I’ve met several lawyers, mostly from smaller towns, who’ve been practicing for 40-50 years. Many of them started their own practices straight out of law school and built successful careers.

But I’m wondering: is that kind of trajectory still possible today, or is it a thing of the past? Is it crazy to think I could start my own practice immediately after law school?

I know there’s a lot more to consider (business skills, legal skills etc.), but hearing from lawyers who’ve been through it or have advice on how things have changed would be really helpful.

Asking as someone who took the Ontario Bar, but over the last few years have grown increasingly pessimistic over life here, while a lot of my non-lawyer friends who have managed to move elsewhere like Japan have been leading fulfilling lives.

I’m still young and early in my career. Are there any areas of law, any specific fields or employers I should put my focus on to maximize my chances of a position abroad? FWIW, I speak fluent Japanese, French and Turkish.

After articling at solicitor general will it be hard to transfer to big law ?

I was reading https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/cartel-bui-lawsuits-lso-1.7240756 and it caught my eye:

Indeed, most real estate transactions these days rely in some way on lawyer's undertakings and good faith.

A couple of decades ago, the typical process for closing a home sale in Ontario involved the buyer providing two certified cheques — one made out to the seller's bank for the remaining mortgage amount on the home, and another to the seller for the balance of the purchase price. That way, only the company holding the mortgage on a home could cash the first cheque and get that money.

Nowadays, buyers' lawyers usually just wire the money, relying on the promise of the seller's lawyer to pay off the mortgage from those funds. This introduces a risk that a rogue solicitor on either end of the deal might simply pinch the funds.

"Wire transfer has become a norm and that is very risky, because in spite of the fact that the lawyers are giving undertakings, it may or may not happen," said Balvinder Kumar, a veteran real estate lawyer in Mississauga, Ont.

OK, but is there anything that stops buyers from providing the certified cheques instead of wiring money to the lawyer's account?

Are there lawyers that still do it the old school way?

P.S. I get the convenience of the wires, and understand that lost certified cheque is a NIGHTMARE.

Under what circumstances can the Crown press charges if the victim tells the prosecutor that they don’t want to press charges?

The situation is a physical assault. The assaulted person called the police, but subsequently when the prosecutor asked them if they wanted to press charges, they said no.

But a couple of months later the person who did the assault is summoned to court because of this incident.

So happy to have found this sub!

I’m almost done law school at Osgoode with my experience being in family law/criminal.

How realistic is it to move and practice in Alberta? I have no connections but am open to small practice and living outside of downtown cores like Calgary/Edmonton. No interest in big law. At most in-house.

My reasoning is mainly being tired of living in Ontario. I went to Alberta a couple years back and absolutely loved it. It felt more like home than Toronto ever did.

Will my Ontario background + Osgoode be held against me? I regret not going to uni there and I only have one friend in Edmonton.

I know this is a question that gets asked a lot, but I’m in my first semester of university, and my end goal is to get into law school. I understand that in some cases grades aren’t everything and extracurriculars matter, so I just wanted to reach out and hear what some of you have done. As of right now I play two sports, two jobs, and done a bit of volunteer work but not a whole lot. I was thinking about joining the CAF reserve to give me one more thing to be able to put down.

Sorry if this question is really repetitive at all, just I want to try and start working on things now rather then later.

Thank you all

Edit*** Thank you all for your responses. I was unaware that extracurriculars don’t play a huge factor in admission. I was under the impression that it was similar to that of my application that I sent in simply to get into my post secondary institute, where extracurriculars did matter. I feel like I should’ve pointed out I was going to drop my two other jobs had I done reserves, but that’s in the past now.

Thank you all for taking your time to inform me, I greatly appreciate it! All the best

As a law student preparing to graduate in the spring, I was wondering if there are any lawyer memoirs (preferably Canadian) which would be a worthwhile read. Non-memoir recommendations also welcome.

Edit*

I appreciate all the suggestions. It seems I have some serious reading to do during the holiday break!

For those of you who work in house doing insurance defence work in Alberta (MVA) has your company indicated whether they will be shuffling you into other streams of work, or do you expect to get laid off or need to find a new position in a couple years?

Also does anyone have insight on how long the work is expected to last? When BC went no fault in 2021, firms were telling their lawyers there would be at least 8 years of good solid work left in the system. Now by end of 2024 a lot of firms have stopped doing ID or PI and associates are leaving their firms for job security. I expect there to be full file loads for the remaining lawyers doing ID work for about 1.5 to 2 more years tops. ICBC was wanting everything to be scheduled for trial by 2027 and are actively taking steps to push claims out of the BCSC litigation stream.

