Looking to hear from anyone who has made the transition from family law to corporate/solicitor practice. I'm a 3rd year call, with some prior corporate (non-legal) experience. Is it still possible to make that change?

I was invited to a dinner for in firm week in Vancouver. I believe it is 1 on 1 with a lawyer. I’ve been to dinners before but not to anything that has felt as high stakes to me so I’m naturally nervous. I’m also a socially anxious person in general so that makes it a bit tougher.

Some questions:
So I can visualize and mentally prepare, what are these dinners like? What can I talk about, and what might they ask me? Where are these dinners usually held? Who would I be paired with for dinner?

What is the firm’s goal or purpose with these dinners? I take it it’s to see how I’d behave in front of a client, if I can behave normally, and in general just to connect.

And do you have any tips on etiquette? Like what I should order, how I should dress, or basics like utensils.

I have an interview with the Family Responsibility Office coming up. I’m wondering what I can expect at least at this stage. I was already sent a Teams link, but no questions or materials in advance to study, so not sure if that will be asked at this stage of the process. Any thoughts or insights would be very helpful!

Not so for any legal matter that concerns me. I'm wondering if there's any attorney, specifically in criminal law who would give the time to help a student look for in depth sighing for career prospects. I've always wanted to be in criminal law but I have some questions that I don't trust on any platforms or AI to answer, so I'm wondering if anyone who is an attorney or a lawyer on the field can chat around and answer some questions. Thank you a lot ! (Also, English ain't my first language, please excuse my wording mistakes. I'm still learning)

I have an upcoming interview with the City of Ottawa for a Counsel position.

Have never done government interviews and this would be my first. For anyone familiar with City of Ottawa interviews, what should I expect in terms of format and questions? Any specific tips on how to prepare or things to keep in mind would be greatly appreciated.

Anyone know the type of work you do as a tax lawyer at KPMG law?

Does it pay same as lockstep?

Are partnership salaries similar to big law?

I am just wondering whether the route where one goes to the UK to study for three years is sensible course of action.

The time saved is a very illustrious offer but is it worth the money spent?

I am not from a particularly rich family. I am inquiring if anyone took the same course of action?

I am considering pursuing the Ontario Bar but I live in Alberta. I have three very young kids. I have completed the national committee of accreditation exams and am hoping I get a full exemption from articling due to my international practice experience in 2015 to 2020.

I'm trying to understand what I'd need to do in terms of travel.

1. Would I have to travel to Ontario to write the solicitor and barrister Ontario exams? It looks like I do but wondered if anyone knows if there's any plans to change this to make it more accessible? It's really difficult for me to travel as I nurse my baby and he wakes up at night multiple times a day.
2. Would anyone have to "present" me at the Ontario bar call? I don't have any Ontario contacts.
3. Can I attend some sort of online / remote bar call instead of in person?

In other words, can I basically complete all licensing requirements from Alberta? Sounds like I may have to travel to write the exams but I'd love your opinions.

4) Also would six weeks 5 hours a day be enough to study for the solicitor exam and the same amount of time for the barrister exam?

Edit: for reasons I won't go into here - I do NOT want to qualify in Alberta and transfer to Ontario later. I want to qualify in ON.

I am a 3rd year associate in transactional practice in Toronto at a big national law firm. I am interested in moving into a government role (whether it be feds, provincial or municipal).

Looking for any insight/advice from people who have done the same, or know how to best get their foot in the door. I understand many of these positions are filled by people who (1) articled with a government body or (2) are more senior than me.

Any insight is appreciated!

edit: I want to make a career change. Big law has been extremely unfulfilling for me, and mentally hard on me. I have prior education in politics and policy, so have an interest in legislative work. That being said, I am not a litigator and don't have litigation experience.

Hi,

I recently got an offer for an interview with a solo criminal lawyer. After I sent my availability on Monday I didn't hear back. I followed up on Wednesday but still got no response. What could I possibly do to avoid losing this opportunity?

Hello, I am wondering what firms offer litigation loans related to wrongful dismissal employment wise? The scenario involves psychological & racial abuse, written defamation and reputational damage from workplace abuser and their gang. The ultimate point is that reporting all documented misconduct led to retaliation, threats from the HR department and eventual dismissal. Due to the economic situation, the affected individual has been out of work for a year plus.

Any help or suggestions for funding this case to recover all associated losses mentally and financially would be greatly appreciated. All reasearch so far has only produced physical injury funding firms.

