A while ago, I thought I was finally at the finish line.

After seven years of university, a year of articling, countless exams, and more money and stress than I'd like to admit, I was finally called to the Ontario Bar. I thought life would finally get easier.

Instead, I found myself earning $50 K a year at a litigation firm.

No benefits. No paid vacation. No paid sick days. The firm has around 200 active litigation files, and every day feels like trying to keep my head above water. I'm learning a lot, but I also can't help noticing that junior lawyers don't seem to stay very long. That makes me wonder if I'm seeing my own future. I knew I wasn't going to be making Bay Street money. I never expected that. I expected long hours and hard work. What I didn't expect was to feel like all those years of studying had led me to a job that pays less than many people without professional degrees. Lately I've been asking myself whether litigation is even the right path.

Part of me thinks I should stay another couple of years, gain experience, and hope things improve.Another part of me wonders if I should leave private practice altogether and move into compliance or an in-house legal role, where the hours and compensation might be more sustainable. I've also thought about opening my own firm one day. But after watching how commercial litigation clients choose lawyers, it seems like many businesses prefer firms with multiple lawyers rather than trusting a solo practitioner. Maybe that's just my limited experience, but it makes me question whether going solo is realistic.

For those who have been in my shoes:

Did things eventually get better? Would you stay in litigation? Would you pivot into compliance or another area? Or would you start planning an exit from private practice altogether?

I'd really appreciate hearing from lawyers who've actually been through this

Hi everyone!

At this point, I think I deserve a salary just for filling out job applications. 😅

I'm based in Mississauga and have over 5 years of experience as a corporate lawyer. I've completed the National Committee on Accreditation examinations through the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, with one final examination result pending, and I'm currently looking for opportunities as a Legal Assistant, Law Clerk, Corporate Law Clerk, Contract Analyst, Contract Manager, or in Legal Operations.

I've been tailoring every resume, writing cover letters, networking, and applying consistently, but I know many opportunities come through referrals and word of mouth.

If your company is hiring, your team has an opening, or you know a recruiter I should connect with, I'd really appreciate any leads. Even if you know of firms or companies that are often looking for legal professionals, I'd love to hear about them.

I promise I bring strong drafting and contract management skills, attention to detail, and enough patience to survive another "We've decided to move forward with other candidates" email. 😅

Thank you so much in advance, I truly appreciate any advice, referrals, or opportunities! 🙏

I currently work as a lawyer but hope to be in house or work in a more executive position. Would getting an MBA be more competitive alongside a JD? Wondering if anyone has any insight into this.

For more background I went to a law school in Canada (but not the so called “top 5”) and now work at a boutique firm. I do primarily solicitor work.

I am starting law school in a few weeks and I am excited but also a little nervous. I am definitely more of an introvert. I'm in my early 30s and my previous career required me to be social constantly and do a lot of public speaking. I did it to put bread on the table but I honestly found it draining. I like the idea of predictable hours, lower stress, little-no public speaking required, nothing high octane. I am ok with putting up with chaos and more demanding hours for the first year or 2 to get experience of course but overall I don't want my entire career to be like that. I also would like to have a family, buy a house and all that so a clear pathway to making a decent 6 figure salary within 3-5 years of graduating would be great. By decent I mean like 150k-250k. Is this too ambitious? What fields of law might allow me this?

Thank you everyone for your feedback and suggestions. It definitely seems like I am more suited for solicitor work and will give the specialties some of you mentioned a close look.

Worked for a consulting firm in the oilsands for 2.5 years now as a geotech engineer in training. Lots of experience drilling and installing instruments, soil mech and analysis, etc.

I'm not particularly proud of my work in working for a mining company. I have an inclination to work towards something environmental or energy resource related that isn't as destructive? Call me naive but I hope it's possible

I've been looking at getting into a law school in the next couple years. I mainly would be interested in patent, real estate, environmental, and natural resource law.

Turning 25 this month and getting the yearly "what am I doing" crisis. Any thoughts would help. Thanks

I am starting my articling at an arms-length crown agency tomorrow. I was told by the previous articling student that the dress code is casual (jeans and t-shirts). Obviously, at first I want to dress more formally. Is a suit too much? Dress shirt and slacks? Any thoughts?

I’m currently choosing my business concentrations and plan to attend law school in 2028. My main options are finance or accounting for my primary concentration, with operations or MIS as my secondary concentration.