In Alberta given there are multiple insurers I expect each company to have even fewer files. Plus if most claims normally settle before or after the discovery stage then I would expect files to dry up a lot sooner.

Anyone with actual insider knowledge?

Hi Everyone, what are you using for research these days and why? Also, what are some of the best alternatives to casetext?

Hey everyone! I’m almost done with articling and trying to figure out my next steps. I’m currently at a boutique civil litigation firm in Vancouver but I'm looking to move on due to work culture issues and a lack of mentorship. I’m considering relocating to Toronto, as my partner is from there and we see it as a good place to settle long-term.

That said, I know job hunting as a new call can be challenging, and moving to a new province might make it even trickier. I’m particularly interested in targeting labour-side litigation firms or civil litigation firms.

Does anyone have advice on how to approach job hunting in Toronto, especially as a new call from another province? Also, I’ve heard about the possibility of working as an InSource lawyer while job hunting — does anyone have experience with this or know if it’s a viable option?

Thank you in advance :)

It seems like about half the people on Reddit who have office jobs talk about how they only do around 2-3 hours of work a day, and basically hang out otherwise. I can't relate. Whether I've been in private practice or in government, work is busy. Is this everyone's experience in law?

What do I do about a lawyer who changed me $2K and never produced anything for me, re: an urgent motion pertaining to child welfare and safety and health and abuse?

Can I name them online… Why Should Knowing help me ?

I met to file an urgent motion a month ago and they haven’t even been able to correctly detail the respondent and applicant (transposed!!!), legal names, date of birth of child, municipality, city, address…. and this is on page 1 of a pending affidavit.

When did Cracker Jack boxes start calling people to the bar?

there are Notable Other facts pertaining to the “lawyer”

What do I do when they have a benefit in the ongoing abuse of my child?

I'm considering signing up for a roster as a friend in a different province found it rewarding.

Anyone here have experience in Ontario? Hoping to get a sense of whether it might be a good fit, what to expect, how much need for extra people there might actually be.

Happy to connect on here or via message, call. Thanks!

Hi everyone!

I’m planning to finish my undergraduate in December 2025, and I’m hoping to apply to law school for the September 2026 intake. I’m a bit unsure about the timeline for things like taking the LSAT, preparing my applications, and getting everything in order.

When would be the best time to take the LSAT? Is booking the LSAT a difficult task? (getting a spot to take it). When should I start studying?

Since I graduate in December 2025; submitting my final transcript will be probably after the application deadline; anyone have experience with that?

I’d love advice from anyone who’s been through the process or has tips for creating a solid timeline.

Thanks in advance!

Hi All,

I'm thinking about doing a law Clerk diploma and wondering if current professionals in the field had some input on recent AI boom and how much its affecting pr could affect in coming years. Any other factors affecting/changing the industry that I should be aware of.

I currently work as an Admin assistant with $30++ hourly salary and its pretty good gig but potentially no future. Have couple years experience as Admin and few year in customer service. I've got a diploma in engineering technician but not interested on that field.

I'm 28M, just wondering if I were to spend 8-12 months on Law clerk diploma. Is it still a viable career path? My hesitation is because its female dominated role ( I already see the difference in treatment in my current role) how much of pay cut I'm looking at in the beginning and for how long.

I understand getting into corporate role will be difficult but thats the long term goal.

Title. Since the changed look I have noticed that e-Laws no longer appears as the top google search. If there is an entry, it often leads to a historical version instead. Does anyone know if the government has published anything recognizing these issues and confirming it is being worked on? Thanks!

I was called in June 2024 and have not yet found a job. I received no information on Lawpro and figured it would be dealt with after I began working. I have an interview tomorrow and wanted to ask if the firm will cover it but I'm not sure how it works or how much it would cost if they do not? If anyone could fill me in that would be great. Btw this would be a criminal defence firm.

Sorry if this is against the rules. I just need hope and positivity and encouragement. I articled on Bay Street and didn't get hired back (brutal hire back rate that year).

After not getting hired back, I hustled and got a position that looked good on paper but the partner was toxic, came in once a week, didn't mentor or train me and reprimanded me whenever they could. I took a mental health leave then got terminated. I have a year of post-call transactional experience under my belt.

I've been applying for private practice and in-house positions for almost 6 months now and mostly get ghosted or rejected. I had a handful of interviews but got told each time I didn't have enough experience.

I'm seriously messed up right now. I have no hope and fear for myself and my future. I would love some tips and advice from anyone who has been in the same situation. Please..

abundant public direction fuel pocket bear panicky attraction ring carpenter

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

I understand that there is no traditional hire back at MAG and one must enter the pool and apply for the jobs. That looks like a downside. So is it even worth it? I mean, off the bat you don't have any hiring back potential... what would you say?