Lawyer Launcher - Behind the Bar
Law school teaches you the law. This podcast teaches you how to succeed inside a law firm.Lawyer Launcher – Behind the Bar is for law students and newly called lawyers who want to thrive and build confidence when they start practice. Hosted by Susan Van Dyke, a trusted advisor to law firms and a guide for new lawyers navigating their first year, this show offers an insider perspective from the other side of the hiring table.With over 30 years of experience working with law firms and their leadership teams, Susan knows exactly what firms expect from new hires—and what they...
What every law student should know about mediation
In this episode of Lawyer Launcher, mediator Mark Tweedy, K.C, discusses the rapid growth of mediation across Canada and the U.S., particularly since 2020, and why it has become central to modern dispute resolution.
He explains that mediation is no longer a last-minute procedural step before trial—it is increasingly a strategic inflection point in litigation. Court backlogs, cost pressures, and client expectations have pushed lawyers to pursue resolution earlier and more deliberately.
Key themes include:
Mediation as strategy, not compromise. Effective lawyers use mediation to shape risk, manage psychology, and test leverage—not s...Law school to law firm: the career strategy no one teaches you
This episode is not about résumés.
It’s about how you run your job search — and who you become in the process.
In this solo episode of Lawyer Launcher - Behind the Bar, I’m speaking directly to law students and junior lawyers navigating the transition from law school to their first firm role.
After decades working inside and alongside law firms, advising leadership teams, recruiting lawyers, and mentoring students, I’ve seen one consistent truth:
Careers don’t happen by accident. They’re built deliberately.
In this episode...
How Law Firms Really Hire: A Recruiter’s Insider Guide for Law Students with Marketta Jokinen
In this episode of the Lawyer Launcher podcast, Susan Van Dyke and Johanna Mills sit down with Marketta Jokinen, former national-firm lawyer, law firm recruiter, and career coach, to unpack what law students really need to know about law firm recruitment. Marketta is the Founder of Legal Talent Consultant and Career Coach at Current Talent.
With experience spanning private practice, a labour relations board, and national-firm recruitment and talent management, Marketta brings a rare 360-degree insider perspective on how firms assess candidates—and how students can stand out.
This conversation is essential listening for law st...
The playbook for new lawyers that actually works with David Brown
Behind the Bar with David Brown — Ascent Employment Law
In this episode, Susan sits down with employment lawyer and Ascent Employment Law co-founder David Brown for an honest, grounded, and deeply practical conversation about building your legal career with intention. David shares his unconventional articling story, the power of relationships, how to navigate discomfort, and why young lawyers should be both “house cats” and “alley cats” in their early years.
Whether you’re a law student, an articling student, or a new associate trying to find your footing, this episode gives you guidance you can act on today.
...Confidence and anxiety: a 30 year litigator tells you the truth with Mark Virgin
In this episode of Behind the Bar, I sit down with litigator, Mark Virgin, who brings more than 30 years of practice experience—and an extraordinary level of candor—to a conversation every law student and junior lawyer needs to hear.
Mark shares the lessons he wishes he knew as an articling student, including why you should always ask the “stupid” question, how to find the right mentors inside a firm, and what it actually means to “reach up” when you need help. He also speaks openly about his journey with anxiety, how he learned to manage it, and why early-ca...
Retired Managing Partner Tells the Truth About Starting in Law with Murray Gottheil
Behind the Bar – Lawyer Launcher
Real advice from real experience — the things law school never told you.
In this episode, Susan sits down with retired business lawyer and former managing partner Murray Gottheil, known for his frank, funny, and refreshingly honest insights about the legal profession. From the “safety of retirement,” Murray shares the truths he wishes he’d known earlier — and the hard lessons he believes every law student, summer student, and new associate needs to hear before starting in a law firm.
Together, Susan and Murray break down:
How to build trust and set yourself apart with Linda Lucas
In this episode, I’m joined by Linda Lucas—a longtime law firm and professional services executive and now a sought-after leadership coach and trainer. With 25+ years of strategic, operational, and financial leadership experience, Linda shares practical insights every law student, summer/articling student, and new lawyer needs to hear.
Her core message: leadership starts on day one, not when you get a title.
What you’ll learn (and why it matters early in your career):
• How to be a leader at any leve...
The Four Steps You Need to Recover from a Setback with Jayne Rossworn
How do you come back from a setback? Most of us have experienced a setback - at work, in sport or our personal life. How do you regain confidence and develop resiliency when you’ve been knocked off your path? High achieving law students, and other new professionals, often have unique challenges when expectations are not met.
Jayne Rossworn is a Registered Clinical Counsellor with The Lawyer Mindset takes us through a four-step framework that will help you recover and rebuild your confidence. She also shares some personal examples of how she has bounced back...
The Truth About How Law Firms Make Money (And Why You Should Care) with Colin Cameron
Colin Cameron, CPA, CA, takes us through the basics of law firm compensation and profitability and why it's important for law students and new lawyers to understand how billing rates and recording time tie into profits. We discuss the evolution of the business of law, the emergence of law firm business professionals, and how new lawyers can learn from them.
Colin Cameron is the founder of Profits for Partners, Management Consulting Inc. Colin has been advising professional service firms for more than 35 years and in his previous role as COO, he led his firm to become one...
Bridging the Confidence Gap with Bena Stock
Bena Stock spent over 24 years as a litigator before turning her talents to counselling others. In this episode she draws upon her personal experience, sharing tools that new and aspiring lawyers can use to quiet anxiety, grow confidence, and build a happier and more successful practice. She also addresses common career saboteurs such as imposter syndrome, perfectionism (yes, it's a problem), and the paralysis resulting from fear of failure. You will also learn the significance of "cow paths" - curious? Tune in to find out!
Episode Notes:
- Bena Stock...
The Rainmaker Roadmap with Kimberly Rice
Kimberly Rice joins us to discuss how law students and new lawyers can learn how to become firm rainmakers. Legal competence is the price of admission to law firms these days. To succeed you must set yourself apart, and Kimberly has amazing tips to get you started. Takeaways from this episode include:
- Understand the governance & power structure of your new firm and befriend the power players
- Visibility matters. Seek out opportunities to be seen by those in power, push past self-doubt, and crash the party - don't wait to be invited!
...
