I recently had the pleasure of going to see Cirque du Soleil: Echo in Toronto’s Big Top with my wife and daughter.
I must’ve seen about 5 Cirque’s, and I love each and every one of them.
Their shows are exhilarating, amusing and hugely entertaining.
The Cirque performers are exceedingly talented.
We saw tight rope walkers jump through the air and land on a thin wire, hundreds of feet above the ground.
We saw gymnasts fly through the air on trapeze.
We saw performers turn into human ladders.
We saw one contortionist twist his body into a pretzel and spin his head around (I had to look away).
Even the clowns, musicians and singers were enormously talented.
If you can, get tickets and go.
But why was this Cirque show different than all past shows that I have seen?
Because at the end of the show, the Cirque performers came out on stage to take a bow.
But then something happened that I have never seen before.
The Cirque performers moved backwards on the stage, and then the back-room Cirque employees walked on stage and took a bow.
There were about 20 people that came on stage including stage-hands, audio technicians, light operators, music mixers, equipment engineers and trainers.
They also received a standing ovation.
The very next morning, I argued a motion for financial disclosure.
[Yes, I still argue motions and, yes, financial disclosure is still a contested issue that I can discuss on another day.]
Coming back to Cirque du Soleil and why am I writing about it…
When I finished arguing my motion for disclosure, I reflected on my professional performance.
It was excellent (IMO). My materials were excellent. My file was well organized. My Factum was tight, persuasive and forceful.
It was really no surprise that my performance was excellent. It wasn’t all me.
Sure, my oral submissions were persuasive, but their brilliance was really grounded in the many hours of careful planning, analysis of the case, record-keeping, material preparation and then preparing me for motion day - all done by my law clerk Marigona.
Marigona had worked tirelessly to know the case we had to make, identify the financial disclosure we needed, develop the original Request for Information, receive/review/assess what little financial disclosure we did receive, and then create a financial disclosure chart detailing what we asked for, what we received, what was denied, and why it was that the missing information was necessary, relevant and probative to the material issues in the case.
From building the case, to creating the motion materials, to building the chart and factum, to prepping me - it was really Marigona’s performance that was excellent.
I just was the last guy on stage for all to see.
After the motion, I invited the client and Marigona onto a Zoom call to de-brief.
The client was filled with praise, gratitude and recognition...for me.
After the client finished, I told her that all that praise was really for Marigona and not me.
The client paused, and then expressed her thanks to Marigona.
Marigona blushed.
In the end, it was a win-win situation for everybody.
The client received excellent legal representation; and now has so much more appreciation for Marigona’s role in the client’s case.
Marigona received the recognition she is entitled to and is now much more invested in this case, and all other cases.
The cost of all this was greatly reduced, given the lower hourly rate of law clerks, which contributes to the problem of access to justice.
So just like Cirque du Soleil has changed its policy by having the Cirque performers move backwards on the stage and bring the back-room employees on stage to take a bow, I shall now do so too when I receive commendation and accolades from satisfied clients.
About the author
Steve Benmor, B.Sc., LL.B., LL.M. (Family Law), C.S., is the founder and principal lawyer of Benmor Family Law Group, a boutique matrimonial law firm in downtown Toronto. He is a Certified Specialist in Family Law and was admitted as a Fellow to the prestigious International Academy of Family Lawyers. Steve is regularly retained as a Divorce Mediator, Arbitrator and Parenting Coordinator. As a Divorce Mediator, Steve uses his 30 years of in-depth knowledge of family law, court-room experience and expert problem-solving skills in Divorce Mediation to help spouses reach fair, fast and cooperative divorce settlements without the financial losses, emotional costs and lengthy delays from divorce court. You can find his CV at https://benmor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Steve_CV_Nov23.pdf. He can be reached at steve@benmor.com
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