I have just under a month until I finish my articles. I do not intend to work in law after I do -- I turned down a relatively decent offer to continue at my current firm post-articling because I have decided that law is not the right path for me.

However, I am unsure if I should still get called to the bar. The necessary attire is around $2k from what I've understood and then there are the yearly law society fees which makes it feel like a waste of money to get called when I don't intend to practice. However, part of me is worried about not solidifying my credentials if I don't. Therefore, I'm seeking advice on what to do.

Further, if I do get called I am uncertain if I should be getting called under "inactive" status or "active - non practicing" as I do not intend to practice but "inacitve" seems to be more for retirees.

Pretty simple, just want to know which process servers do most lawyers pick and prefer, what do they like and not like about them, etc.

I want an overall general idea before I pick one

I’m doing my articling right now and my principal gets very frustrated and will shout and say mean comments. On one hand I’m trying to be understanding because I know there’s so much I need to learn. I’ve also heard this is pretty common unfortunately. But I’m starting to feel so incredibly stupid and anxious all the time. I don’t have a choice but to stick this out but I was hoping to hear from other people who have gone through something like this to feel less alone.

Considering law school and the big law grind really doesn’t appeal to me. Can you article places that are more boutique or mid sized or are those positions not as available? I’ve posted on this sub quite a bit these past few days and I don’t understand why people join big law if most of them quit soon after from burnout. I have worked in corporate 6 years now (in a non law role) and have come to realize how important having a life and focusing on your health is, so I really don’t want to hand cuff myself to a desk 12 hours a day and make my life worse. Why do people do it knowingly?

Accidentally posted this question in the big law sub and realized it drew in a lot of people from NYC big law commenting there’s no log off lol. Is Toronto big law comparable? What is WLB like?

Would like to hear from lawyers who actually enjoy what they do and feel that this was their calling and aren’t burnt out. I’m applying to schools rn and it seems that other prospective applicants (including me) tend to have this rosy glow about this career path but the people actually in it don’t, or maybe I’ve just been hearing negative stories, so would like to hear of the other side

Specifically for Fasken, but I assume it would be similar for other big law or big law adjacent?

Anything helps, outside of "be yourself". Any secrets that helped you during the in-firms.

Silly question, but do I have to wear a tie?

how much do grades matter for getting into your chosen exchange program?

I want to hear from Lawyers who had a hard time in law school (and I mean GPA in the 2 something on 4.0 or 4.3) and who made it now. Who are happy and successful.

It's a thing to be having a hard time in law school, and reaching out you only meet people who are doing fine/good/great but I wanna hear from the ones who struggled because those persons are more meaningful to me right now to hear from.

I was called to the bar in 2023 and am currently practicing at a mid-size firm in Atlantic Canada. My salary for 2027 will be negotiated at the end of this year and I am trying to get a sense of a figure that would be aligned with the market. I currently have a base salary of $90,000.00. I’m hoping that my salary will be increased to at least $100,000.00 for next year, but I am just trying to get a sense of what others in the area at similar sized firms are making.

Hi everyone I’m currently a 33 yo SAHM of 2. With my boys growing up I find myself wanting more out of life than being a homemaker.

I don’t know if I want to be a lawyer but I think I do want to go the law school. I want my boys to see me as more than a mom and especially in this climate for them to see women as more than a homemaker and a mother. Am I too late to the game? Would I even get hired anywhere.

My uni grades weren’t great. I had about a 3.6. Average and am located in BC. My husband has said he would move our whole family if I got accepted somewhere that wasn’t UVic.

Looking for recommendations for the best personal injury law firms in Ontario. Doesn’t have to be in Toronto; I’m willing to go anywhere in Ontario for the right firm.
I was involved in a car accident earlier this year and have been dealing with some serious medical complications and ongoing treatment since then.
I’m considering switching my current lawyer and looking for a firm with a strong track record in handling complex personal injury cases.
Doesn’t have to be in Toronto.

I'm in ontario. Are you allowed computers in courtrooms? I can not take notes by hand, a brailler is out of the question, and I know phones aren't allowed. I could also just not take notes and simply observe, but in terms of retaining information, wouldn't it be easier to have notes? Or could I look up the trial I was sitting in on after the fact maybe.

I’m sure many of you have seen the article this week regarding a U of T law profs indigenous ancestry being called into question (copied below for reference). The person who completed the investigation filed an LSO complaint against the prof.

I’m just wondering what the collectives thoughts are re: the ability of the LSO to do anything in these circumstances?

https://globalnews.ca/news/12109674/law-society-complaint-questions-u-of-toronto-law-professors-indigenous-ancestry/

I am currently in the middle of my articling year in BC, and I am 99% certain I am not going to be offered a job at the end. The day I started was the last articling student's last day and he basically got a "good luck, keep in touch" and was sent on his way. With that in mind, I'm curious... What is the process for trying to find an associate job for after articling? Do I have to wait until I am completely done the year before I start applying?

Hello, just looking for some advice on how to structure and price flat fees for criminal defence work. I'm a second-year call. I spent my summers with the Crown and went into criminal defence after law school.

I recently moved to a new firm where I have the option of either taking a salary or a 60/40 split of my billings, with complete discretion over what I charge. I'm leaning toward the split, but this would be my first time setting my own fees.

