The phone call I received from my most imaginative of all my clients, a specialty food distributor, changed the direction of my professional life.
"My non-alcoholic beer is being taxed by customs as an alcoholic beer.
Can you write a letter to the government?
Suddenly, my whole body and mind came alive!
Finally, I didn't have to think which law applied!
All I had to do was listen to my inner voice. "Ma it ain't fair."
I had discovered my calling. I was a natural for government business relations.!!!!!!!!!!!
I didn't have to operate within the confines of legal rules.
I could let my imagination take over and create the frame in which to create a winning brief to the government:
A MARKETING BRIEF!
A BRIEF WITH A HOOK!
A BRIEF WITHOUT ONE LEGAL WORD!
And what do you do when you've written this "fun" brief?"
"You do what comes naturally."
I called the people in the Minister of Finance Department in Ottawa and asked them to help me!
My brief made the budget! I changed a law!.
(The guys in the minister’s office told me after it was all over, that they received 2000 briefs that year. And my brief was the most highly read!)
The time had come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The government success had now opened up the world of dealing with the government
The initial foray into government business relations was followed by
4 government relations cases...and I won them all.
But while the law practice was taking me into new directions
another world was opening up
During the practice I had started a column Legal-Ease
It had been driven by the experience as a lawyer of seeing super bright people
standing before me who had dissipated their rights because
they knew nothing about law.
I was hit by a mad passion. "What they need is a column on law!"
But the kind of column on law even I could understand!
I didn't know law. But my brilliant friend, Marion Karpacz did.
After two years of peddling, I finally sold it...to one paper!
that was the beginning
I was now a published columnist!
I now had credibility
In no time flat I had peddled the column to papers across the country.
Media feeds on media. I was now doing radio and tv!
(What did I know? Nothing. But that had never stopped me!)
That first column became the base for the second one You! be the Judge
Based on every day cases, written in every day language, and - would you
imagine - law being fun - fun to read, and easy to understand.
Which turned out to be an incredible branding vehicle for lawyers starting their practices!
(One of them overtook the top law firm in their city within 4 years of sponsoring You! be the Judge!)
The time had come!
I had no money but I had reputation.
the next stage of my life had begun: the development of You! be the Judge!
After 10 years I closed my office and became a full time peddler.
(Made possible by my husband who supported me throughout!)
Today?
Once a peddler, always a peddler!
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