners refused to permit her to sit the examination and she issued a writ of mandamus against the Bar of the Province of Quebec, requesting a court order allowing her to...