Nothing But the Truth Quotes

“Effective advocacy is about confronting the weaknesses in your case and overcoming them, which involves a combination of humility and rigour.”
― Marie Henein, Nothing But the Truth

“Women do not need to be changed, adjusted, domesticated, moulded, formed, or coddled. We need space and a runway.”
― Marie Henein, Nothing But the Truth

“The core of the problem for women in a profession like law is the very word balance. There is none. Any attempt to convince women that they can and should meet all obligations on all conceivable fronts is misguided. Of course there were no comparable male conferences. i refuse on principle to attend or even participate in a myriad work life balance conferences. I will however gladly speak to a room full of men on how they can adjust their work life balance to accommodate female work loads and success.”
― Marie Henein, Nothing But the Truth

“The most commonly identified reason for women leaving the field [law practice] is that they cannot handle the stress of both work and family. Implicit in this, at least for women, is that they should be handling both alone or at least with very little help. Did anyone stop to ask themselves how it was that our male colleagues were able for years to manage the startling feat of having a career and a family without being driven from their chosen profession? The answer was obvious. They had help. Enormous help that allowed them the freedom to focus on themselves and their careers.”
― Marie Henein, Nothing But the Truth

“Critical thinking is not as reflexive as you may first believe. Think of how effective social media misinformation has been. So effective that it has been easily weaponized by nation states. The battlefield has moved from landmines to the minds of citizens. It is not the medium that is at fault it is the consumer. Our human nature makes us sitting ducks. We are prepared to believe most things as long as they align with our preconceptions or predispositions.”
― Marie Henein, Nothing But the Truth

“My so-called career strategy is based on my temperament, my personality, and the things that I prioritize. I will do numerous things I dislike over and over if I believe that the result will be worth the effort, but if I don't buy it, then I can't get behind it. And I didn't buy the trite play-it-safe, don't-be-yourself, appeal-to-everyone business-lunching wisdom of the blue-suit crowd. I didn't think the result was worth it, so I gave up whatever small attempt I'd made at trying to be someone I was not. That was not how I wanted to build my career or my firm.”
― Marie Henein, Nothing But the Truth

“In a nutshell, cross-examination, this great engine of truth, is the ability to ask questions and to control the wording and order of those questions. That is all. The theory is that through cross-examination, the truth will be magically revealed.”
― Marie Henein, Nothing But the Truth

“The true purpose of the articling process is a lesson in humility, something not normally associated with twenty-somethings. The first five years of any lawyer's career after articling are focused on breaking down the novice and building up a real lawyer in their place. You cannot start learning how to practise law until you've come to terms with how little you know.”
― Marie Henein, Nothing But the Truth

“We women are never quite right. A little too much of this, not enough of that. Perpetually in need of tweaking. If we could just tone down, speak up, be more assertive, know our place, be slightly less ambitious or shrill, dress less provocatively, look more feminine, be thinner, heavier, we would be perfect!”
― Marie Henein, Nothing But the Truth

“The message is clearly that any right-thinking woman should understand her inherent, natural deficiencies and immediately set off on a lifelong journey of self-discovery and inevitable self-improvement, and probably forgo external things such as the world, life, and work.”
― Marie Henein, Nothing But the Truth

“Men are to be reminded of their inner strength and superiority, while women need to be taught how to overcome their inherent, life-stunting limitations.”
― Marie Henein, Nothing But the Truth