Previously, I was salaried, and my old boss mostly charged flat fees, which I think I'd prefer over hourly billing. The problem is that I was constantly being moved between files, so I rarely handled anything from start to finish. As a result, I don't have a great sense of how much work goes into an entire file or what I should be charging.

I also never thought to ask about the fee structure while I was there, and my old boss is a bit sour about me leaving, so he's not much help now.

I don't really want to ask too many basic questions at my new firm and come across as super inexperienced.

What I'm trying to figure out is how other criminal defence lawyers actually structure and price their flat fees. For example, if someone retained you on a relatively straightforward summary assault or theft under $5,000 charge, what would you typically quote them? Would that fee cover everything through resolution, with a separate fee if the matter proceeds to trial? Or do you charge separately for each stage of the proceedings?

For context, I've spoken to two lawyers who handled fairly similar 1–2 day sexual assault trials. One charged $20K (5-year call) and the other $50K (17-year call). Obviously, I'm not expecting to charge those amounts at my experience level.

I know every case is different, but I'm just looking for some ballpark figures or a general fee schedule to help me figure out my own pricing.

If anyone has a breakdown they'd be willing to share, either here or by DM, I'd really appreciate it!

Article here:

Compensation fund for victims of lawyers can cover more than just financial loss: ruling | CBC News

I think (I hope!) most would agree this is a welcome development.

I wish I had some guidance when I was studying for the New York bar as a Canadian. So here was my experience.

I graduate from a 3 year civil law program in Quebec, then completed a 1 year JD (also in Quebec).

I studied 3 months for the New York bar. I used Themis; completed 100% of the course and attempted 2700 MBE questions.

I passed with a 318 score.

The process was definitely not easy; I had to learn everything from scratch. My civil law background was useless.

I studied every single day, full time for 3 months. No breaks, but it was well worth it!

The 1 year JD did give me a solid foundation in Contracts, Property, and Torts. As for the other topics, I had to learn them on my own.

The Themis interface was very easy to navigate, the lectures were sufficient and I was very satisfied with the practice questions.

Towards the end of my studying (1-2 weeks before the exam), I was consistently getting around 78-88% on the NCBE practice exams. I ended up passing with a 81% on the MBE portion of the exam. My advice is to do as many questions as possible.

As for the MEE portion, I believe Themis prepared me well, I did all the practice MEEs. My suggestion for this part is to memorize as many rules as possible. During the exam I felt confident about my answers; I did not guess any of them.

The MPT was by far the most difficult part for me. I performed poorly during ALL the MPT practices. It was difficult to complete a full memo in 1h30 on exam day. I ended up finishing both on time, but I really believed that I failed them. Luckily, the MPT is only 20% of the exam grade. To my surprise I must have done well because my written score better than my MBE (I think it was because of my MEE though…).

Anyways, I hope this was helpful. When I started studying I was looking for students in similar situations and could not find many.

Feel free to DM me if you have any questions! I am happy to help.

Didn’t get an OCI call this morning. I had 6 OCI’s, 3 of which (I thought) went very well. I had strong answers for every question and meshed well with the interviewers. The other three interviews had at least one poor answer on my part, but I never expected to perform perfectly on each interview.

But nonetheless, I didn’t get a return call. Im grateful to have one in-firm at a non-OCI school, but I’m facing the reality that there’s something wrong with my interview skills. Terrified to mess this up, especially since my judgement of a “good” interview is evidently skewed.

I’m looking for input on how you’d move forward prepping for the in-firm. Approach interviews in a different way? Do some coffee chats this week? Something else entirely?

Struggling with the fact that the things about my ADHD that made me a great law student are now making me a terrible articling student. Or at least I think I’m being a terrible articling student, I really haven’t been getting much feedback and I don’t know how to tell if I’m doing ok (or I could just be overthinking everything as usual).

Hi, I didnt perform amazingly on my written assignments so far 50% on written assignments. How accurate is that for Capstone (those who have taken before), are other people in the cohort getting similar/same grades

I'm working towards my bar exam with the long standing dream of working in criminal defence. I made the mistake of watching the Lincoln Lawyer (great show, as unrealistic and dramatic as it is). The one thing that caught my eye was the relationship with private investigators.

In practice, what does this look like for something like a murder case? For legal aid billing, what does the nitty gritty look like in terms of financing? How useful are they generally / are they essential to the line of work for complex cases?

On the flip side, what does this look like for the crown?

Would love to hear from lawyers and investigators both!

Hi everyone! Has anyone who interviewed with Brattys for the 2027–2028 articling positions heard back from them yet? Does anyone know roughly when candidates can expect to hear about second-round interviews? Thanks!

This firm that’s my top choice called me at 8:03 AM, and they had basically asked me what my availability was for Monday. I said I was free all day, and so they suggested 9 AM. I asked to do the interview at 1 PM instead.

This is my first choice firm. Is 1 pm too late for an in-firm interview? I’m stressing about it.

EDIT: I ended up calling back the firm, and letting them know that I’d like to reschedule to 9 am, and that they’re my first choice. I do regret saying the first choice part but idk I panicked.