Any neurospicy lawyers practicing have any tips on time keeping? The various pulls for attention throughout the day have me posting .5 for a 10 hour work day and I feel like I am always back tracking trying to reconfigure what I have done in the day… also for those folks who wanna say “just post as you go” that doesn’t work for me and hasn’t since I started in practice YEARS ago… I’m looking for something new that might work for me if it works for others with non neurotypical brains…

TYIA <3 much love and appreciation

I got called to the Ontario Bar in June 2025, and honestly, I’m at a point where I don’t know what to do anymore.

I’m an internationally trained lawyer with 4.5 years of litigation experience back home. Before doing the LPP, I actually secured an articling position at a well-known downtown Toronto firm. Four months in, they told me I needed more training and suggested I pursue the LPP instead. So I did.

I ended up doing my LPP placement with MAG’s Civil Law Division, working in a niche area and regulatory law matters. I genuinely thought I’d made it. I got into the government hireback pool, had several interviews, but nothing turned into an offer. There’s always someone more senior or an internal candidate who gets the job.

After the LPP, I worked as an associate for a solo practitioner in a niche area of law. I was billing around 140 hours a month with barely any mentorship. That job ended after I asked about a raise that had been promised in my offer letter.

And since then? Nothing.

I’ve applied to countless firms. Government at least interviews me. Private practice doesn’t even call. I recently applied to a well-known firm hiring junior lawyers, only to see them hire two fresh calls who had articled at Bay Street firms. Nothing against them, but it really made me wonder whether my experience means anything here.

I’ve networked like crazy. Coffee chats, LinkedIn messages, reaching out to partners, associates, recruiters. I’m an extrovert, I genuinely enjoy meeting people, but I’m exhausted. Every conversation ends with “keep in touch” or “something will work out.” But when?

I’m starting to wonder if being an ITL or doing the LPP is actually working against me. I see other ITLs who got their foot in the door through traditional articling and were hired back. Sometimes I wonder how different things would’ve been if my articling had worked out.

I’m not even asking for a fancy job or a huge salary. I’m happy to start junior, learn, and work my way up. I just want a chance.

At this point, I’m seriously considering opening my own practice, not because I’m ready, but because I feel like I have no choice. My background is in litigation and regulatory law. I know nothing about family law, immigration or wills and estates. I have zero clients, no real mentorship, and the thought of going solo honestly terrifies me.

I feel like an imposter. I went from handling complex litigation back home to struggling to get an interview for a junior lawyer position here. It’s financially and mentally exhausting.

So I genuinely want to ask: Is there a stigma around LPP graduates or ITLs in Ontario? Am I missing something? Has anyone been in this position and actually managed to turn things around?

And for those who’ve gone solo with little Canadian experience, how did you even begin?

Please don’t tell me to just network more. I promise I’ve tried. I just want to practise law and build a career. I didn’t think it would be this hard.

I am a 9 year call on mat leave and expecting second child. I am not returning to my previous firm. When and how do I disclosure that I am expecting to deliver in the coming months when interviewing with new firms. I interviewed with a firm and learned that they are looking to have someone take over another lawyers practice while she is on mat leave. I initially decided to disclose it after I received an offer/accept an offer. I feel deceitful not disclosing it off the bat but I also recognize I am under no obligation to disclose the pregnancy at this stage. Looking for some guidance/advice on how to handle this. I don’t want this to damage my reputation.

It’s going to be a long haul but I can’t wait to get out of this billable hours nonsense

Hi everyone, i am a fresh grad from law school and i passed the bar and got called, but have been struggling a lot with finding a job. i am interested in corporate law and i don't care to work on bay street (yet because i know i have to get my foot in the door somewhere first). i've done a ton of networking, cold calling and emailing and applied to actual job postings on Indeed and LinkedIn. I am desperate to find work!!!

I'm wondering if anyone has had any luck with reaching out to legal recruitment firms and agencies who are the middleman in helping you get hired i.e. they sort of play a matchmaker role between you and the firm. Does anyone have any experience working with a recruitment firm or a legal recruiter? How was your experience and is it worth contacting them? any advice is appreciated.

Reputable Ontario school, decent grades, reputable in-house articling role where no one got hired back. Been a few months and can hardly get an interview.

Going back to the drawing board but goddamn wasn’t supposed to go this way - is the market especially bad or am I just approaching this wrong.

I recently came back from maternity leave. My child still does not sleep well. They spent a year averaging 5 or 6 wakes a night (with many nights sooo much worse), and we're down to about 3 now...

