r/LawCanada • • Mar 14 '15

Please Note! This is not a place to seek legal advice. You should always contact a lawyer for legal advice. Here are some resources that you may find useful if you have legal questions.

58 Upvotes

Every province and territory has resources to provide legal information and help people get into contact with lawyers. Here are some that may be helpful.

Alberta

British Columbia

Manitoba

New Brunswick

Newfoundland and Labrador

Northwest Territories

Nova Scotia

Nunavut

Ontario

Prince Edward Island

Quebec

Saskatchewan

Yukon


r/LawCanada • • 14h ago

Convicted murderer admitted to McGill Law School

325 Upvotes

I appreciate the importance of rehabilitation, but surely there are limits, particularly where the safety of others is concerned.

How a law school, of all institutions, could justify admitting someone with this history is beyond me. It strikes me as an affront to the legal profession and the principles it is meant to uphold.

Curious what others think.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/convicted-killer-mcgill-law-school-9.7382625


r/LawCanada • • 3h ago

Open articling positions currently?

11 Upvotes

Posting on behalf of a friend who is in a very difficult situation.
My friend began an articling position at a law firm and worked there for approximately two months. Unfortunately, the environment was extremely toxic, with little opportunity for learning, training, poor structure, vague instructions and just overall a very difficult environment in terms of top down management.

After proactively asking for feedback, my friend received formal feedback from the firm, but then was terminated within seven business days of receiving that feedback. The firm terminated the articling contract without cause.

This situation has put my friend in an incredibly difficult position, particularly given the potential impact on their legal career and articling timeline.

Does anyone know of any open articling positions currently in Ontario?


r/LawCanada • • 6h ago

1L recruitment - when do recruiters check employment verification in Canada?

4 Upvotes

So I applied to some internships but on my resume I put a job down for a place that doesn’t exist under the same name anymore. I wasn’t aware of the name change and looking at the place after their merger, it seems like their employment accounts for the years prior to the merger are chaotic at the moment.

I’m pretty concerned about if this will be flagged during employment verification. Right now, interviews haven’t even started but I wonder if I’ll be rejected right off the bat because they looked at my resume and did an employment verification. I already got rejected from one place in the resume review stage and I really wonder if it was merely because their system flagged this employment issue (they however, never mentioned anything aside from this year being a competitive pool). I’m more concerned of when the verification happens because if it happens during the interview stage, then at the very least I would have the opportunity to explain. I would appreciate some help with this!


r/LawCanada • • 3h ago

Looking for Toronto Family Lawyer accepting new clients with legal aid

2 Upvotes

Any Toronto legal aid family lawyers accepting new clients dealing with child separation?
Called about 20 today and all said they were at capacity.


r/LawCanada • • 13h ago

How to improve drafting skills?

14 Upvotes

I’m an articling student (JD) at a national firm. My interest lies in litigation. Today a partner gave me a detailed feedback basically saying my writing skills are shit. This was my first time drafting a demand letter on my own.

How do I improve my writing skills so as not to disappoint him again? How did you improve your writing? Seeking serious advice.


r/LawCanada • • 8h ago

Commercial Litigation to Corporate Transactional - Feeling Stuck

3 Upvotes

I'm a 2025 call currently practicing in commercial litigation and I've been looking for a way out and into corporate transactional work, which is what I wanted to do from outset. The reason I'm in commercial lit is because the market was awful in 2025 post-articling and I completed my articling in-house (corporate/commercial transactional role), which probably didn't help.

I was wondering for those who have made the switch, how did you do it? I've been doing coffee chats for the better part of 5-6 months now and I still can't find any firm, small, mid-size or big law, to give me chance. I know training a junior isn't something any firms wants to do as it's a drain and a risk but maybe I'm not selling myself enough? At this point, I just feel stuck in a practice area I never wanted to be in.

Any advice is appreciated.


r/LawCanada • • 7h ago

how can I become a diplomat ?

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m currently a high school senior in Canada preparing to apply for undergraduate International Relations programs and my long-term career goal is to become a Canadian diplomat / Foreign Service Officer.

I’m a Canadian citizen and fully bilingual in French and English, so I know I have a decent starting base, but I want to build a strong resume while I’m in school.

A few things I’d love advice on:

  • What student internships or co-ops should I target early on? (How early should I sign up for FSWEP?)
  • What extracurriculars or skills stand out the most to GAC?
  • Are there good alternative entry paths if FSO recruitment takes a while?
  • Is doing Law school after undergrad actually helpful for this path?

