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Toarticle I BY ROBERT TODD The questions surrounding the future of articling are many. There are fewer spaces than students who need them. Does the system need to change? t's a capstone to legal train- ing in Canada, a (manda- tory) right of passage that allows law students to prove they not only have the academic chops to become full-fledged law- yers, but also the nimble- ness to effectively serve their clients in the real world. Unfortunately, for many budding lawyers in Canada, articling — the "bridge" between law school and full-blown legal practice — has now become a barrier to reaching their pro- fessional aspirations. Simply put, a shortage of articling positions has left hundreds of law grads saddled with the prospect of having run up massive student debts for a shot at a profession that has no room left at the inn. The problem — primarily concentrated in Ontario, although British Columbia appears to be experiencing a minor short- age as well — has a straightforward expla- nation. More recent law graduates than ever before are seeking entry to the pro- fession, especially foreign-trained lawyers. Stats show that in 2006, the Law Society of Upper Canada accepted 1,400 registrants to its licensing program. That number spiked to 1,750 in 2010. Meanwhile, in 2008, 5.8 per cent of applicants failed to secure an articling position within their first year of eligibility. That number rose to 12.1 per cent in 2011. More alarming is the fact the short- age threatens to grow in the years ahead, with the University of Ottawa's law school pushing out 100 additional graduates starting next year. Another flood of licensing candidates will soon descend on the profession from new law schools at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., and Quebec's University of Montreal. Luckily for those recent law grads left in the lurch, the profession has heard their cries. The LSUC in May announced plans to create a working group to tackle the issue, much like it did in 2008, when the task force on licensing and accredita- tion balked at the idea of abolishing the articling process after an overwhelming response from the profession. "For some years, the law society has been concerned with issues relating to articling and, in par- ticular, the growing number of unplaced candidates," LSUC Treasurer Laurie Pawlitza told benchers in announcing the new working group, "This is a discussion that will overtake Convocation for some months." LSUC life bencher and University of Ottawa law professor Vern Krishna, who led the 2008 task force and will be part of the working group, agrees that the situa- tion is now as dire as ever. "The supply of students seeking entry into the profession is increasing, and the demand for articling students had not kept pace. So we've got a problem," says Krishna. He points out the situation is further complicated by the fact the vast majority of articling positions in Ontario are concentrated in Toronto and Ottawa, with smaller firms in other areas unable to make a business case for the addition of students. This despite the law society allowing "joint articles," which lets two or more law firms share the burden of taking a student on for the 10-month articling term. Aside from the expense, some suggest lawyers in smaller centres are reluctant to take on students for fear they will then go and set up shop across the street and poach clients once they're called to the bar. At the same time, students seem drawn to the perceived glitz and glamour of Bay Street. "There are some places, like Thunder Bay, which want articling stu- dents, but nobody wants to go there," says Krishna. "So it's not only what the firms want, it's what the students want, and where they want to live." All of this, says Krishna, has prompted the law society to go back to the drawing board and determine whether articling is the only viable way to ensure new lawyers are up to snuff. "The critical test is not, 'Articling or not articling.' The critical test is, 'How can we ensure the competence of those who are licensed and qualified as lawyers to render services to the public?' That is the question that has to be answered, and articling is a means towards that end. The question that we have to address is, 'Is that the only means to the end?'" Krishna says he and the working group will approach the question with an open mind, and don't expect to come up with an answer any time soon. Alan Treleaven, director of education and practice at the Law Society of British www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com A U GUST 2011 45 or not to article ? ALEXI VELLA