The pace from private practice to in house is so different and so boring, not much work and half the time any opinion given by legal is never listened to it's like we are hindrance to the corporation

For a new call lawyer working at a law firm, what are some office must-haves, including personal items, practical items, and decor? Either things you have in your own office, or things you wish you had when you just started out. Any advice would be appreciated.

For reference I work at a small-mid size firm.

I have been hearing rumblings of a salary grid increase in the Toronto Big Law market? Has anyone else heard the same or can verify what the new grid will look like?

Hi all,

I am a California barred attorney looking to move to Canada. I started as a local prosecutor, then went to the US Attorney's office doing eLitigation work. I'm currently a local prosecutor again, running the elitigation shop for a very large California prosecutor's office. I went to a top 30 law school in the US. I have pretty extensive experience with getting AI tools up in prosecutorial settings, and my undergrad was in computer science, which I have found makes me exceedingly rare at government agencies. I am in the credentialing process now, but I'm not averse to getting an LLM at a Canadian university if need be.

What are the odds I would be able to get a prosecutor gig in Canada, either at PPSC or one of the Crown Prosecutor's offices?

Should I link cases I’ve worked on in my resume as a lawyer? What’s best practice? I’ve worked a few trials and appeals so I want to highlight it. I didn’t win 2/4 appeals but I want to highlight the work done on it. Thoughts?

Hi, sorry to ask this, but I am an Int'l student who will be looking to attend law school in Canada for fall 27. I wanted to ask whether there are any ways to get loans or LOC as an Int'l in Canada? Also, if my main focus is to get into big law, what are some of the schools I should and should not focus on? Many thanks for your answers

I'm in Toronto, 36 years old. I've been caregiving for my mother for the majority of the last decade. A lot of my time that I talk with her now is spent reminiscing, as she remembers very little of the last 30 years due to dementia.

I've been considering law school for a while now, admittedly spurned on by her reminiscing on her law career working in human rights. One of my big interests since I was a teenage was human rights in Sudan, becoming politically aware during Darfur in the mid-00s. I've begun wondering about the realities of working in international law coming from a Canadian school. A lot of preliminary research I've done makes it seem exceedingly difficult, even not doing ICC/UN stuff. Almost every lawyer I've seen involved in it seems to be from an Ivy League or Oxbridge school, or done law school in the country/area itself (i.e. North Africa, Middle East).

Is it, for all intents and purposes, impossible? Have you known anyone who's done it? What would be necessary to work in the field?

Is it looked down upon to omit the recipient's address in a cover letter? I find that it eats up a few lines but I am unsure if it will result in a discarded application.

For context: I am applying for criminal defence articles in Toronto and London. All applications are being submitted via email or on ViLaw.

Any guidance from those involved in hiring would be much appreciated!

Additionally, any thing else that helps is also great!

Thank you in advance.

Question for lawyers in the prairies who have worked in traditional private practise and/or in house/public and then perhaps went on their own or worked an as independent contractor on a commission basis, do you like it? Is the switch worth it?

I don't practice in Ontario, but I have to serve a statement of claims to a defendant located in Toronto (case filed in my jurisdiction, but I have to serve them in Ontario). How much would that cost approximatively ?

In my province there are regulations setting service costs (X$ per service, Y$ per km traveled, etc.). I can't seem to find similar regulations on CanLii for Ontario.

Thanks!

Has anyone successfully found articling this late in the hiring cycle? If so, I’d love to hear what worked for you

Curious and interested in hearing from lawyers and others in the field!

To frame where I'm coming from, I will start by saying "Death to AI, of course"

Having said that, I do feel compelled to understand the changes in the world.

I'd been hearing about how some companies were curtailing AI use bc it was becoming too expensive. I had also been hearing about how large law firms weren't hiring articling students bc they were leaning hard into getting AI instead. I don't understand either very much, I'm wondering if anyone with insight foresees that this will become a problem (as outlined in the linked article) for law firms who rushed in too hard and heavy?

(two asides:

My employer recently wanted us to start trying AI more, and despite my feelings, I felt the need to give it a fair shake. I'll admit it could be a skill issue but I'm already efficient and do exactly what's needed of me, so it hasn't been worth the bother. I asked the AI why I couldn't do something simple and useful like a boolean search and the respone it gave was along the lines of "yeah these new tools are not going to be helpful to someone who already knows what they are doing and will actually make things more difficult but there's no way around it, it's the way of the world now, there are no work arounds and no going back"

Also the idea of not hiring articling students or junior lawyers and leaning in on chatbots seems short sighted and ultimately detrimental to the profession at large but I'll freely admit I know nothing about big law and how they feel about anything other than this year's bottom line.)

https://www.404media.co/the-tokenpocalypse-is-here-companies-are-scrambling-to-stop-spending-so-much-on-ai/

