Maggie Walsh

I really care about the people that I work with and the cases that I work on, and I don't do things halfway. Sometimes, you have to go above and beyond for a client to trust you with their story, and the littlest details can make a huge difference in a case. So I would say my attention to detail, passion for justice, and my ability to stay calm and non-judgmental has attributed to my success.

Stay open, stay vulnerable, and don’t let setbacks define you. I believe that growth comes from both wins and losses, and that learning to navigate challenges with resilience is key to long-term success.

I would say keep an open mind and don't be afraid to be vulnerable. I think sometimes younger women, myself included, feel like because we're younger women, people might not respect us, so we have to be serious and appear very professional. Obviously you have to be professional and respectful, but I think the most success I've had is just being myself and being open. People don’t feel comfortable opening up and sharing their story if they don't feel like you would be receptive to it or if they don't feel comfortable with you. Also, try not to get discouraged by the losses and focus on the impact you are making, no matter how small it may be.

The biggest challenge is that it's hard to see that no matter how much you care and how much work you put into it, the justice system is still inherently unfair to Indigenous people and people of color. It's difficult to see that sometimes it is so systemic that no matter how much effort you put into your work, a wealthy, white male is typically going to get a better sentence than a poor minority. But the opportunity in my field is really unique - I get to sit down with my clients and really get to know them. Sometimes you can read an arrest warrant and people would say, “oh, they're guilty, what are you doing helping this person”? That may or may not be the case, but if you get to know each person on an individual level, you see that everyone has a level of humanity. Maybe they were abused as a child, maybe they have serious mental health issues - everyone's circumstances lead them to a certain point. It's special for me to have these connections with people that I typically wouldn't have in my everyday life. I used to think things were very black and white, if you do the crime, you do the time. I’m not saying that’s not partially true, but I’ve learned that there are so many other factors to the legal system and to people in general.

Advocacy, inclusion, equality, justice, kindness, and respect are the values most important to me. Being approachable is crucial so people feel comfortable opening up to you, and I believe approachability is achieved by vulnerability. No one is going to feel comfortable around you if they feel like you're guarded, so I tend to very open, but I feel like that helps me build relationships with people of all different backgrounds. I am passionate about helping people and finding resources for them. For example, there's one woman I'm helping right now who's dealing with immigration issues and domestic violence issues, and she’s trying to navigate all that through a language barrier. I've kind of taken it upon myself to call her attorneys, call her doctors, set up appointments, just so she can feel more included and safe and feel like she has someone in her corner since she is new to this country. Everyone deserves a someone in their corner.