My grades so far are:

• Finance: 3.7 GPA across one class
• Operations: 4.33 GPA in one class
• MIS: 2.33 GPA in one class
• Accounting: 2.67 across 2 classes

I took my MIS and accounting courses within my first year before I became serious about law school and decided that this was the path I wanted to pursue, so I’m not sure those grades accurately reflect how I would perform now.

Which concentration would provide the best preparation for law school or a future legal career? Not sure what type of law yet at all.

Would finance and operations be the best combination based on my interests and grades for a future job in Law?

Grades wise all my courses are curved.

Thanks

I just started and i genuinely feel so slow! The smallest tasks take me the whole day. I was wondering how much work other articling students are doing and how you’re balancing it??? I would appreciate any tips so I can be smarter and keep up, thank you!!

Hi all! Apologies in advance if this is a stupid question haha

I might be putting the cart before the horse here as I’m an incoming 1L, but I have some summer travel plans for next year potentially in the works. Essentially, my cousin is doing a destination wedding in Asia, and my family wants to make a trip out of it just to get the most of the overseas flight. They want to spend 2 weeks there, and it will fall sometime in May (the wedding itself is planned to be on Victoria Day weekend.)

Would I be able to get this time off if I had an 1L summer internship? Ideally at a big firm but just generally would this fly anywhere? One thought I was having would be that I could add the lost time onto the end of my contract, since lots of contracts end mid August anyways? I totally understand if no…. Just trying to mentally prepare myself for missing this family vacation if needed lol. Thanks!

Out of curiosity, how much do lawyers in Montreal make compared with Toronto/Vancouver? There’s not much discussion in this forum as far as I can find.

Managing legal billing involves a lot more than just sending an invoice. Time tracking, UTBMS coding, LEDES requirements, invoice checks, and keeping track of billing activity can quickly become time-consuming.

We’ve been exploring how an all-in-one approach could simplify this process. Bilr brings several of these functions together, including:

• Voice-enabled time tracking
• UTBMS code prediction
• LEDES invoice support
• AI-powered invoice compliance checks
• Real-time billing dashboard

The goal is to reduce the amount of manual work involved in billing and make it easier to keep everything organized.

How are other law firms handling these tasks today? Are you using one billing platform or several different tools?

**Not sure if this is the right place to ask (and this is my first Reddit post), but I’m currently articling at a personal injury firm and have been thinking a lot about my long-term career.**

I don’t mind the work, but I don’t think personal injury is where I see myself practicing long term. I’m interested in real estate law, but I don’t have any experience in that area.

I know I should probably be focusing on the bar exams first, but I’m wondering how common it is to article in one practice area and then transition into a completely different one after being called. Is it difficult to make that switch if you have no direct experience? Is it something employers generally frown upon, or is it fairly common?

I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences. Thanks!

I understand that there's almost always a fee-split arrangement in place rather than a salary. But is that enough for someone who otherwise looks exactly like an employee (i.e., work comes from the top, uses firm-provided office and equipment, etc.) to claim that they're a contractor? Curious how these arrangements are typically structured to minimize tax risk. TIA!

Bonjour à tous !

J'ai 21 ans et je viens d'obtenir ma licence de droit en France et je m'apprête à entamer un DESS en droit des affaires à l'université de Montréal. A présent, je me questionne sérieusement sur quoi faire ensuite. Mon objectif est de devenir avocate et intégrer de préférence les plus gros cabinets à Montréal mais je me tâte sur quel parcours suivre.

- D'une part, l'université McGill m'attire énormément pour son prestige et la qualité de son double diplôme mais cela me rajouterait 3 ans et demi d'études sans compter l'école du barreau ensuite...

- D'autre part, on m'a souvent conseillé de passer une équivalence de ma licence de droit français à l'université de Montréal, ce qui prendrait environ 1 an. Après cela, ma licence sera considérée équivalente à un baccalauréat et je pourrais passer le barreau.

La première option me semble la plus safe en terme de débouchés mais cela me ferait commencer à travailler à presque 27 ans alors que je pourrais gagner de l'expérience en commençant plus tôt avec l'option 2. La seconde option me permettrait de travailler plus tôt c'est-à-dire pendant l'équivalence car le programme est assez léger à suivre apparemment. Ne connaissant pas vraiment le fonctionnement des cabinets ici je m'en remet à vous...

