BC Crown Counsel (level 1) Job

[CrimLawAspirant]

Hi all, 

I am currently articling in criminal defence in Vancouver, and wish to transition to Crown upon my call next year. I am wondering if folks who went through the BC Crown Counsel (level 1) job application will be willing to share what's really involved in the assessment and interview stages, and their own experiences. In particular, I am curious when the jobs will be open for applying (I assume it will be during my articles early next year) and what resources should I be reviewing to prepare for any assessments/interview.

Further, will the process be fairly standard across all BC Crown offices/locations or will it vary? 

By way of background, I have focused pretty much on criminal law throughout law school, and have spent my 2L summer and now articles working in criminal defence. 

Thanks!

[GoBigOrGoHome]

NAL (yet) but former public servant that spent a bunch of time hanging out with some Crown. 
 

A heads up that if you aren’t already aware, to get in, you will likely need to apply for a job in some small community that no one wants to work in. The competition to get in to more desirable areas like Vancouver is fierce. 
 

There are also some who got themselves into the public service and applied internally for positions. But I wouldn’t recommend doing that because the longer you are away from legal practice the harder it is to jump back. 
 

I am sure there are some crown can comment but read this if you get an interview and try to land on the 5s: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/criminal-justice/prosecution-service/behavourial-event-interview-guide.pdf

Speaking to the public service generally and I have seen this apply to legal positions within MAG, if there is a lot of applicants, you can expect a written assignment that tests your knowledge of that area of law. If you pass that (there is a cutoff score that is established for each competition), then you end up in a behavioural interview. The written assignment is to screen you in, and then the interview is what counts.

Edited December 29, 2022 by GoBigOrGoHome

[Puddleglum]

There are periodically external applications for level 1 Crown you can start applying for them the last 3 months of your articles. They dont always line up neatly with the conclusion of articles though. Its helpful to keep in mind there are 5 regions for BC provincial crown. Some regions create an eligibility list for the whole region while others hire for an office or a couple offices. There can be a fairly significant difference in style of question between regions so try to speak to junior crown in each region you are interested in.