Lawyer Monthly Magazine -December 2019 Edition

your head up and keep going. Any advice to the next generation of advocates and litigators? You will not have perfect balance every day in this profession. Embrace that. There will be times when your work consumes your life but those are the moments that you will look back on and remember learning the most and having the best opportunities, if not stories. Practising law ebbs and flows. It infuses your life in waves. You will find your balance in time. I have done two four month trials, both outside of Toronto, which test your resolve to be sure. One I won and the other I went down in flames. Both cases lasted a decade. While they consumed me for those chapters in my life, they also turned out to be two of my favourite cases I ever got to work on and I even miss them some days. All to say is that in the fullness of time, you won’t regret them. These bring other chances and opportunities to learn, shine and test your limits. You won’t win them all but they bring other worthy victories. Practicing law is a craft and a profession, not a job. Be grateful for that and for all that you are in a position to contribute. LM from practicing law got me through every day and every conversation: stamina, advocacy and the will to never give up. Failure was not on the table. This was my most prideful achievement over the last year not just because my spouse was re-elected. I reflect with pride because at the time it felt insurmountable, yet one day and one door at a time we managed to change the hearts and minds of our neighbours. This last election placed our values and what it means to be Canadian right at the forefront. In my own way, I played a very small role in that battle. Politics is not easy but it matters. Do you have a mantra or motto that you live by? I grew up in British Columbia and even though I haven’t lived there for thirty some years, it will always be the sea and the mountains that ground me and help me breath. So I have in my home office a very large print of the coastal mountain range and impressed upon the range are just two words: “Keep Going”. I also truly believe that nothing in this life that matters comes easily. Important stuff is tough. There are simply no short cuts. I accept that. That has really helped me personally, professionally and politically. My other favourite motto which I also have in my office is “Keep your head up”. It was a gift from my spouse after I endured the most colossal legal defeat of my career. I look at it every day and its truth makes me smile every time I see it. So keep Celeste Poltak Contact I am approaching my twentieth year of private practice and am a partner at Koskie Minsky LLP in Toronto, practising exclusively in plaintiff- side class proceedings. The Firm also specialises in labour law, pensions and civil litigation and our motto is “Justice Matters”. Celeste Poltak, Partner Koskie Minsky LLP, 20 Queen Street West, Suite 900, Toronto, ON. M5H 3R3 T: +1 416-595-2701 F: +1 416-204-2909 E: cpoltak@kmlaw.ca kmlaw.ca 24 DEC 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM My Legal Life By Celeste Poltak, Koskie Minsky LLP “Patience and resolve mean everything in this practice area.” “Practicing law is a craft and a profession, not a job. Be grateful for that and for all that you are in a position to contribute.”