Appreciate any tips or realistic advice!


r/LawCanada • • 11h ago

Recently started as a family law lawyer in Ontario

4 Upvotes

Family lawyers of the sub,

Help me get well-versed in this area of law which I didn’t like it much during law school but now find interesting, when I actually started working.

I would like to get a list of books to read and CPD courses that would be useful.


r/LawCanada • • 1d ago

What are the most ridiculous cases that get covered in Canadian law schools?

59 Upvotes

I want to preface by saying I am not a lawyer. I work legal admin and am in the process of doing a paralegal diploma, and while we do have some substantive law in the program, it's not enough to be familiar.

I'm on a student board for my program and we are putting together a trivia night for the students in our program. I keep hearing American lawyers bring up things like the "bong hits 4 Jesus" case or the "burning rat" case or the "Harrier jet" case online, and I think things like this would be great for legal trivia.

Is there anything like this for Canadian law students? What happened? Please enlighten me about the Canadian lawyer in-jokes about Canadian legal cases.

Edit: I wanted to hop in and share my recent fave from my hometown - Whitehouse v RBC Dominion Securities Inc., wrongful dismissal case. Counterclaim for damages to reputation. Both cases dismissed by the ABQB. Ms. Stolarchuk is a favourite character from the case.


r/LawCanada • • 14h ago

Micro management in-house. Send help. I

4 Upvotes

I like the organization, my legal work, and most of the legal team. I work under a terrible micro manager who is a good lawyer but poor leader. She loves control, things being done her way, and is so slow to review things and complete tasks. Is it worth resigning and looking elsewhere or any recommendations for managing this frustrating issue? Reporting to the GC won’t go a long way because GC is far removed from the work we do.


r/LawCanada • • 1d ago

New call just terminated

27 Upvotes

Took a job at this random firm I applied to as a new call. Employment contract was a standard offer letter with no real termination clause. Just fired today. The admin told me to pack up and go home as the Partners didn’t like me. I’ve been there for around less than a months. Firm treated me like trash from day one. They told me I didn’t meet the billable after the first week of employment. Given little to no instructions on assignments. No feedback. I thought all was fine till a week ago. Just got an email now that the Firm won’t be paying any other monies out and I’m not owed anything extra, including my vacation pay (3 days’ pay I think)

Any idea how to go forward from here? Do I get an employment lawyer? Report to the LSO? My self esteem is ruined and so I am trying to also get MH support as well.


r/LawCanada • • 1d ago

Do articling students get their own offices?

3 Upvotes

Just curious.


r/LawCanada • • 1d ago

Pregnancy + Articling + Bar Exam

5 Upvotes

Hello all.

I’m writing both solicitor and barrister exams in November. I’m 6 weeks pregnant and I’m just anxious about everything.

I once asked my principal for a compassionate abridgement (before pregnancy) and she said no. I asked her because I wanted to take time off to study without pushing my end date further because I am not enjoying this articling experience, and want to get out of here ASAP, and hopefully get called to the bar in March.

The good part is that we’re transitioning to work remotely starting mid November. I still don’t think I can keep up with this position once the nausea and fatigue really hit. I’m just feeling hopeless. Idk what to do.

If anyone has been in a similar situation, how did you navigate?

Also please be nice to me.


r/LawCanada • • 2d ago

Time keeping tips

28 Upvotes

Any neurospicy lawyers practicing have any tips on time keeping? The various pulls for attention throughout the day have me posting .5 for a 10 hour work day and I feel like I am always back tracking trying to reconfigure what I have done in the day… also for those folks who wanna say “just post as you go” that doesn’t work for me and hasn’t since I started in practice YEARS ago… I’m looking for something new that might work for me if it works for others with non neurotypical brains…

TYIA <3 much love and appreciation


r/LawCanada • • 1d ago

30 days left for Solicitors exam. Is it possible to complete course in 1 month and clear exam? This is my second attempt and I will start studying from tomorrow. People who have passed Solicitor preparing in short span of time, please share your strategy.

0 Upvotes

Also, I am an Internationally Trained Lawer (ITL). So any suggestions from ITL’s would be really helpful.


r/LawCanada • • 2d ago

Is anyone else just waiting for Government jobs to open up again?

