TIPS FOR PRINCIPALS 4
Once you've decided you're ready to make the leap and hire an articling student, get the word out. That doesn't have to mean a big marketing push, says Justin Clark. In 2010, he was a speaker at the Law Society of Upper Canada's inaugural Arti- cling & Beyond Symposium, an event that returned in 2011. The symposium brought together more than 200 students and new lawyers, as well as close to 100 experi- enced practitioners looking to make con- nections. "It's about getting out there in the community, and letting people know we're here. Students are always quite interested to know there are firms out there looking to hire," he says.
As well as online advertising, Clark's firm has logged entries on articling registries run by law societies and law schools. The LSUC maintains its own registry, while the Canadian Bar Association's B.C. branch runs a similar listing, as well as a separate one for those interested in shared articles.
B.C. articles registry: cba.org/bc/bc_ articling/articlings/mainlogin.aspx
LSUC articling registry: articlingregistry. lsuc.on.ca/ArticleRegistry/article/Login.action
Marie Gordon's composite articles list: lawsociety.ab.ca/advisory_2010/advisory_ volume_8_issue_2_Apr2010/news/ composite.aspx
Joint articles can be as useful for principals as for students, allowing lawyers to give back to the profession at half the cost, or even less. Marie Gordon of Edmonton firm Gordon Zwaenepoel set up a composite article roster for Alberta practitioners prepared to supervise a student for at least two months of the 10-month articling requirement. "It seemed to me that it was unfair to place all the onus on the students, since they are the ones with the least number of contacts and resources," says Gordon. She says the idea is particularly attractive to small, specialized firms that often feel unable to support a student alone. "In areas like criminal and fam- ily law, students really want to see if this is an area they can practise in and they're frustrated when nobody seems to be offering articles. It's particularly crucial that students get exposure to family law, because we have such a shortage of lawyers in that area in Alberta," she says. ■
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