Staying True to Your Passion
When you tell an average joe that you want to be a lawyer, usually they say something along the lines of “Oh, you’re going to be well off!” or “You should do corporate law, that’s where the real money is!” When I respond with “Actually I want to do animal welfare law!” they usually give me back something like “Why?” or “Oh, that’s a field of law?”.
It’s not something people typically talk about or think of when they think of your Bay street Canadian lawyer. Hey, money is great! And if that’s what you’re going for, then you do you! But law school does not have to be all about the money (aside from the high price tag to the degree… but let’s not go there…).
When I did my undergrad, I decided to major in philosophy. Truth be told, law schools don’t really care much what your undergrad major is anyway, and if you want a career in arguing, philosophy is actually an exceptional choice. I spent the next several years at Dalhousie University reading lots of ethical theory, writing arguments, and becoming vegetarian.
I was never more excited for a class than Animal Ethics. Of all the courses in my degree, finally, in my 4th and final year, I would be able to talk about animals as moral agents and the impact that agriculture has on our planet. It was a great class, and I managed to secure the professor as my honors thesis supervisor.
I wrote a paper called “Motivating Sustainable Dietary Choices with Self-interest: Rule Ethical Egoism, Animal Agriculture, and Food Insecurity.” It was a brutal topic because there were so many sub-arguments to make, and I had to start from scratch instead of building off a previous paper like my peers. There had been minimal chances in my degree to talk about animal welfare, so I did not have any substantial papers on it already. Additionally, there really wasn’t anyone in the academic environment around me talking about the ethical interests of limiting animal-product consumption. My friends wrote on feminist theory, existentialism and the philosophy of language. All great topics, just not what I wanted to do.
When I graduated, I spent the next two years studying for the LSAT, working at my local Starbucks, and practicing veganism. I knew so much about the animal agriculture industry at that point; I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do but go to law school and make some change.
I remember telling my dentist I was volunteering at the local farm animal sanctuary taking care of the animals and encouraging my friends to come and help out. He laughed… “you’re going to get into law school feeding sheep?!” It was a cheap shot; how am I supposed to respond with your hands propping my jaw open?!
I’ll admit I was a little worried. I didn’t have a job in a firm like lots of other friends I’d known, or connections, or money for an LSAT course, and there was some truth to what I’d heard my whole life. The whole animal law thing is just not that common, some may call it niche, and I wasn’t sure I could make much money pursuing it.
I wanted to write about my experience pursuing my passion for a reason, though. If I had listened to everyone else, I wouldn’t want to be here. Despite people warning me only to pursue my ambitions if they fit into a fiscal picture, I got here. I got into law school, and I joined the Windsor Law Animal Justice Association. This coming fall, I’ll be their elected president, and I have big plans!
If there is anything to learn from my experience, it’s that every passion is worth pursuing, especially if it’s not very common. The world needs diverse lawyers with new ideas who are willing to challenge the status quo. If you see an injustice that’s being pushed under the rug, that issue is the one that needs the most attention.
