Finding articling outside of the recruitment cycle

[court of private opinion]

I recently struck out in the structured  3L recruit ( non traditional student doing a 1 year JD). 

How do people find jobs in this situation ? 

Do first post publicly on job boards? should i stick to my faculties job board? Do law firms take kindly to cold calling for these positions?

Any advice could help. 

heading into my final year of the JD. 

[PulpFiction]

21 minutes ago, court of private opinion said:

I recently struck out in the structured  3L recruit ( non traditional student doing a 1 year JD). 

How do people find jobs in this situation ? 

Do first post publicly on job boards? should i stick to my faculties job board? Do law firms take kindly to cold calling for these positions?

Any advice could help. 

heading into my final year of the JD. 

 

A 1 year JD? and heading into the final year of it? I'm confused. I've never heard of that. To me, non-traditional typically means someone entering law school as a mature student, not following the typical K-JD path. 

Anyway, that aside, you find your articling job the same way you'd find any other job - look at job boards for advertised positions, apply, and reach out to your network to see if anyone is looking. No one will know if law firms take kindly to cold calling because that's going to depend on the firm, who at the firm you talk to, how busy the person is, etc. I've had success with cold emails over calls, as I can target the individual I want directly rather than hoping the receptionist puts me through to them. 

 

[court of private opinion]

7 minutes ago, PulpFiction said:

 

A 1 year JD? and heading into the final year of it? I'm confused. I've never heard of that. To me, non-traditional typically means someone entering law school as a mature student, not following the typical K-JD path. 

Anyway, that aside, you find your articling job the same way you'd find any other job - look at job boards for advertised positions, apply, and reach out to your network to see if anyone is looking. No one will know if law firms take kindly to cold calling because that's going to depend on the firm, who at the firm you talk to, how busy the person is, etc. I've had success with cold emails over calls, as I can target the individual I want directly rather than hoping the receptionist puts me through to them. 

 

Sorry for the confusion. 

What i mean by non traditional was that im coming from a civil law school in quebec and am now pursuing a 1 year JD offered at an ontario law school. 

Thanks for the advice. im going to start building a data base with various firms im interested in i guess , and then go from there. 

Edited September 2, 2021 by court of private opinion

[PulpFiction]

4 hours ago, court of private opinion said:

Sorry for the confusion. 

What i mean by non traditional was that im coming from a civil law school in quebec and am now pursuing a 1 year JD offered at an ontario law school. 

Thanks for the advice. im going to start building a data base with various firms im interested in i guess , and then go from there. 

No need to apologize, that's my bad, I didn't even think of that option. Well, you seem to have a plan. I know some peers that searched for 5-6 months after graduation to find that perfect fit, and they seem thankful they did. A significant majority, on the other hand, didn't have that luxury (as life and debt hits you quick) and had to take the first position offered to them.  I can think of several peers that leveraged their experience during articling into an associate position they found to be more suitable for them/they were happier about. 

It sucks not getting the articling firm/job you want, but it sucks even more not getting called. Be realistic with your options, and be honest about priorities - if you don't mind getting called later than your peers, maybe you can hold out longer for that dream position. If you want to be on track with your grad class, or can't afford to wait any longer, it might require some adjustment and sacrifice. You'll be alright. 

[Aureliuse]

Look up on Linkedin careers ("jobs") section which occasionally has articling positions.

Another place you can try is "Indeed.ca"

You can also email some lawyer associations like the "the Advocate Society" to ask the admins to spread the word that you are looking for an articling position.

Another place you can look is the bar association website like the Ontario Bar Association - it has a "careers" section which posts articling positions too.

Regional law association (for example, outside of Toronto) websites sometimes also have postings for articling students.

You can also ask recruiters from Robert Half Legal, the Counsel Network, Life after Law, etc.

Edited September 3, 2021 by Aureliuse

[Psychometronic]

In addition to the great advice above, you might find this thread helpful:

 

 

[canuckfanatic]

23 hours ago, court of private opinion said:

im going to start building a data base with various firms im interested in i guess

This is a good place to start. Go on Google Maps and search for "[area of law] law" (i.e., "business law") and zoom in to various cities/neighbourhoods that you're interested in. Make a spreadsheet of every firm you'd be willing to work at, and include a column for the city/neighbourhood they're located in, and a column for the areas of law they practice. 

@Psychometronic linked to my thread about job hunting, I go into more detail about cold call strategies in there.

[TheCryptozoologist]

11 hours ago, canuckfanatic said:

This is a good place to start. Go on Google Maps and search for "[area of law] law" (i.e., "business law") and zoom in to various cities/neighbourhoods that you're interested in. Make a spreadsheet of every firm you'd be willing to work at, and include a column for the city/neighbourhood they're located in, and a column for the areas of law they practice. 

@Psychometronic linked to my thread about job hunting, I go into more detail about cold call strategies in there.

I was going to post that infographic you made from LawCanada but realized you're here

[canuckfanatic]

On 9/3/2021 at 9:25 PM, TheCryptozoologist said:

I was going to post that infographic you made from LawCanada but realized you're here

I'm everywhere