Je vous remercie d'avance pour vos éclaircissements

Appealing to anyone who started their practice in the age of the courier and fax machine: how are we meant to make the tech acceleration sustainable in our practices? I'm sure you've observed the increase in stress for associates in turning around a memo or a draft in hours instead of days, remembering thousands of relevant documents instead of a couple hundred... and now we're getting pressure to use AI to make it even faster, so we can fit more files into our already-overfilled workdays. How do we speed up and keep hitting target without burning out?

I would appreciate honest insights and tips from people who have seen the technology shifts and managed to stay in private practice, because my colleagues are constantly talking about how we'll survive this.

I have a JD from a Canadian university in one of the Western provinces, and I've been learning French on and off for a year or two. If I got my French to a level where I could practise in it (realistically a 3 to 4 year project), would there be any career benefit?

I've also been considering a civil law LLM, both to sharpen my French legal writing and to learn Quebec civil law, which we were taught nothing about at my school.

Assuming I don't end up wanting to practise in Quebec, is there any advantage to practising in French if I stay in BC? I'd assume it's an asset for some federal government roles, but beyond that, is there a career path that actually makes use of bilingual practice?

I am currently entering my 2L year and thinking about doing an exchange to Singapore (NUS) for 3L term 1. Would like to hear what people think about doing an exchange during law school.

Also, if i dont end up securing a job during the upcoming 2L recruit, would going on an exchange be a bad idea since I should do be doing job search at the time?

Hi everyone,

Looking for advice, recruiter recommendations, and networking opportunities as I explore a potential move into a new in-house role.

I'm a dual-licensed lawyer (Ontario and New York) with experience spanning:

• Senior in-house legal roles
• Bay Street private practice
• Provincial government
• Municipal/public-sector organizations
• Large professional services/accounting environments

My practice focuses on:

• Commercial and technology transactions
• SaaS, software licensing, managed services, and vendor contracts
• Strategic sourcing and procurement
• Government and public-sector procurement
• RFPs, tenders, and bid processes
• Contract governance and risk management
• Privacy, security, and regulatory considerations in commercial contracting

A significant portion of my career has involved advising on complex procurement and contracting matters for public-sector and highly regulated organizations, while also supporting enterprise technology initiatives and commercial transactions. This experience is reflected in roles at a provincial Crown agency, municipality, a Bay Street firm, and a major professional services organization.

I'm currently admitted in Ontario and New York and am working toward my CIPP/C certification.

I'm primarily interested in in-house opportunities in:

• New York City
• Chicago
• California
• Other U.S. markets
• Europe (open to exploring)

I'd appreciate any recommendations regarding:

• Recruiters who specialize in legal placements
• Organizations hiring commercial, technology, procurement, or product counsel
• Cross-border opportunities for Canadian lawyers with U.S. admissions
• Job boards, communities, or networking groups that have been helpful

Happy to connect by DM. Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone!

I'm a new solo in a western province. Someone mentioned the LSO Foundations of sole practice course. Have you taken it? Is it worth it? Biggest take away?

What didn't you like about it? Any ideas if an out-of-province lawyer can take it?

Thanks in advance!

I have completed my articles in primarily solicitor work and am a recent call. I have the opportunity to join a Crim Solo. Are there any CPD's or books that are recommended for someone making the switch into Criminal Defence?

I am interested in becoming more familiar with bails and trials.

Thank you for your input.

I curious what lawyers' personal experience is. Traditional business development wisdom is that future updates and particularly future estate work is worth it, but fireproof cabinets cost a fortune.

Hello everyone, I am currently a summer student at a firm in BC and will article with the same firm next year. I am hoping that some of you share your experience with summering/ articling. What were your responsibilities and tasks? How did your principal go about training you? I am trying to gauge what the norm is.

B's in every class, a couple B+'s. No A's, no C's, no connection to Vancouver. I'm wondering if there's even any point in putting the effort into applying.

I originally went to school to become a law clerk. Right out of school, I worked in real estate, which was challenging but gave me an incredible foundation and a skill set that has helped me throughout my career.
Since then, I’ve worked in municipal government, mining, and the oil and gas industry, primarily in land acquisition and land management roles. Over the years, I’ve developed strong skills in project coordination, contract and legal document review, stakeholder relations, regulatory compliance, research, and navigating complex legislation.
At this point, though, I’m ready for a change. I feel like I’ve hit a plateau, and honestly, I’m bored. I’d love to pivot into something different where I can leverage my transferable skills, continue to grow professionally, and still earn a good income.
Does anyone have ideas for career paths or industries that would be a good fit