Legal Bites - Colin Flannigan

Our team of lawyers have a very diverse background coming from all parts of the country with extensive knowledge helping people with their legal needs.

Associate Colin Flannigan was born and raised in Kelowna, graduating from Kelowna Senior Secondary (KSS). After graduating high school, he moved to Edmonton and received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta in 2007. His life course then took him to Saskatoon to receive his Juris Doctor from the University of Saskatchewan in 2013.

He is an avid soccer fan who practices in estate planning, assisting clients with wills and trusts as well as land development and real estate.

We find out a little bit more about Colin in this “Legal Bites” Q & A:

1. Tell us a little about your practice

My practice is primarily wills and estates, although I do a fair bit of land work, both in development and buying and selling of land and/or businesses. I am primarily a solicitor, but I also do some litigation work.

2. Why did you go to law school?

Before I went to law school, I was a Banker, and while I enjoyed that work and seemed to be doing reasonably well at it, I was working in Calgary during the recession, which was a tough time. It got pretty difficult guiding people through those financial difficulties. During Christmas, I remember talking to my father (Doug Flannigan) discussing how troubling I found trying to help people and not being able to. He asked me if I would consider going to law school? I had previously considered it, I had taken my LSAT when I was in my undergrad and had a reasonable score, and he suggested maybe I give it a shot, so I applied to law school, and the rest is history. I went to the University of Saskatchewan.

3. How did you get to where you are today? Was it by design or a little luck?

A little bit of both (laughing).

4. What is your most significant achievement so far? What are you most proud of?

Personally, getting married. Professionally, getting called to the Bar. It’s an honour to become a lawyer, and it is not something I take for granted.

5. What are some of the challenges for the younger generations of people entering the Law?

I think there are a couple of challenges for the younger generations; one is regional, and one is a bit more national. From the national perspective, one of the issues is the availability of articling positions, which will be difficult for young law school graduates over the next number of years. It’s become more of a crunch problem in Ontario, and I think we may see a trickle out to the rest of the country. As far as regionally goes, the difficulty is trying to get into the housing market as a young professional because most are coming out of law school and are saddled with some significant student debts. As we know in Kelowna, trying to get into the housing market right now will be very difficult for them.

6. What advice would you give a young person heading into law school?

Plan for beyond just the next two years; plan for the next five to 10 years. Think of where you want to practice and what type of position do you want to be in? Do you want to be renting, or do you potentially want to be buying? You will have to govern your finances accordingly when you are going through school. Many financial institutions will be offering significant lines of credit for professional students, so don’t be liberal when taking advantage of that. Make sure that you don’t saddle yourself with too much debt coming out of law school.