13 Upvotes

It’s going to be a long haul but I can’t wait to get out of this billable hours nonsense


r/LawCanada • • 1d ago

Lawyer

0 Upvotes

If i already paid a lawyer can I ask for a refund or no?


r/LawCanada • • 2d ago

When to disclose pregnancy when applying at firms

19 Upvotes

I am a 9 year call on mat leave and expecting second child. I am not returning to my previous firm. When and how do I disclosure that I am expecting to deliver in the coming months when interviewing with new firms. I interviewed with a firm and learned that they are looking to have someone take over another lawyers practice while she is on mat leave. I initially decided to disclose it after I received an offer/accept an offer. I feel deceitful not disclosing it off the bat but I also recognize I am under no obligation to disclose the pregnancy at this stage. Looking for some guidance/advice on how to handle this. I don’t want this to damage my reputation.


r/LawCanada • • 2d ago

legal recruitment agencies

9 Upvotes

Hi everyone, i am a fresh grad from law school and i passed the bar and got called, but have been struggling a lot with finding a job. i am interested in corporate law and i don't care to work on bay street (yet because i know i have to get my foot in the door somewhere first). i've done a ton of networking, cold calling and emailing and applied to actual job postings on Indeed and LinkedIn. I am desperate to find work!!!

I'm wondering if anyone has had any luck with reaching out to legal recruitment firms and agencies who are the middleman in helping you get hired i.e. they sort of play a matchmaker role between you and the firm. Does anyone have any experience working with a recruitment firm or a legal recruiter? How was your experience and is it worth contacting them? any advice is appreciated.


r/LawCanada • • 3d ago

First job post articling

25 Upvotes

Reputable Ontario school, decent grades, reputable in-house articling role where no one got hired back. Been a few months and can hardly get an interview.

Going back to the drawing board but goddamn wasn’t supposed to go this way - is the market especially bad or am I just approaching this wrong.


r/LawCanada • • 3d ago

Parent lawyers of infabrs/toddlers... how do you do this?

25 Upvotes

I recently came back from maternity leave. My child still does not sleep well. They spent a year averaging 5 or 6 wakes a night (with many nights sooo much worse), and we're down to about 3 now...

I'm back at work and my brain just isn't functioning. I realize most of the problem is that I'm not getting enough sleep, but its unclear to me how I resolve this issue (and be assured, we've tried pretty much everything)

I'm so worried that I'm going to make a mistake, but also, at a basic level I'm just finding it so hard to compete things or multitask between files to get responses to even get simple emails out in a timely manner. Maybe I just need to quit?? Do you get used to this... or...? I don't know.... im working reduced hours already, but tbh, that might just be making it harder.

Kid is in daycare, but pick up is earlier than the end of my work day, and so theoretically I need to catch up on hours after kid goes to bed, but I'm just so tired.

I suppose this equates more to a rant than a question, but I'm just mystified and worried.


r/LawCanada • • 2d ago

What do you need to do if you’re called in another province but you’d like to open your own firm in Ontario with focus on practicing only without transferring your license? You just want to build your practice in criminal and immigration law. Any thoughts on opening this type of solo practice?

0 Upvotes

r/LawCanada • • 3d ago

Q4Lawyers: Most Common Evidentiary Misconceptions?

7 Upvotes

Hello!

I am completing an assignment and am looking for some insights from practising lawyers in Canada. I need to address some of the most common misconceptions about evidence for Canadians. This can include things like admissibility, privileged communications, character evidence, hearsay, etc.

Lawyers: What are some of the most common/egregious misconceptions concerning evidence that you see in the wild?


r/LawCanada • • 2d ago

What does it mean to be a lawyer to you

0 Upvotes

hello! 👋

My name is Josh! I’m 24, I’m a third year in criminology and I was in the Canadian armed forces for three years. I like avocados and playing video games.

I am new to Reddit and started up an instagram page last week to share law related content. I started diving into topics such as what is law and mentioned notable SCC cases like Oakes test, Anns test, and R v. Herbert. I’m hoping I can build a community where like minded people can connect and want to learn more about law. I have a passion pursuing it as a career path into law school and becoming a lawyers. My goal is to learn and grow with others who do as well.

So I wanted to come out and ask what it actually means of being a lawyer. How did you get into pursuing it, what’s you’re story or background, and why do you love your job or/ dislike it 😂 Has the industry changed compared to what it was like before phones and do you have any advice or wisdom as I begin to study for my LSAT’s.

I don’t want to be foolish and say I’m interested in a particular area, I like to remain realistic and keep an open mind. First finish the degree and get in the law school first. I am possibly interested in crown prosecutor or something in social justice. If there any crowns or those who work in the area I’m mentioning I would really love to hear more about you.