Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
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Crown prosecutor and association act- ing president Marco Mendicino argues lawyers should have been an exception given the longstanding salary gap be- tween them and their provincial gov- ernment and private sector colleagues. "We feel that we were entitled to more. If you take a look at the schism between what most of our lawyers at the interme- diate range make . . . the amount of that gap is staggering," he says, referring to comparisons with staff working for pro- vincial governments. The association has also battled on questions of compensation for overtime as well as workload, which Mendicino says has increased as the federal government has moved into new legal territory with beefed-up laws on terrorism and guns and gangs. "There is no doubt as dedicat- ed professionals, we work well over 37.5 hours per week," he says. "It goes without saying that there are many instances where lawyers work overtime and simply do not seek compensation, and even when they do, they receive time off at a ratio that's far less than one-for-one." In June, in the absence of an agreement, the parties took those matters to arbitra- tion, a situation that has them waiting for an award that will establish a first contract for federal lawyers. For his part, Mendici- no says he's disappointed efforts to redress the salary issue failed, something he says leaves the public service with major chal- lenges in recruiting and retaining legal talent. "While that may be true, what the overall number does not reflect is that we are losing many of our most venerable and most senior lawyers who are simply cross- ing the street to work for our provincial counterparts principally because they will be compensated better." The problem is one the government acknowledges. In its most recent annual report, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada notes it came in under budget in 2007-08 in part because of staff retention problems. "The salaries of prosecutors and lawyers in some regions of Canada continue to increase, which affects the PPSC's ability to retain its highly skilled prosecutors, hence creating a personnel shortage. Due to the competition for scarce resources, not all vacant positions were filled," says the report. But in the end, people like Sullivan say working in the public service has its rewards. In his case, the ability to move between positions allowed him to leave a dissatisfying job at the Ministry of La- bour to his current one with the acces- sibility directorate. As a result, he advises anyone considering a career in the public sector to take advantage of that mobility to find the right fit. "You should probably be open to something where you think you can make a difference . . . because life is short, so you don't want to waste it on pursuing someone else's agenda," he says. Mendicino, too, says despite the pay gap, working as a government lawyer has its advantages, particularly at the entry level where the salaries are still competi- tive. "I feel that without a doubt that going into the public service as a federal govern- ment lawyer remains a unique and special opportunity. What we have to do now is find ways to keep the best and brightest with us . . . right until retirement, and we are not there yet." n intellectual property REACH & REWARD Meaningful work is in your grasp at Bereskin & Parr LLP. One of Canada's foremost IP law firms, it's also a place that values its people – and your input. And that makes Bereskin & Parr a great place to grow. We invite you to join us. www.bereskinparr.com 1.888.364.7311 TORONTO MISSISS A UG A WA TERLOO MONTRÉA L Untitled-4 1 C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS SEPT E MB E R 2009 19 7/14/09 4:01:32 PM