The Honourable Judge Lorianna Bennett, ’97 LLB, on the balance of career and family

Though it’s often said that a person simply can’t “have it all,” Judge Lorianna Bennett of the Provincial Court of British Columbia is an example that begs to differ.

Since her graduation from the University of Alberta Faculty of Law over 20 years ago, Bennett has built both a family and a career in law that shows no signs of slowing down.

Prior to her appointment to the Provincial Court in 2021, Bennett worked at Paul & Company in Kamloops – her hometown – for over two decades, focusing on personal injury and family law.

In her new role, she still gets to engage with the same community that she was born and raised in, something that she says has allowed her to stay connected to the people she has met along the way.

“Being appointed to my home town has enabled me to maintain many of those connections while still allowing me to serve the community albeit in a different capacity. From a practical stand point, I’ve also been able to continue to do what I love with minimal distraction to my family. I am particularly grateful for that.”

Attending law school wasn’t always at the top of Bennett’s mind. She says that embarking on that chapter didn’t become a serious thought until her final year of her undergraduate degree – and even then, she had a backup plan.

That plan wasn’t needed, and before long, she was starting her first day at the Faculty of Law.

“I will never forget my first day of law school. During the 1L welcome lecture I looked up and saw a large framed photo of a woman adorned in judicial attire. I asked the person sitting next to me who it was. They told me it was Justice Beverley McLachlin, former U of A Law grad and a Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada,” Bennett says.

“My initial reaction was awe. At that point in my life I hadn’t even met a female lawyer let alone a female judge who, I later learned, was also a mother.”

It didn’t take long for Bennett’s assumption – that a lawyer must choose between their career and having a family – to be challenged.

In addition to being encouraged by former Chief Justice McLachlin, she also recalled a particularly inspiring sessional instructor at the faculty.

“I continued to be inspired into my third year when I had my first female sessional instructor for an evening criminal procedure class. She was a full-time practitioner by day, sessional instructor by night and she, too, had a family (and a killer wardrobe I recall).”

So how did Bennett eventually find that balance herself?

“I can tell you that balance did not always come easy for me, especially in my first several years as a young lawyer. I come from a family of first-generation immigrants and ‘balance’ is a word that did not exist in their vocabulary. My parents and extended family members taught strong work ethic by example, and I followed,” she said, adding that her ability to navigate priorities improved once she realized the importance of caring for herself, too.

“Once I started prioritizing my own health and wellness, I felt happier, stronger, and more confident in my ability to balance my career with everything else that was important to me,” she says.

Confident in her abilities and wise with experience, Bennett has gone from the law student who was inspired by others, to being an inspiration herself – a defining full circle realization that is sure to motivate her for whatever might come next.