Advice Please - Articling with Legal Aid Ontario

[SNAILS]

Long story short, I am summering and have summered in 1L with a small criminal/family firm. It has it's pros and cons. Pros: I fit in very well and my principle lawyer really wants to mentor me and has told me she wants me to take her job when she retires in 3-4 years. Cons: constant chaos and staff turnover.

I am also considering Articling with Legal Aid. Geography is important to me. The position is in a certain town near where I own my house. I would sooner take a different job in the same town than take the same job in a different own (i.e. I would decline to Article with Legal Aid in Toronto, etc).

Questions about Articling with Legal Aid:

• How does working for Legal Aid differ from private practice? (The advertisement says there will be many bail hearings and assisting self reps; there is also a family law component to it).
• How easy it it to transition from articling with legal aid back to private practice or to the Crown? (I want to be Criminal focused)
• How likely is this to lead to a job offer as a lawyer for Legal Aid?

My intent is to first see if I get a job offer (for the 10 month Articling period). Then I'll discuss with the small form I'm with if they can match or beat the offer salary wise and also address some of my concerns about my role at that firm (chaos, getting conflicting orders from multiple bosses who don't communicate with each other, etc).

Edited May 12, 2023 by SNAILS

[Windsorhopeful]

Based on just the information you've provided, I'd stick with the small firm. Mentorship is extremely hard to find. I'm not in criminal but have friends that are, nd they STRUGGLED with good grades and experience to find a mentor in Toronto. I imagine this would be even harder in a small town. That being said, do yourself a favor and reach out to a few people who are currently or recently articled with legal aid in or near the town you're in. That is the best way to determine whether legal aid would be a better choice. 

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On 5/12/2023 at 6:15 AM, SNAILS said:

How does working for Legal Aid differ from private practice? (The advertisement says there will be many bail hearings and assisting self reps; there is also a family law component to it).

You don't really work on trials (at least in duty counsel roles). You don't have the same practice management obligations as in private practice. You'll learn valuable stuff as an articling student for LAO, but it is different.

On 5/12/2023 at 6:15 AM, SNAILS said:

How likely is this to lead to a job offer as a lawyer for Legal Aid?

On 5/12/2023 at 6:15 AM, SNAILS said:

Geography is important to me. The position is in a certain town near where I own my house. I would sooner take a different job in the same town than take the same job in a different own (i.e. I would decline to Article with Legal Aid in Toronto, etc).

A job offer in the same office? Not that likely in my opinion. LAO has to fund the job. So it depends entirely on whether someone leaves or they create a new position in that office around the time you get called. There probably will be job openings elsewhere, but I wouldn't bank on getting hired back in one specific place with LAO.

1 hour ago, Windsorhopeful said:

Mentorship is extremely hard to find.

Based upon @SNAILS posts, he's not getting very good mentorship. Mediocre mentorship can be just as bad or worse than no mentorship. I generally wouldn't encourage someone to stay in a job to hold on to poor mentorship. If his posts reflect reality, I'd make finding good mentorship a priority if I were him.

Edited May 16, 2023 by realpseudonym

[SNAILS]

Thank you for the advice. FYI, I did throw in a resume with LAO just to see what happens. 

@Windsorhopeful I agree that mentorship is very important. In fact, I would rank my priorities as (1) Geography (most important to me) - I'm not leaving my small town (2) mentorship - I want to learn how to be a good lawyer (3) Salary (least important) - I don't spend much money and have no ambitions what I would do with more $$$.

The key question is whether I will get better mentorship from the small firm or from LAO. Also, whether I will have offended the small firm with my disloyalty by going to LAO after two summers with them and an offer to article. This might mean that will be less enthused to have me back if I don't get a job offer with LAO.

@realpseudonym Good point about being offered a job in a different city/town. And I would turn that down.

The posts I have made about the small firm do reflect reality, though they may sometimes emphasize aspects I found frustrating. It's hard to describe if I am getting "good mentorship." The lawyers there seem to follow the philosophy, "Here's a task we need done. We think SNAILS can do it, so let him run with it." They do not follow the philosophy, "Here's something SNAILS does not know how to do. Let's train him, even if I could do it faster myself." I am learning a lot there, but mostly because I need to seek out information (often from law clerks and independent research) to get my tasks done and not so much because they are training me for the sake of training me.