No articling one year after graduation.

[nkg]

Hi everyone! 

This is my first post here. I have been a follower of this website since lawstudents.ca, and I am grateful for the information you contributed to both websites, as I have greatly benefited from it throughout my law school experience.

My current situation is a little bit awkward as I mentioned in the title line. I was admitted to a law school in west Canada in 2019 and finished my law degree last year, but I have not been able to secure an articling position since then. I am a pretty average B student in terms of grades, but I do not have much extracurricular experience.  One thing differentiates me from my peers is that I am kind of new comer to Canada as I immigrated here in 2019 and started my law school then. By the way, I'm not a native speaker of English.

I applied to a variety of law firms last year, but did not receive any good news. Later I had some family issues and I went back to my home country.  Recently, I came back and started my job hunting.

I did some research on resources provided by the career office at my law school as well as the information on Canlawforum. I found that sending cold call email is a popular approach and many people secured their articling by doing so. I made a spreadsheet of firms that I want to apply, and tailored my cover letter to every firm, showing my genuine interest in their practice areas and the possible value that I may contribute to their firms. I either got an instant reply that they were not hiring (one response said I got a well written note but no position was available) or no response at all. I am in general an optimistic person, but this job hunting experience has taken a toll on me.  I was kindly admitted to this country as an immigrant by IRCC officers. I received generous grants from the university and government during my three years study, without paying a single penny to CRA before. Now I want to make a living here and make contributions as a resident for the purpose of tax, and I found that I underestimate the difficulty of doing so.

Now I am wondering what I can do to increase my chances of landing an articling position in Vancouver. I do not have much expectation for remuneration as I believe that acquiring knowledge from seasoned professionals is paramount to building a foundation in my legal career. I am open to any practice areas except criminal law, although I prefer a solicitor's work. Also, I am passionate about immigration law as my interest in law was largely ignited by my personal immigration experience.

 

Edited July 7, 2023 by nkg

[Whist]

I have no advice, but I want to express my sympathy. It's not an easy position to be in and I hope things work out for you.

To explore your interest in immigration while you hunt for articles, a friend of a friend told me that the IRB is in need of contract designated representatives. I don't know much about it but it may be up your alley.

[LMP]

You're on the right track, in your situation there is no such thing as too many applications. You should be applying everywhere you can. It'd also help to reach out to your school's career office, you may have already graduated but they can still help you out. 

On a more practical note, and one you hopefully won't take the wrong way, your writing makes it very clear that English is not your first language. I'd have someone look over your cover letters to ensure the writing sounds as natural as possible. 

As a final point, consider leveraging your newcomer status and foreign language skills. There are a number of firms that either represent, or want to represent, specific nationalities. That could be a good entry point for you! 

[nkg]

@Whist @LMP I appreciate your words and advice. 

May I ask @LMP to edit or complete delete my original post because it starts to embarrass me. A friend happened to read this post and told me he/she "thought this post was interesting", particularly my intention to pay taxes.  

Again, thank you for your kind responses.