I'm back at work and my brain just isn't functioning. I realize most of the problem is that I'm not getting enough sleep, but its unclear to me how I resolve this issue (and be assured, we've tried pretty much everything)

I'm so worried that I'm going to make a mistake, but also, at a basic level I'm just finding it so hard to compete things or multitask between files to get responses to even get simple emails out in a timely manner. Maybe I just need to quit?? Do you get used to this... or...? I don't know.... im working reduced hours already, but tbh, that might just be making it harder.

Kid is in daycare, but pick up is earlier than the end of my work day, and so theoretically I need to catch up on hours after kid goes to bed, but I'm just so tired.

I suppose this equates more to a rant than a question, but I'm just mystified and worried.

Hello!

I am completing an assignment and am looking for some insights from practising lawyers in Canada. I need to address some of the most common misconceptions about evidence for Canadians. This can include things like admissibility, privileged communications, character evidence, hearsay, etc.

Lawyers: What are some of the most common/egregious misconceptions concerning evidence that you see in the wild?

hello! 👋

My name is Josh! I’m 24, I’m a third year in criminology and I was in the Canadian armed forces for three years. I like avocados and playing video games.

I am new to Reddit and started up an instagram page last week to share law related content. I started diving into topics such as what is law and mentioned notable SCC cases like Oakes test, Anns test, and R v. Herbert. I’m hoping I can build a community where like minded people can connect and want to learn more about law. I have a passion pursuing it as a career path into law school and becoming a lawyers. My goal is to learn and grow with others who do as well.

So I wanted to come out and ask what it actually means of being a lawyer. How did you get into pursuing it, what’s you’re story or background, and why do you love your job or/ dislike it 😂 Has the industry changed compared to what it was like before phones and do you have any advice or wisdom as I begin to study for my LSAT’s.

I don’t want to be foolish and say I’m interested in a particular area, I like to remain realistic and keep an open mind. First finish the degree and get in the law school first. I am possibly interested in crown prosecutor or something in social justice. If there any crowns or those who work in the area I’m mentioning I would really love to hear more about you.

I am currently in 3L and I am stressing about finding an articling position. I did not secure a 2l position, so I spent this summer networking and unfortunately did not land in the articling recruit. Post the 2L recruit, after not landing I applied intensively but did not land an interview for any of the roles I applied for. I cold called and cold emailed over 100 law firms but got no response and the ones that did respond communicated that they no longer had any need for a student. I feel so demotivated and have hated how law school turned out for me. My grades are average, I have great volunteer experience but it seems it does not matter. I have been networking and applying to positions that come up but I am scared last year will repeat itself. I am interested in finance because that is where my experiences pre law school has been in however my clinical experience was in a different area of law.. I have significant work experience and I believe in pushing through regardless of how life turns out. But at this point I don't know what more to do, I got an interview coach - paid a lot of money for it, did over 40 coffee chats over the course of the summer, I network, I cold emailed. I do not know what more to do, it makes me wonder if submitting my application is even worth it. I was in a field that I did really well in prior to law school and decided to pursue law as that has been my dream since I was a kid. I enjoy learning the law but this entire experience has just been gut wrenching. Especially going from an honors student to an average student. I actually just want to thrive, I need some advice on what to do moving forward.

I applied for a role in estates litigation; has anyone worked in this area with KPMG or have an idea of what the role or environment is like? My current role is chill with less than 1,300 hours and pay is $100k. I don't want to kill my life for another $40-50k.

I'm studying law in uni and there's one concept I can't wrap my head around fully. Under section 91 Criminal law belongs to the federal government and they have sole jurisdiction in creating crimes. However, how come Ontario/Alberta/Quebec courts can oversee criminal cases and decide on crimes despite criminal law before criminal cases ever reach the SCC despite criminal law being under federal jurisdiction. Did the federal government just relinquish this power to administer courts and prosecute willingly? And if serious cases are handled exclusively in lower/trial courts without ever going to superior court with a federally appointed judge then does that not all remain with the provinces? Or is it just because the federal government created the criminal code that the provinces use that it remains in federal jurisdiction despite it being handled by provinces? I think I'm getting lost in the weeds here. Please any help would be majorly appreciated I don't know what's not clicking.

Is there any sort of volunteering or summer, even part time positions an undergraduate student can take to gain exposure to the law, primarily criminal law? I know most of these things are limited to law school students, just wondering if it’s there for any undergrads. I was considering changing my undergraduate pathway from poli sci to accounting just so I can have a good internship/job during uni and do law school after

Hi everyone! I have a first-round, in-person interview for an articling position coming up. Should I bring printed copies of my résumé and reference letters, even if the firm hasn’t asked me to?

Is there anything else I should bring or keep in mind for the interview? I really like this firm, which is honestly making me even more nervous. I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from anyone who has been through an in-person articling interview before. Thank you!

Is this common practice in the legal industry?

TLDR: Is it foolish to treat the Paralegal Licensing exam as a refresher course for the sake of improving my chances getting hired. Should I instead work on getting BBB's in French or is there another option I'm not considering?

I (33m) graduated from the Paralegal course (ON) in 2016 but opted not to get licensed because I was lucky enough to get a job soon after that did not require it. The last ten years have not always been kind and I have not always made the best choices so unfortunately I have about 5 years of experience in the last ten years and almost none in the last 3. Up until a little while ago I was for all practical purposes a shut in for the past 3 years. I am currently trying to rebuild my life and a big part of that is hopefully my career.

I have sent out almost 350 resumes in the last 7 months and the majority of those were tailored with good cover letters targeting key words but I have had very few bites. I get it the gap in my resume is large and my overall experience is not super impressive.

I am currently in between going all in on getting my BBB's in French (currently around AXA) or taking the licensing exam to show employers that I still know what I'm doing. Both are not cheap options but I am not sure what to do otherwise.

Direct answers to my question are obviously welcome but I would be very grateful for any advice in general thank you.

Family lawyer, 3rd year call.

Job is immensely stressful. My stress mostly comes from: billable targets; partner-imposed deadlines/work standards; demanding clients.

Colleagues are nice, mentorship is good. Billable targets are very reasonable - I’m just a scatterbrain, inefficient, and not exceptionally industrious, so everything’s a challenge.

I’m not really enjoying life. Vacations aren’t fun, they just feel like postponing the inevitable. I don’t have enough time or mental/physical energy for who and what I love.

Thinking about going solo or government. Any experience with these? Any other ideas?

Thank you for your thoughts!

I’m articling right now and honestly, I’m having a harder time with it than I expected. I also have two bar exams to write, and I feel like I’m struggling to keep up with everything.

The office politics part is something I can’t seem to figure out. I don’t always know how to read people or situations, when to speak up, or who I can ask questions without feeling like I’m being annoying. I find myself overthinking interactions and I don’t really know how to get better at this.

Outside of work, I’ve been pretty lonely and just kind of directionless. My energy is low most of the time. I’ll have ideas about studying or doing something other than work, but then I get home and don’t feel up to much.

I also can’t seem to properly get started with studying for the bar exams. I keep telling myself I need to start, but I’m not really getting into a routine or making much progress. Then I feel worse about not studying, but that doesn’t seem to translate into actually doing it. The exams are always in the back of my mind, so even when I’m doing nothing, it doesn’t really feel like a break.

I’m not totally sure what I need, which is probably part of the problem. But if anyone has been in a similar spot, what helped? Especially with navigating office dynamics, actually getting started on bar prep while articling, or just having some kind of reassurance in all of this.

I worked in criminal for articling and then approximately 6 months under my own name with mentorship/connection from my old firm (they simply did not have enough space for me to stay after I was an associate there for a few months post-articling). This was in the Lower Mainland.

I am now looking to move back to the Okanagan and hoping to find an associate position in family or even something general practice. Any leads would be more than appreciated! Please DM. Thanks!

I’m currently a second year student at Trent university in Ontario and I’m doing a program that is a dual degree from Trent and Swansea university in Wales. It has my first 2 years at Trent, years 3-5 in Wales, and then my 6th year back at Trent in Ontario. One I’m done with that I’d be able to practice law within Canada. Since I’m in my second year I’d be going to Wales next year but I’m honestly having second thoughts. I’ve heard a lot of people say that studying law in the UK and then coming back to Canada isn’t the best? I recently visited Calgary this summer and I met someone who was at UCalgary for law and she told me that it has been easier for her to make connections and things like that since she is also going to practice law in Calgary/in Canada. I would definitely be saving myself and my parents lots of money by continuing with this program as it’s cheaper than the bigger law schools in Canada. Is anyone else doing this program or has anyone else gone to the UK to study law? I am having serious second thoughts on this and I would love to hear advice!

I sat through a trial recently and found it so difficult to keep up with the pace of the testimony for each witness. I get that improving my typing speed would obviously assist, but can lawyers use audio recorders during trials?

Has anyone interviewed for an articling position with an insurance company like Intact, Economical? What do they tend to focus on? Substantive legal questions or behavioral ones?

Basically title. I'm honestly not sure if it might be perceived the wrong way if I just shot this person a message on LinkedIn just to say hey ...also a [school] alum, I have an interview scheduled with [Senior Partner & HR] next week, I'm really interested in joining the firm, just wanted to learn about your experience working there since being called this year after articling with them. Is this weird? Does it seem too transactional somehow? I'm not trying to name drop him in the interview or anything as a reference.

Also, I'm seeking articling if it makes any difference.