r/LawCanada

Especially mistakes that seem harmless at the time but hurt later during recruiting/articling. Doesn’t just have to be 1L!

I genuinely have no clue yet and I’m curious how people knew. Was it a class, a clinic, an internship, a mentor, lifestyle considerations, money, personality fit, etc.? How would you advise that I figure this out!

Also, if you thought you wanted one area and ended up somewhere completely different, I’d love to hear that too.

Doesn’t have to be big law! but I was curious as to how much of a difference your job experience before starting law school made in the job hunting process? I’m fresh out of undergrad and have some internships in research/ non profit work but was leaning towards corporate work? My undergraduate degree was also in a social science unrelated to business or political science in any capacity.

Just wanted to hear your thoughts! is it mainly down to your 1L (and subsequent year’s) grades? And are KJD students at a disadvantage? Would particularly love to hear from those of you that are now in the position to hire your own students!! thank you and sorry if this is a silly question 😅 incoming 1L with a lot of questions

Hey guys, finally got all my 1L grades and I am panicking about my chances for the Toronto recruit.

Keeping my law school info a bit vague (Western/Queens). I got 3 As, 1 B+, 3Bs and 1 C+ (Contracts). The C+ tanked my GPA and I feel so shitty about the recruit. I wasn’t feeling well the day of the exam and should have deferred but I thought to just thug it out…

Even for interviews, I feel like ‘oh, I wasn’t feeling well on exam day’ sounds like a shitty excuse, but it’s the truth. I genuinely don’t know what to do or how to salvage this.

I do have a legal adjacent job this summer, which I think will boost me up a bit, but if anyone has any advice, I would appreciate it!!!!! Also, I’m not limiting myself to big law and I’m heavily considering gov jobs, so the plan is to apply broadly. But considering the C+ in Contracts, how badly do you think it tanks my chances for big law?

Grades? Networking? Clinic experience? Personality? School reputation? I’d love honest answers because online advice feels all over the place.

Or things you wish you knew if you could go back in time? Anything I should get on asap when starting 1L?

https://coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/item/24182/index.do

Good riddance.

In multi-party litigation, plaintiffs often try to settle out with some of the defendants. In Handley Estate, the court created strict rules requiring plaintiffs to immediately disclose those settlements to other defendants, failing which the entire claim could be dismissed as an abuse of process.

In some cases, the failure to disclose those settlements within weeks was held to result in the plaintiff's entire claim being dismissed.

The ONCA has now ruled that Handley was wrongly decided and created far too strict consequences for the failure to disclose these settlement agreements.

[164]   For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the rule articulated in Handley Estate should not be sustained. That rule’s stipulation that non-disclosure of partial settlement agreements that change the adversarial landscape of the litigation constitutes, in every case, an abuse of process, even where prejudice was not shown, coupled with its prescription of a mandatory and exceptionless stay of proceedings as the sole remedy, is inconsistent with the fundamental principles that govern the doctrine of abuse of process. The doctrine has always required a contextual and discretionary inquiry, directed to whether the impugned conduct gives rise to unfairness, prejudice, oppression, or otherwise undermines the integrity of the administration of justice, and, if so, what remedy is appropriate and just in the circumstances.

[165]   We, therefore, overrule Handley Estate. Going forward, failures to disclose partial settlement agreements are to be assessed under ordinary abuse of process principles. Such failures might, depending on the circumstances, constitute an abuse of process. However, that determination is not to be made categorically, but rather by reference to the particular facts of the case, including the nature of the non-disclosure, its timing, its effect on the litigation, and any resulting prejudice or harm to parties or to the administration of justice.

[166]   Where an abuse of process is established, the remedy must be fashioned in accordance with the principle of proportionality. A stay of proceedings remains available, but only in the clearest of cases, where the prejudice to a party or to the integrity of the judicial process is such that no lesser remedy would suffice. 

My problem: I have a few thousand potential clients and nowhere to take them.

Details: first year call, only do family law, live in a very big city, no lawyers in my ethnic community (~10k people in the province!), I'm well-known in that community, no "job" currently (doing contractor work for a solo), I get calls from potential clients at least several times a week. I have a list of over 70 such calls.

How do I capitalize on this? Should I find a mid-sized 360 firm in town and tell them: I'll bring you all the clients you want, you give me a nice referral fee. keep me on file as a "consulting lawyer" or something like that, so I can bill them for helping with translation and all that.

But: could I ask to be mentored on some of the files so I get to do the work and actually learn/grow?

What's my best move here? (remember: first year call)

EDIT: my long-term goal is to start/run/grow my own practice. I've no interest in being an employee at another firm, in the long run

https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2026/2026onsc2729/2026onsc2729.html

One of those cases you can't help but shake your head at.

The Plaintiff's theory of the case was that the ball stadium had lighting issues prior to the injury, and those lighting issues caused him to not see the ball that was thrown to him. He sought damages against the municipality for failing to maintain the lighting.

The court found the waiver the Plaintiff signed to be invalid, but that the Town had acted reasonably in operating the stadium, and that in any event, the Plaintiff willingly assumed the risk of getting hit.

Who says common sense is dead?

hi! would any female lawyers / law students have any advice on wardrobe essentials for law school/ law things I should keep an eye out for as an incoming 1L? I thrift a lot so having a list would be nice so I can mentally keep note of what to look for!

