Personal Reflection. Advocacy at the crossroads
Author | Linda R. Rothstein |
Pages | 59-68 |
59
R PERSONAL REFLECTION | INTER 2010
Acacy a he crsra
LINDA R. ROTHSTEIN, LSM
Perhaps every generation of Canadian advocates has won-
dered whether and how great advocacy will survive the ascendancy
of a new generation of advocates. Or maybe it’s the oft-described
collective narcissism of my generation, the baby boomers, that makes
us convinced we are always at some sort of crossroads. But I think that
whether you choose advocacy in the courtroom or in the boardroom, the
challenges will be daunting. And I worry that those of us who practise
civil litigation have already lost our way– that we must respond to the
dramatic ways in which law and advocacy have changed in the last 20
years if advocacy is to continue to be the fuel of a fair and robust justice
system.
CHANGING TIMES
My generation of advocates has moved through a period of unparalleled
and rapid social and technological change. Our laws, our legal culture
and society’s basic notions of fairness and equity are dramatically dier-
ent from what they were when I was in law school almost 30 years ago.
Consider the sweeping changes in the law. I know you still read
contracts and torts cases that are decades, maybe even centuries, old:
Hadley v. Baxendale, Donohue v. Stephenson, to name just two. You may
not yet appreciate how much our laws have changed since you were
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeUnlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations
