Lawyer Life Podcast

It’s a new year, and for the Lawyer Life Podcast, that means it’s time to set some goals for 2026. Longtime listeners know that this is a beloved annual tradition for Mike and Darlene. This year we're keeping it light, and focusing on small areas for constant and never-ending improvement in our lives in the office and in our personal lives. And of course we have our goods and gripes! Join us for t...

No matter how much you love your job, there will always be things about it that you wish you could change. It's no different for contract lawyers. On this episode of the Lawyer Life, Mike and Darlene get into the weeds and start pulling up the peskiest side quests that come up in contract negotiation, including befuddling signature blocks, unsuitable templates, and the risks of in-document comment...

If every buzz, badge, and Wordle streak has you checking your phone like it’s your job—well, you’re not alone. And if you are a lawyer, it kind of IS your job. Between clients, courts, and colleagues, being “always on” can feel like the only option. But what if you could make a few simple tweaks to reclaim your attention (and maybe your sanity)? In this episode, we talk with Steve Pratt—author, en...

Is it really true that you have to do everything with excellence to succeed in life? In this episode of the Lawyer Life Podcast, we unpack the pressure to be exceptional at all times—and how that mindset can actually hold you back. From perfectionism to burnout, we explore the hidden costs of chasing excellence in every corner of your life, and why it's okay (and often smarter) to focus your energ...

In this episode, we sit with the discomfort and frustration that followed the acquittal in the Hockey Canada case — a decision many lawyers saw coming, given the high bar for criminal convictions in sexual assault cases. It feels like there has to be a better way for society to reckon with harm, responsibility, and repair in the wake of these very public criminal trials. To help us explore that po...

Heading back to the office this fall? Whether you're a fresh-faced law student or a new associate, this episode is for you. Mike and Darlene crack open the memory vault to share the best advice they received as junior lawyers — the kind that helped them survive (and thrive) in both in-house roles and private practice. They also tap into the wisdom of the wider Inter Alia crew and a few in-house fr...

Mike and Darlene interview Adam Dodek, author and professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, about his recent book "Heenan Blaikie: The Making and Unmaking of a Great Canadian Law Firm". It's a great chat full of lessons for lawyers setting out to improve on the business model in law. Professor Dodek interviewed over 180 former Heenan Blaikie lawyers to write the book, and it is...

Is justice just revenge with better PR? In this episode, we dig into the idea that lawyers might be chasing more than fairness — maybe it’s payback too. Could the same fire that fuels equity also fuel a thirst for retribution? And is that… a bad thing? Join us as we unpack the messier motivations behind why some of us went to law school in the first place. This episode is an "Aftershow" - our disc...

This week, in a twist, Darlene is in the interviewer's seat, asking Mike (!) about his time management skills (which are impressive, even by lawyer standards). One of Mike's special superpowers is his ability to set and meet deadlines, regardless of his workload. How does he do it?? Darlene aims to find out, in this episode, and Mike shares his top tips, grouped into four easy and memorable "bucke...

As lawyers who have both practiced in law firms and in-house, Mike and Darlene are often asked "which is a better way to practice law: in a law firm, or in-house in a corporation?". In this episode, we aim to answer this question based on our own experience and all that we have observed in our careers to date. We focus on the pros and cons in each of: culture; workload; and lifestyle. If you are t...

EPISODE TRAILER - When it comes to commercial contracts, are lawyers sometimes just moving the puck around? Or are we trying to score...? As in hockey, lawyers can decide that our goal is to close, just like a professional hockey team can decide their goal is to win the Stanley Cup. Join us to hear our simple tips on HOW to negotiate with closing in mind. And as always, we have our goods and gripe...

When it comes to commercial contracts, are lawyers sometimes just moving the puck around? Or are we trying to score a goal..? As in hockey, lawyers can decide that our goal is to close, just like a professional hockey team can decide (in theory...) that their goal is to win the Stanley Cup. Join us to hear our simple tips on HOW to negotiate with closing in mind. And as always, we have our goods a...

This week, Mike and Darlene revisit the topic discussed in the last episode, about Big Law firms navigating Executive Orders by entering into “deals”. With less focus on the associates’ perspective this week, and more on the issue from the firm level, they comment on new developments, listener feedback, and—of course— commercial contracts and the joy of boilerplate. Plus, in Goods & Gripes: Mike’s...

