For the past five years, Courthouse Libraries BC has run an online platform for BC legal professionals called Lawbster.net (lawbster.net). The platform is home to a community of over 480 family lawyers, paralegals, parenting coordinators, and other related professionals across the province, which goes by the acronym FLO (short for Family Law Organizer). How is this fact relevant to the issue of career transition? It’s relevant when you consider that, for many, the practice of law means unending engagement in others’ conflicts. It takes a conscious commitment to professionalism, collegiality, good will, and humility not to be ground down by the rituals of these conflicts. And you need a community of peers who will reinforce and reciprocate such commitments. One of the drivers behind the FLO community, is to build relationships among family lawyers: relationships of support and even mentorship that help weather the grind that leads to attrition. FLO offers a discussion forum for general practice and procedure questions (the forum is in FLO’s Family Law and Procedure Working Group), plus ones for various niches in family law practice (e.g., collaborative practice, parenting coordinators, etc.). Other features include the FLO News Stream, the FLO Calendar for posting events and CPD opportunities relevant to family law practitioners, and a repository for sharing precedents and other practice resources.

If you practice family law in BC, check out the Family Law Organizer. Sign up for a free account at lawbster.net to get started, and be assured that Courthouse Libraries BC operates the website with the privacy interests of the BC legal profession top of mind.