Looking forward to responses.

Just interested in learning about the different approaches to consent and alcohol under the law

I am keeping it vague but someone I know finished a lawsuit then the judge took time to come to a ruling it's now been 300 days and the judge was just approved another 60 days before they have to deliver their ruling. Is this a normal thing or is this as insane as it seems.

I do not work in law but I am beginning to date someone who is a paralegal and when I asked him to describe his job he said “basically it’s a lawyer with some less work.” Is that an accurate description? At his current work place he is listed as a legal assistant/law clerk who does not provide legal services. I do know he has been a licensed paralegal for 2 years. This is in Ontario.

Has anyone completed part time articling in Ontario while working a full time job, for example around 3 hours each weekday evening plus a full day on the weekend, and had the LSO accept those hours toward the articling requirement?

Hey folks,

Just curious if anyone here has gone to law school in Australia or the UK and ended up staying there to practise law afterward.

I know overseas law degrees can sometimes be looked down upon by Canadian employers, but I’m actually interested in studying Australian law and hopefully staying in Australia to practise after graduating, rather than coming back to Canada.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s taken a similar path, especially Canadians who studied abroad and stayed overseas afterward. What was the process like for you?

Thanks!

Ontario family lawyers/law clerks — is there much demand for freelance law clerks?

For those working in Ontario family law, do lawyers commonly use freelance/contract law clerks for overflow work, filings, document preparation, etc.?

And for anyone currently doing freelance family-law clerk work — is there enough demand to keep you consistently busy?

Just curious what the market is actually like.

Hi I was wondering what the prospects are for law clerks with ai upon us. Do you see this as a waste of money getting a law clerk degree. I’ve been considering it as a profession. I have volunteered at a law firm but no longer doing that. Now I’m just applying to jobs but no job offers are happening. So wondering if I should consider a law clerk degree.

What’s the standard pay rate for L1&2? Curious to see if I’m getting offered sh*t

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some guidance from anyone who has dealt with non-traditional licensing pathways. I just got a full-time corporate job offer at a financial institution. Because of financial commitments, I absolutely need to accept it. But I also have a 5-month articling abridgment from LSO that I need to complete to be called.

The issue is that the financial institution handles its functions through outside counsel rather than an internal department. In my new role, I will be collaborating directly with this outside counsel.

I want to know if anyone has ever set up a hybrid or dual training structure like this before:

• Outside Supervisors: Can external counsel sign off on my professional training hours while I am physically working at a client company and being paid by the financial institution? I think they call it secondment.
• Part-Time Tracking: Has anyone completed their final training hours part-time while working a completely separate full-time corporate job? How does LSO usually structure this, and has anyone received approval for part-time articling?

Thanks so much for all your help!

Hey!

I'm an Articling student in Ontario at the moment and i'm hoping to also get liscenced in Québec. I did both a civil law degree and a JD, just decided that I wanted to live and work in Ontario.

Has anyone done the exams? How were they? Would you be willing to share what your studying looked like and the time you dedicated to it?

As I understand it its 3 exams :

1. L’examen Droit civil I et procédures afférentes, pouvant porter sur les sujets suivants : personnes, famille (y compris les régimes matrimoniaux et le divorce), successions, biens, obligations (y compris la responsabilité civile extracontractuelle) et la Loi sur la protection du consommateur;
2. L’examen Droit civil II et procédures afférentes, pouvant porter sur les sujets suivants : contrats nommés, preuve et procédure, affaires, prescription, priorités et hypothèques, publicité et droit international privé;
3. L’examen Législation, réglementation et aspects déontologiques liés à l’exercice de la profession d’avocat au Québec;

Did you do all of them in one season (like all three of them in the fall)? Or did you split them?

I appreciate any insight!

Looking for 2 tickets! Can pay once we exchange when they’re emailed.

I am assisting very senior counsel with a criminal trial. Counsel is extremely concerned about their ability to show images to a complainant who will be testifying remotely.

I have never appeared at the armoury courthouse. Could someone confirm whether this is simply a matter of screen sharing on zoom, or is there more to it?

ON Call to Bar ceremony tickets went live for purchase at noon. However, due to work, I only saw the message now.

It says: There are no tickets currently available.
Tickets may become available closer to the event.

Is this a glitch or does it mean that all tickets have already been reserved?

EDIT: Does anybody have any extra tickets? I would greatly appreciate it.