Meet Your 2018-2019 Executive
Name: Jeffrey Clarke
Position: Member-at-Large
What is your current position?
I’m a prosecutor at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). We prosecute offences under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act in the Provincial Offences Court.
Is your career path representative of a public sector lawyer’s?
As we say in law, “it depends”. Law is a second (if not third) career for me. I completed an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and then went to graduate school. I completed part of a Ph.D. (“all but dissertation”) before I realized that I was spinning my wheels and needed a break. I decided to work for one year, which turned into five, in the auto-parts manufacturing sector. By that time, I realized that the environment was not for me for the long-term. I got into law school as a “mature student”. After a disappointing experience with second-year OCIs, and without much thought, I applied to a government posting at the Ministry of Labour. I had no idea what government lawyers did and did not consider it as a career path, but when I came out of my summering interview, I felt like it was the perfect opportunity for me. I summered and articled there, and spent almost a year as counsel on contract. I knew the chances of being hired on full time weren’t great, so I applied to an internal posting for Flex Counsel with the Ministry of the Attorney General (another contract position). In a team of about five lawyers, I was the prosecution's Flex Counsel. We operated out of the Deputy Attorney General’s office and got parachuted into different offices that needed legal assistance on a short-term basis. Following that, I worked on contract at another ministry before seeing a permanent posting for the WSIB. I’ve been here for seven years this month.
The contract part of my experience is representative of public sector lawyering. That said, the public sector offers a variety of areas and workplaces within which to practice law. The opportunity to rotate among various government offices was a great formative experience for me!
Why did you join the Public Sector Lawyers executive?
Last year, I had my first opportunity to go to the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Part of the experience involved responding as the prosecution to an interim application for state funding brought by three grouped appellants. The appellants had pro bono counsel and brought an application to have the WSIB pay their legal fees in advance of the appeal proper. Such orders are granted where the public interest requires that extraordinary steps be taken. The experience piqued my interest in the meaning and use in law of the term “public interest”. From there, I was attracted to a Public Sector Lawyers panel in April 2018 entitled “How to be a Public Interest Lawyer.” The panel discussion was so engaging to me that I decided to join the group and see where it went.
What are your favourite parts about being a public sector lawyer?
I have an intellectual background and I’m not an entrepreneur. For me, being able to just do law without doing the business of law is very appealing. Plus, working in a position focused on the public interest makes my work meaningful.
What are the difficult parts about being a public sector lawyer?
Generally, it’s easy to stay where you’re planted or with a particular position as a public sector lawyer. My early experience ingrained in me the value of variety, so I get restless without new challenges.
As a prosecutor, it’s my job to prosecute individuals or companies. It can be a challenge to find a balance between prosecuting with the goal of promoting compliance with legislation – or the ‘public interest’ – while ensuring that we respect the rights and circumstances of persons charged and treat them fairly. Ensuring that we act fairly is always a forefront consideration in what we do.
What advice would you give to students or newer calls who want to be public sector lawyers?
Get as much variety and experience as you can in your legal work. It’s easy to get slotted within the public sector, but it’s also important to broaden your options and develop a range of skills early in your career. The more experience you have, the better, especially if you are starting out on a contract basis. The more versatile you are, the better chance you have of finding a place to land permanently. Working as Flex Counsel early in my career made a huge difference in terms of my skill development. It opened my eyes to the varieties of practice and helped me to realize how many different areas of law that I myself was capable of doing.
Be patient with the contract process (as much as you can). It’s tempting to say you want to practice in this area or that area, but entering the public sector often involves a lot of short-term contracts and moving around. You may have to keep your options open.
Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
I have a “goal” of writing on the topic of the public interest element in Canadian law, given my academic background, interest in the topic as piqued through my legal practice, and the April 2018 seminar. I think the topic is well-suited to philosophical examination. If I can muster up the motivation, I want to revisit my dormant Ph.D. program and write a thesis on the topic in the area of philosophy of law.