Are corporate/biglaw/gov lawyers the only ones with reasonable mobility across provinces/to the US?

[goodisgood]

I know the US has poached some newer Canadian calls in the recent years, but this seems to be mostly confined to biglaw/corporate law. I imagine if you work in the federal government or you were in crim law it might not be super hard to move around either.

But for other types of practice (ie. Family law, construction law,) where each province has its own legislation, would that basically preclude movement even across provinces other than in special circumstances? I like the area of law that I think I'll end up practicing, but I've been trying to think of my options in case anything doesn't pan out, or my partner wants to move somewhere else, etc.

[Rashabon]

I don't know why you'd presume that for federal government or criminal law. I think it would be very difficult to move to the U.S. as a criminal lawyer, or any type of litigator. U.S. rules on evidence, criminal procedure, etc. are different from Canada. Solicitors can move more easily, depending on their area of practice, because the statutory/common law elements aren't as all-encompassing. Litigators or those that work with a very specific set of local laws will have a tougher time, though in theory not impossible. But an Ontario family law lawyer is going to have zero experience with the family law of a U.S. jurisdiction or their litigation rules. 

[Jaggers]

I know a handful of litigators who have come from the US to Canada. They develop skills down there that are in short supply up here (lots of e-discovery, big document cases, etc. that the US just has way more of than we do). But I know way more corporate lawyers who have moved than the two litigators.

I don't know any litigators who have started in Canada and gone to the US.

[PzabbytheLawyer]

On 2/9/2024 at 3:19 PM, Jaggers said:

I know a handful of litigators who have come from the US to Canada. They develop skills down there that are in short supply up here (lots of e-discovery, big document cases, etc. that the US just has way more of than we do). But I know way more corporate lawyers who have moved than the two litigators.

I don't know any litigators who have started in Canada and gone to the US.

I do. It's less common certainly, but I think as a fourth year associate working in Canadian big law litigation with some arbitration experience, it's pretty possible. School matters more in the US than Canada too, so I suspect (but have no way of knowing) that plays a role too. It does at least from a networking angle.

[Rashabon]

I'm certainly going to hire lawyers that are too dumb to probably target their advertising bots.