I would also appreciate any store recommendations or suits you particularly like.

Also, what did you typically wear to class? Is the whole American concept of wearing business casual to law school a Canadian concept as well?

Thanks!

What are your best interview tips for a mid-size boutique firm? I’d love to hear what tends to stand out, whether from your own summer experience or from being involved in hiring. What do you usually look for in a candidate?

My estate attorney hid her pregnancy (and planned maternity leave) and continued to bill me after she knew she would not be able to complete the task I hired her to perform. She also did not transfer the file to another lawyer at the firm, but billed me for the attempt. When she finally disclosed her maternity leave to me, she buried the info in a dense email about something else. When I disputed the invoice that ensued, she ended up trying to charge my credit card for the bogus invoice after I explicitly told her not to, which I believe is considered an "unauthorized charge."

So in 6 months, nothing was accomplished. For the last two months, she knew she would have to drop the file but made no effort to transfer it to another lawyer and ended up having to drop it.

She is trying to downplay my complaints and make me the bad guy because I took a long time to respond to a couple of her emails.

I just graduated from law school with a 72%/B- GPA. I keep looking back to see what I could do differently to become at least above average, and it's just so disheartening knowing my best is still below average.

I do have an articling position secured, but realistically, how much will this affect my job applications after articling? Do I still have to dread sending out my transcripts until I'm 5+ years call?

Hi everyone, I'm new to this subreddit and have recently been accepted to Bora Laskin (Lakehead) school of law. I am from the GTA and want to pursue a career in Toronto (this is a non negotiable for me). I understand landing employment opportunities in Toronto while at Lakehead is doable but not necessarily easy or super common. Should I rethink my decision to accept at this school? For those of you that have attended, what has your recruitment process been like for Toronto positions? Do you truly need to be in top 5-10% of your class to land these?

Does anyone have info on the progressive L&E firms out there?

I'm thinking firms like Cavalluzzo, RavenLaw, etc.

Who are they? What are the known for?

What should I focus on while articling to make the lawyers happy. Also any general advice would be helpful as I’m feeling nervous and unprepared.

I‘ve worked at the same firm since I was called to the bar about 2 years ago. Besides the regular big law stresses, the lawyer I work for is verbally abusive (berating, name calling, belittling in front of others etc.). I am burnt out and I know I need to get out if I want to continue functioning / practicing law at all.

I’ve been looking for jobs but it seems almost all in-house jobs wants 3 or 4 years experience. I’ve been applying anyways, but so far have had no success. I‘ve reached put to a few contacts, but I don’t have a large network of lawyers outside of big law just yet.

People who have left big law / found new roles early in your career, how did you do it? Any advice/experiences would be much appreciated!

Okay I’m nervous to post in this sub because people can be mean but I’m an incoming 1L at a low ranked Canadian law and school and clearly need my grades to carry me through to any worthwhile job and I’m so nervous about how I should study/ prepare or habits I should have from the get go to do well in my 1L year. I understand this can be subjective and depends on the person but I would appreciate any and all advice you may have - tips ro do well; thinks to avoid, resources you recommend. Anything at all! Thank you in advance

Edit : thank you all for the advice!! I wrote this on an anxious walk just now and didn’t expect to get such amazing insights :) if you’re comfortable with doing so, I’d also appreciate hearing what schools you went to!

I am a summer student at a national firm and I need 2 days off in June and 1 day off in July for my sister’s wedding. This would make me unavailable for assignments and I was wondering how this may look, I’m obviously hoping to article and eventually get hired back with the firm and I’m unsure how bringing this topic up after 2 weeks of employment will look…

Any insight is appreciated!

I'm looking at doing my three year law degree, and my interest is in commercia/business law for the earnings and I don't have interest in criminal, family, and other law. I like the idea of negotiations and proofing contracts and all that jazz, it feels within my personal skillset and wheelhouse more.

I do not need to work in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, or Calgary, I'm fine working in smaller cities or towns, so the highly competitive markets there aren't a concern to me. I've heard that many firms overhired during COVID lockdowns and now there is no shortage.

Anyone who's practicing commercial/business law able to chime in and give a view of the current landscape on the job market and how it may develop the next few years?

I provincially accepted uOttawa over Queen’s and Western, Osgoode because I genuinely thought Ottawa fit my goals better. But now I’m kind of second guessing myself because of other people’s reactions/comments.

For context, I had a 171 LSAT and around a 3.7 GPA. I was also accepted to some U.S. schools, but ultimately decided I wanted to stay in Canada. I was initially very set on going to the States, so when I pivoted back to Canada, I admittedly didn’t spend months too much time comparing Canadian schools because I thought prestigious didn’t matter as much for my goals.

I’m most interested in either:
- government / legislation / policy-related law
or
- entertainment / media / IP law

At the time, Ottawa felt like the obvious choice because of the government/policy side of my interests, location in the capital, federal opportunities, etc. I also liked that it felt more aligned with the kind of work I’ve already been involved in.

That said, now that I’ve accepted, I keep getting comments that make me feel like I picked a lower prestige option or made a weird decision. I know Ottawa is well regarded for government/public law, but now I’m wondering if I underestimated how much school reputation matters in Canada overall.

Did I make a reasonable decision here, or should I actually be regretting this?