Articling Recruit/Family after big law

[toby1994]

What kind of marks do you need for a shot at a big law firm articling gig? I'm in 2L and I haven't participated in any of the formal recruits thus far so I don't really know what kind of marks you need to be competitive and if it's worth it or not to apply. 

Also, are there many Bay St. lawyers who transfer into family law? It's a dream to have my own practice one day and I could see myself focusing on family and perhaps employment (I'll likely also apply to fam and employment boutiques). I know this might be a naive dream...I feel like I know nothing about my future lol. 

[KOMODO]

If you're interested in family law, don't try to get a biglaw job, as it's relatively rare for big law firms to practice family law. Even if you were successful, you would be wasting your own time and the energy of the corporate-focused lawyers trying to train you.

Also, you're nearing the end of 2L, so you've missed the 1L and 2L recruits, meaning you've missed the majority of biglaw student recruitment. There are a few firms that hire a couple of articling students on bay street, but articling is not a major entry point for this market. You should focus on smaller and midsize firms in the articling recruit that practice family and/or employment law.

Lastly, and I mean this nicely - how did you get to almost the end of 2L at Queens with no sense of how this works? It's kind of concerning that you would be asking these questions now. I think you should probably book a meeting with your career office for some guidance, and quickly.

[Aureliuse]

On 3/12/2023 at 6:03 PM, toby1994 said:

Also, are there many Bay St. lawyers who transfer into family law? It's a dream to have my own practice one day and I could see myself focusing on family and perhaps employment (I'll likely also apply to fam and employment boutiques). I know this might be a naive dream...I feel like I know nothing about my future lol. 

Yes, my mentor, a prominent Bay Street family law lawyer used to practice in one of the Seven Sisters. There are many family law lawyers in downtown Toronto who transitioned out of corporate work.

But I recommend that you get some family law experience as an articling student or a law student first. It is not an easy area to practice. You deal with people being nasty to each other all the time, you also see the worst excesses of humanity, which can be very taxing on your mental health. You don't want to be stuck doing family law.