Terminating Articling Commitment Prior to Starting

[law0033]

Hi all, 

I’m seeking some advice on how to best navigate terminating my 2024-25 articling commitment prior to commencing. Long story short, I hastily accepted an articling offer (I think coming off an unsuccessful-ish 2L recruit fuelled this mindset lol — stupid, I know), and after further thought and finding out more information about the position after the fact, I am having serious regrets and truly think I will be extremely unhappy during the position & the position is not aligned with my long-term career goals and interests. At this point I view it as the best choice for my own mental well-being, and the firm, that I withdraw. 

Has anyone been in this situation before, or have any general advice? Is it appropriate to keep it vague, or will the employer expect/push for detailed reasons? Ideally I would like for them to let me go without any pushback, especially considering I’m giving them ample notice and they have other students already committed (they exceptionally hired multiple students for this term), but I’m not sure what to expect. 

Thank you! 🙂

[JustHereNotStaying]

Don’t kick yourself over it too much - it happens. There is two aspects of this - the LSO and employment law. 

For the LSO, you cannot interview or accept other jobs offers until you have rejected your current acceptance. So until you say no - getting another job is a no go.

for employment law, you need to consider questions, such as did you sign a contract? Is there a termination provision with notice? How much did you actually talk about the job with the employer? Oftentimes, predatory lawyer will ask summer students are you coming back and then once a student says yea then proceed to say the salary is minimum wage. If the student gets fussy then the lawyer says well you accepted the offer. Watch out for these tactics and these lawyers. You should really think about how you want to approach this and even seeks legal advice. Sometimes people are understanding, and other times they are the devil.

you might hear from other people that your reputation is everything - it does matter. But some lawyer engage in sharp dealing and take advantage of student to line their pockets while students don’t even have enough money to afford basic necessities. This should be frowned upon. 

As for the letter - you can get right to the point and say you are leaving. Don’t need to provide detailed reasoning. 

 

 

[BlockedQuebecois]

10 hours ago, JustHereNotStaying said:

for employment law, you need to consider questions, such as did you sign a contract? Is there a termination provision with notice? How much did you actually talk about the job with the employer? Oftentimes, predatory lawyer will ask summer students are you coming back and then once a student says yea then proceed to say the salary is minimum wage. If the student gets fussy then the lawyer says well you accepted the offer. Watch out for these tactics and these lawyers. You should really think about how you want to approach this and even seeks legal advice. Sometimes people are understanding, and other times they are the devil.

This is fairly poor advice in a lot of ways (e.g. it doesn’t matter if OP signed a contract or not, accepting an offer of employment creates one and employment contracts are never binding in a manner that means an individual can’t quit if they discover the position is underpaid), but more realistically this isn’t a legal issue at all.

OP isn’t set to start articling until January 2024 at the earliest, meaning any even slightly enforceable notice provision would be satisfied by them telling their employer they have decided not to article with the firm.

This isn’t a legal issue, and OP doesn’t need to seek legal advice. It’s a practical issue related to weighing the chance of getting a better position and, if OP decides to quit, deciding how best to communicate that to their employer.

OP, if you decide to leave I would recommend scheduling a chat with the individual in charge of students at the firm and letting them know in person that you have decided to leave the firm. If they ask about your reasoning, tell them what you’ve said here – upon reflection, you’ve realised that the firm’s practice areas are not aligned with your long term interests, and you think it is in everybody’s interests for you to leave the firm. That’s a completely valid explanation, and most lawyers will understand, even if they’re disappointed to see you go. 

[LMP]

The sooner you inform them the better. They'll need to fill your spot and giving them more notice (especially if they intend to participate in a formal recruit) will be a great help. 

But I think BQ gave you exactly the advice you need, now you simply need to be expeditious in acting on it.

[CleanHands]

13 hours ago, JustHereNotStaying said:

If the student gets fussy then the lawyer says well you accepted the offer. Watch out for these tactics and these lawyers. You should really think about how you want to approach this and even seeks legal advice. Sometimes people are understanding, and other times they are the devil.

lol, this dude's conception of an articling principal: