Issue Archive

On the cusp of change

  • Cover Story
Written by  Heather Gardiner Issue: Spring 2013
Illustration: Huan Tran
Ontario’s articling crisis is no secret. Statistics show 15 per cent of applicants were unable to get an articling position in 2012, and that number is expected to rise. Some blame the law schools, others point at law firms, but there isn’t any one reason for this problem. More applicants than ever are seeking entry to the legal profession, including those who have studied abroad — possibly because they couldn’t get a spot in a Canadian law school — and fewer law firms are offering articling positions as a result of the recent economic downturn.

Time to tweet

Written by  Heather Gardiner Issue: Spring 2013
Social media is everywhere.

Q & A with Lucille D'Souza

  • Q & A
Written by  Heather Gardiner Issue: Spring 2013
Articling student Casey Barnett, left, and RBC General Counsel Group's Lucille D'Souza. Photo: Heather Gardiner
Lucille D’Souza, senior counsel in the RBC General Counsel Group & co-chairwoman of RBC’s diversity committee, talks to 4Students assistant editor Heather Gardiner about the company’s aboriginal articling program.

School before rock

  • Student Profile
Written by  Claudio D'Andrea Issue: Spring 2013
Dan Griffin Photo: Kaleigh Tait
Balance. Discipline. Leadership. Advocacy. Empathy. Focus. These are the values and skills Dan Griffin has been learning at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. They also form a big part of his former life as a rock star in the making.

You want to know what?!

Written by  Heather Gardiner Issue: Spring 2013
Illustration: Paul Dotey
The on-campus interview process could very well be the most stressful event in a law student’s life. So much time and preparation goes into it, and no matter how ready you think you are, sometimes you can never be prepared for the curve balls an interviewer might throw at you. 4Students asked law students, lawyers, and other members of the legal profession what was the weirdest question they had ever been asked in an interview with a law firm. Here are the most bizarre — some are quite shocking — questions we received:

The art of studying

Written by  Mark Cardwell Issue: Spring 2013
When he was a student a decade ago at the law school where he now teaches, Dalhousie assistant professor Graham Reynolds says his favourite place to study was the library at Dal-affiliated King’s College. “I loved the big tables and the natural light there,” he recalls in a recent phone interview from his campus office in Halifax. “And sometimes it was fun to be around other people.”

The pros & cons of . . .

Written by  Heather Gardiner Issue: Spring 2013
Practising in Regina, elder law, in southern Ontario, arbitration

After school

  • Students' Page
Written by  Robert Watkins Issue: Spring 2013
Robert Watkins is a first-year student at Osgoode Hall Law School. He painted After school in 2005 while he was studying Chinese folk art at the Jinshan Peasant Painting Academy in Shanghai, China. He spent two months at the academy and learned the basics of Jinshan folk art, which is a distinctive style of Chinese folk painting. Before travelling to Shanghai, Watkins spent six months studying traditional Chinese painting at Wenzhou University. Shortly after returning to Canada in 2006, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in humanities from Carleton University and enrolled in law school last year. Watkins continues to produce art and is working towards having his own exhibition in Toronto.

I can see the future . . .

  • Editor's Desk
Written by  Gail J. Cohen Issue: Spring 2013
At the beginning of February, the Law Society of Upper Canada put out its request for proposals for its new law practice program pilot project. In November, the LSUC had approved the LPP as a licensing scheme both parallel and alternative to the current articling system. For now the program is a trial but will probably include a four-month teaching section followed by a four-month co-op. Much has been made about whether the co-op will be paid; the RFP notes it would prefer if the provider set up paid co-ops, particularly in underserviced areas, but payment is not mandatory.

10 tips for starting your own firm

  • Cover Story
Written by  Heather Gardiner Issue: Fall 2012
Illustration: Matt Daley
Having a law degree and being called to the bar no longer guarantees a job in a law firm. According to the results of this year’s Canadian Lawyer Compensation Survey, only 45 per cent of law firm respondents plan to hire more lawyers next year. With this in mind, you might want to consider hanging up your own shingle. Since the prospect of starting a firm can be intimidating, assistant editor Heather Gardiner asked sole practitioners for their tips on how to start off on the right foot.
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