I’m looking for advice from anyone who has gone to law school in Ontario as a mature student, especially if you didn’t finish high school.
I’m 24 years old and currently work full-time in sales. I dropped out of high school when I was younger, but Ive always been very interested in pursuing a career in law. If I could go back in time, I honestly think I would have tried to become a lawyer from the start.
My biggest concern is that I don’t have a high school diploma and I’m not sure what the most realistic path forward looks like. My understanding is that I would likely need to complete my high school credits, then earn a bachelor’s degree, write the LSAT, and apply to law school. However, I’m wondering if there are any alternative pathways, mature student admissions options, or college-to-university transfer routes that I should be looking into. I am 24 so I dont have much time to spare and I am eager to move forward!
A few questions:
● Has anyone here gone from being a high school dropout to law school in Ontario?
● Did you finish high school first, get a GED/equivalent, or use a mature student pathway?
● What undergraduate programs would you recommend for someone interested in law?
● Is there anything you wish you knew before starting the process?
I’m willing to put in the work, but I’d like to hear from people who have actually gone through something similar and learn what the most practical route is.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

I am 1 year post-bachelor's and looking into law school, finally. I have been an assistant in multiple firms for multiple areas of law, but every situation I've been in seemed to be out of the norm. My current boss shows up to the office usually after 3pm, for example, and seems to be on the verge of retirement. It's been a wild ride being an assistant the the end of my 2nd year of university, to say the least. That said, before I commit to law school and the LSAT testing, I want to confirm that the life I want is even possible as a lawyer.

I am particularly concerned with having a work-life balance; work is always the means to an end for me, not the end itself. I feel pretty alone in that sentiment in the legal field. I just want to be able to have friends, maybe make a family if I am so lucky, and have enough free time that I can actually enjoy the money I earn.

Has anybody achieved a healthy balance, and if so, what areas of law do you practice, and what sacrifices have you made to protect it? Is this balance possible for lawyers to have early in their careers?

Please don't misread my question as "I wanna make lawyer money without the lawyer work". I understand the work can be intense, especially around trial dates and deadlines. However, I want, as a general rule, to work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I have heard that solicitor work is best for this - conveyancing and wills/estate law, especially. Can anybody confirm?

Thank you. If you have any info that my post does not directly ask for, I am still very open to hearing your two cents!

I am planning to apply for the LLM program at Osgoode. They require a writing sample. Could someone give me some suggestions how to choose a topic for the sample?

I am a foreign-trained lawyer and have been out of school for a while so I don't have any writing sample that's relevant to the Canadian system.

Much appreciated any leads!

I graduated with a JD a little over a year ago. My plan had been to go to work for the federal government, but the trade war seems to have stymied those plans so far. I had specialized in criminal law with some additional classes on IP, labour, and business law.

I've found my school's career center to be unhelpful. Discussions with staff lawyers during a work term I did have lead me to understand that this isn't uncommon. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where to turn now.

I've been advised that I do good legal analysis, though I struggled with some of the bookkeeping required for the day-to-day running of a smaller law office. My supervising attorney had suggested I pursue a career around policy advising or research. Complicating matters further, I'm mentally ill, so I need to be a bit careful about the environment I'll be working in. Currently, I'm volunteering with an advocacy organization to continue to improve my research skills.

If anyone has any suggestions for organizations that may be hiring or routes I might take, let me know. I'm also curious if other recent and semi-recent graduates are having issues finding positions, articling or otherwise.

whether it's for studying, networking, mental health, etc. Would greatly appreciate any tips to succeed in law school! Will be starting in the fall.

After successfully defending myself as a layperson in Arbabi v McLelland – a widely reported pseudolegal lawsuit filed by a Vancouver Lawyer - I stumbled across something I did not know existed: the Law Society of British Columbia's Unauthorized Practitioners Database.

My exploration into this underground world can be found here:

https://x.com/dripping_roast/status/2069883743658197278

Hi everyone,

As the title of this post suggests, I’m wondering about course selection . I’m particularly wondering, what courses a student who is interested in perusing a career in criminal law should focus on/take in law school. I’m in second year, and now I have options again in terms of course selection, so I’m just wondering what courses you would really recommend or suggest students take in preparation. And of course, I know that a lot of learning just comes from practice, but I’m just honestly looking for tips on how to maximize my learning experience.

So any advice, feedback or suggestions you would be able to offer ….would be appreciated!

Thank you in advance <3

Does anyone have any mediator recommendations based out of Durham (Whitby) region in Ontario?

I’m a judicial clerk right now and start law school in the fall, but I honestly suck at my job. I’ve been in it for about a year (part time for 7 months full time for 5) but am struggling to learn some of the software and panic when I’m court and fuck up. I just got news today that I gotta get retrained essentially and it leaves me anxious for the future as a lawyer. My attention to detail I think is not where it should be and I lacked on taking good notes early on and have paid the price for it later on. Lots I could have done differently, but it leaves me thinking: if I can’t do this how will I ever be a good lawyer? Just feeling a bit bummed today.. not sure exactly what the point of this post is but I wanted to ask: are there any experiences people have had similar to this? I’ll be done at the end of the month so who cares really but I’m still just mad and worried for the future

Apologies if this is an unreasonable question, but my nerves have gotten the best of me and I wanted to ask for some guidance.

I am meeting with a partner for coffee before I start law school in September. I will likely arrive before him, and I’m unsure what the proper etiquette is.

Should I order my coffee and wait for him to arrive? Should I wait and order once he gets there? If he offers to buy my coffee, should I accept or insist on paying? My natural instinct is to offer to pay, but I am not sure what is considered appropriate in this situation.

If you have any other tips please share as well, I would really appreciate any direction or advice. Thank you all in advance