Beyond the traditional model: Why young lawyers should rethink careers and explore law’s entrepreneurial opportunities

Reflecting on her time at university, Styles recalled a culture firmly anchored in the traditional firm model, where young lawyers were steered towards conventional career trajectories.

“I went through university a while ago now, so I don’t know what today is like, but for me it felt very much grounded in the traditional model,” she said.

“A lot of the students were striving to get those positions with law firms early on summer clerkships and even experience in the law firm in order to get that experience.”

While discussions about clerkships and graduate programs were common and information was readily available, Styles explained that meaningful conversations about alternative paths a law degree could open were virtually nonexistent during her studies.

“I think there wasn’t really much out there when I was going through university; professors weren’t really talking about alternative roads and what you could do alternatively with a law degree,” she said.

Styles pointed out that the realities of running a firm and taking an entrepreneurial path were rarely, if ever, discussed, and even business-focused subjects failed to bridge the gap or highlight the entrepreneurial opportunities a law degree can offer.

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“There kind of wasn’t really much discussion about that, and there definitely was no discussion about running your own firm,” she said.

“I think if even there were electives through business law and things like that, that’s a focus on business law, not how to run your own business as a lawyer.

“When you’re in a position that you’re thinking about running your own law firm, you really are kind of left to your own devices to figure it out.”

Emphasising that no single path is inherently superior, Styles urged law students and young lawyers to pause, reflect, and consider the life and career they truly want over the coming years, rather than automatically following the traditional model expected of them.

“I think some people may find working in a firm still very attractive, and it is something that they want to pursue. That I’m not here to say one way is better than the other,” she said.

“But what I would like people to understand, and especially law students and young lawyers, is that there are so many different doors that you can open, and really having that moment of reflection in yourself, saying, what kind of life do I want to live? In five, 10, [or] 15 years, what does that look like for me?”