Articling Debate deferred to Nov. 22

After vigorous debate, the Law Society of Upper Canada’s governing body, Convocation, unanimously agreed on Oct. 25 to defer a decision regarding a pilot project which would end the requirement for law school graduates to complete compulsory articling.

Source: The Gazette

The Law Society of Upper Canada’s first debate about the future of articling was webcast live on Oct. 25 on the Law Society’s online publication, the Gazette.

Convocation unanimously agreed to defer a decision about what articling will look like for future law school graduates, and the webcast and accompanying real-time discussion drew significant attention online.

According to the Gazette, comments from panelists the Law Society had invited to the liveblog were peppered with feedback from a range of people watching the debate in real time.

A hashtag, #articling, which fed social media comments into the liveblog, quickly became one of the most discussed topics on Twitter, trending Canada-wide and reaching No. 1 in Ontario, after being tweeted and re-tweeted hundreds of times.

Nearly 1,100 posts were made to the Law Society Gazette liveblog from 165 unique accounts. More than 225 individuals tuned in to the webcast.

Last Thursday’s meeting stems from a law society task force which stated that the articling system cannot survive in its present form. This comes after 15 per cent of articling applicants in Ontario didn’t get an articling position last year.

The task force recommends the creation of a separate licensing process for those who cannot find articling positions. The process would emphasize course work and a 14-week co-op work placement that would likely be unpaid, similar to what’s done in Australia.

Following the robust and informed debate, Convocation voted to defer a decision until the next Convocation session on November 22.

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Law students set to graduate may soon have an alternative option to articling in Ontario.

According to the Globe and Mail, the governing body of Ontario lawyers – the Law Society of Upper Canada – will vote this week on a proposal to create a licensing process that would bypass the need for articling.

The vote this Thursday stems from a law society task force which stated that the articling system cannot survive in its present form. This comes after 15 per cent of articling applicants in Ontario didn’t get an articling position last year.

The task force recommends the creation of a separate licensing process for those who cannot find articling positions. The process would emphasize course work and a 14-week co-op work placement that would likely be unpaid, similar to what’s done in Australia.

Thursday’s meeting promises to be heated. In a statement Monday, the 4,700-member Advocates Society – an influential lawyers’ organization – endorsed the minority on the task force and said the creation of a two-tiered process will help no one.

Changes to the articling requirement are sure to be welcomed by many law students, said Dylan Chochla, a lawyer at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP who articled at the firm last year. Mr. Chochla said the need to obtain an articling position hangs over students from the day they arrive at law school – an iron-clad requirement that can make or break a legal career.

“Under the current system, a significant number of students do not secure articling positions by the time they graduate and are thus prevented from becoming licensed lawyers until they manage to complete their articles,” Mr. Chochla told the Globe and Mail.

He said recruiting drives take place early in the second year at law school. Once firms have filled their positions, those who are left out have trouble finding an articling position.

“Needless to say, these can be stressful days,” Mr. Chochla said.

Importance of Articling

In theory, articling allows law students to learn the legal ropes at a law firm for 10 months, after which they need only pass a bar admission exam to become lawyers.

But articling has been scrutinized in the past.  Critics says that those lucky enough to land a job often find themselves working punishing hours on menial tasks in return for modest compensation. Meanwhile, members of minority groups consistently maintain that predominantly white, male lawyers tend to be attracted to law students who mirror their own background.

Law society treasurer Tom Conway, who chaired the Ontario task force, said the new program would offer practical training in areas where articling positions are scarce, such as criminal defence work and family law.

“The situation we have now is worse than two-tier,” Mr. Conway said. “We have some licensing candidates who can get jobs, and so get licensed, and we have a group of otherwise qualified and perfectly good lawyers who can’t.”

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