Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50715
look to our students as the pool that we wish to recruit from. As a result, it's impor- tant for the fi rm to give our students a rich and rewarding learning experience." Zinman wouldn't say whether she thinks it's fair for fi rms like Gowlings to carry the majority of the burden in train- ing Canada's budding lawyers. "I'm not comfortable answering that one. We invest in students because we believe that it's an important commitment to the practice." She also says it's too soon to comment on whether it's worthwhile to pursue al- ternatives to articling. "We'll have to see what the working group from the law society proposes, and the feedback that they receive from the benchers and the bar, and the consultations that they do with students who are seeking positions," says Zinman. "Historically, Gowlings has supported the development of students into lawyers, and we expect to take this position and support the law society as it moves through this process." Michael Johnston, a Brockville, Ont., lawyer who represents many of Ontario's small-town lawyers as president of the County and District Law Presidents' As- sociation, says it would be ideal for each law fi rm — big or small — to take on at least one articling student each year. He applauds the LSUC for creating the joint articling program, which helps small fi rms and sole practitioners address the aff ord- ability and mentoring issues that crop up when weighing the benefi ts of taking a student on. He also notes that many older lawyers in small centres are actually eager to attract articling students as potential successors when they wind down their practices. "Unless there are the young law- yers, who have to go through the articling process, there may be greater challenges in the future," says Johnston. He believes there's more to the problem than a lack of resources in the rural bar, although it certainly plays a part. "Possibly, the larger centres, the larger fi rms, may have a cer- tain appeal to students, and part of that may be the mentoring, part of that may be the type of work that they're going to be exposed to. Th at's not to say that they wouldn't be exposed to the same thing in a smaller community, but it's more diffi cult for fi rms in smaller communities to take on articling positions, and part of that is a question of aff ordability. You can only bill what the market will bear." Stephanie Sugar, president of the Uni- versity of Western Ontario's Student Le- gal Society, agrees that law students may need to "expand our scope a little" and consider opportunities beyond Toronto and Ottawa, even if they're few and far between. "I don't know that students nec- essarily give those other options enough consideration," she says. At the same time, Sugar is reluctant to suggest that articling should be discarded on account of the current shortage of po- sitions. She points to the lack of practi- cal, hands-on experience aff orded by law schools. "Many students would agree that to lose articling altogether is a real disser- vice," she says. "I don't know that students would feel confi dent going out and prac- lation is unwarranted. Th ey may allude to other professions, such as teaching and nursing, that in the past have impressed upon students the fact that the job market is tough, and they may not land the posi- tion they want aſt er their training. "Th at's one option," says Krishna. "But I think that's an option that should prevail regardless of what method you have. We are not guaran- tors of success in becoming qualifi ed. Our body is a licensing and regulatory body. It's concerned with ensuring competence." Unfortunately, the "no guarantee" ap- proach does not solve the problem. Krish- na notes that most candidates will simply look at such a warning and conclude that it won't apply to them, but rather the per- son sitting next to them. "I don't like to use words like 'crisis' because I think they can be used too easily and too oſt en," he says. I don't know that students would feel confident going out and practising and being licensed without having some kind of experience. So however it is that we need to work it out, I think it's important to keep the articling. STEPHANIE SUGAR, UWO STUDENT LEGAL SOCIETY tising and being licensed without having some kind of experience. So however it is that we need to work it out, I think it's im- portant to keep the articling." Yet Queen's dean Flanagan believes it's essential the profession takes a serious look at the consequences of not adequate- ly probing alternatives. "If we don't, what we're really saying is we're now placing an artifi cial cap on the number of people who gain admission to the profession. A cap that is really unrelated to anything other than the availability of articling positions, which doesn't really relate to the need for legal services. It's just a question of which fi rms can aff ord to hire articling students, and I don't think that's the best way to de- termine entry to the profession." Th ere are those who will say all of this concern about outcomes for a relatively small segment of the law graduate popu- "But it is a pressing problem, and it is not one that is likely to abate if leſt untouched. . . . Even if we decide to do nothing, we should address it. Doing nothing should be an informed decision to do nothing, rather than a decision that results from apathy or inactivity." Th ere are likely to be more than a few law students who read this article and question the sanity of running up massive debt in pursuit of a career in a profession without a guaranteed job. It will be en- couraging for them to hear that Flanagan believes there is something diff erent about this round of LSUC investigations into the future of articling. "My sense is that the law society is very serious about it this time," he says. "Th ey want there to be fair and equal access to the profession for all who are qualifi ed. Th at means we need to rethink articling." ■ C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS F all 2011 21