Right now, big law firms are being asked to enter into “deals” to extract themselves from Executive Orders. Mike and Darlene talk through our thoughts on this, and its impact on the legal profession as a whole, mainly by responding to the NYT Daily podcast interview with departing Skadden Arps associate Thomas Sipp. We’re asking ourselves what we might do if faced with a similar choice. And as alw...

In a world where unreasonable behaviour seems more common than ever, Mike and Darlene ask: Is "being reasonable" something we actively need to protect? They explore how the small choices we make every day shape our ability to stay true to ourselves when faced with major societal upheavals. Are we preparing ourselves to stand by our principles when it really counts? As always, there are goods and g...

In this week’s episode, we talk AI: Artificial Intelligence, the topic that is on everyone’s mind — but this is a more personal take. We discuss our high hopes for the use of AI in improving government efficiency (based on the government of Canada and its new AI policy rollout, as covered in Canadian Lawyer Magazine). Of course, we had to talk about our fears of doomsday scenarios. But we also mad...

In this week’s episode, we seek solace in chaotic times. We talk movies, books, poems, music and… doing the right thing when it counts! Seems these things are connected. Mike’s question this week (inspired by the amazing Vibe Check podcast): what movies, books, music or other materials serve as touchstones, showing us the ground is not necessarily shifting beneath our feet as much as it feels. We...

Mike and Darlene revisit the subject of negotiation strategy. Why now? Well, it's our attempt to process recent world events like tariff negotiations by breaking them down and looking at them through a lawyer's mechanical lens. We last spoke about this on an episode we did in June 2019, but felt now was a good time to revisit it as we watch the bully and the bamboozle strategies playing out on the...

Mike observes that law students, then lawyers, are often people who put in a lot of effort, and are rewarded throughout their lives for that effort. He wonders if it's this very quality, though, that makes it so hard for lawyers to learn to actually NOT put in so much effort sometimes. When do we relax? Does everything have to be done at 100%? Do we feel like if we're not struggling, we're not wor...

Darlene wants to talk about whether we still have appropriate recourse for problems in life. Do we have time to pursue what little recourse there is? Do we deserve recourse if we're shopping online? Is a refund enough to compensate? And don't get us started on courts and the expense required to get recourse there. A few recent experiences with online shopping and appliance purchasing trigger the c...

Darlene and Mike celebrate the end of 2024, welcoming Daniel Fish (Editor, Precedent Magazine) to discuss his most recent article entitled The New Era of Associate Pushback. PLUS - a BTS look at podcast editing, Darlene awkwardly accepts Mike's thanks, and a surprise Gripe! The article we discussed is here: https://lawandstyle.ca/career/the-new-era-of-associate-pushback/. Visit lawandstyle.ca for...

In today's episode of the Lawyer Life Podcast, Mike Anderson and Darlene Tonelli of Inter Alia Law muse about whether people are equipped to handle all the things in society for which government is removing regulatory guardrails. Plus: We talk about going on a "news fast", and what we will do instead, like getting out into the real world and doing actual things and having real conversations. "Keep...

Darlene and Mike chat about Darlene's most recent read - "Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts" by Oliver Burkeman, and his very different take on "maximum productivity" and "hyper optimization". They also introduce a new segment (with a flashy title screen!), and Mike vents about a 5 year-old harassing him about being 'follicly challenged'.

In today's episode of the Lawyer Life Podcast, Mike Anderson and Darlene Tonelli of Inter Alia Law talk about what Mike has been reading lately (Malcolm Gladwell's "Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and The Rise of Social Engineering"). This gets Darlene talking about the book that she thinks should be revisited to see if it still holds up. We tied our conversation in to l...

In today's episode of the Lawyer Life Podcast, Mike Anderson and Darlene Tonelli of Inter Alia Law talk through last week's US election results with the amazing journalist, author, and political commentator, David Moscrop. Five years ago, Mike and Darlene talked to David on the podcast about his book, "Too Dumb for Democracy: Why We Make Bad Political Decisions and How we Can Make Better Ones". If...