Legal careers writer
Daniel covers the business of legal careers: compensation, firm structures, and the tradeoffs nobody explains in law school. He likes numbers, but he likes honest context around them even more.
54 articles
The jump from articling student to junior lawyer is bigger than the title change. Here is what actually shifts, and how to get ready before the safety net comes off.
A contract or term role is not a consolation prize. Here is how to treat temporary legal work as a long audition and quietly become the person they cannot let go.
Collective bargaining, grievances, and labour boards make up one of the most human corners of legal practice. Here is what the work actually looks like and how to break in.
Behind every winning argument sits a knowledge lawyer, a precedent, or an editor nobody sees. Here are the legal careers that keep the profession running, and how to break in.
OCIs feel like interrogations because most students walk in cold. Here is how to prepare so the conversation flows, the questions land, and you sound like yourself.
Studying for the bar while articling full time is a scheduling problem, not a willpower problem. Here is how to fit it around real work without burning out.
The weakness question is not a trap unless you treat it like one. Here is how to answer it with honesty, self-awareness, and enough poise to make it work in your favour.
Municipal law touches roads, garbage, zoning, and everything a city does. Here is what the work actually looks like, and why it is one of the most underrated practice areas in Canada.
Public-interest law is not a vow of poverty, but it is not a fairy tale either. Here is how to build a career around your values without quietly going broke.
Your review reflects what your principal remembers, not what you actually did. Here is how to keep a record all year so the conversation lands in your favour.
A first interview asks whether you can do the job. The second asks whether they want you in the building for a year. Here is how to shift your approach for later rounds.
Big firm or small firm is one of the first real forks in a legal career. Here is an honest look at the tradeoffs, with no wrong answer and a few questions to ask yourself.
Reading week is not a second exam period, and not a full vacation. Here is how to split the mid-term break between catching up, resting, and career work.
What it actually feels like to practise law in the charitable sector: the pay trade-off, the variety of files, and the kind of person who thrives there.
Securities lawyers move money, ideas, and companies through markets. Here is what the work actually looks like, day to day, and the pace that comes with it.
Document review, closing books, and endless drafting can feel like drudgery. Here is how to turn the routine parts of articling into real, portable skill.
Pro bono work early on builds real skills, widens your view of the law, and connects you to the profession in ways a billable file never will. Here is why it matters.
Articling pay ranges from generous to almost nothing, and the reasons make sense once you see them. Here is how to read the numbers and weigh money against fit.
Your reputation is being built whether you tend to it or not. Here is how to shape the way the profession sees you, honestly and without turning into a walking billboard.
Corporate and litigation lawyers live in different rhythms, calendars, and headspaces. Here is what a real working day looks like on each side before you commit to one.
Doctrine gets the glory, but the skills courses teach you how to actually do the job. Here is why a hands-on class can matter as much as the marquee ones.
An articling interview tells you as much about the firm as it tells them about you. Here is how to read the signals, ask sharper questions, and interview back.
Mentorship is not something that happens to you. Here is how to show up so that senior lawyers actually want to invest in your career, not just tolerate your questions.
A gap in your resume is not a confession. Here is how to frame time away from the law honestly, without apology, and in a way that reads as a strength.
Most 1Ls do not land a big-firm summer job, and that is completely fine. Here is where first-year students actually get hired, when to apply, and how to make the summer count.
Family law rewards judgment and temperament far more than it rewards raw legal knowledge. Here is what the strongest family lawyers actually do differently.
Going paperless is less about buying software and more about building habits that stick. Here is how to make the shift without losing a document or your mind.
Tuition is only the headline. Here is an honest accounting of what qualifying to practise law in Canada actually costs, including the bills nobody warns you about.
Startup legal work is broad, scrappy, and high-stakes: one lawyer, a hundred open questions, and no partner to hide behind. Here is what the job is really like.
The billable hour runs most of the legal industry and quietly shapes how lawyers behave. Here is what it really means, why it is strange, and how to think about it clearly.
Your first law school summer sets the tone for everything after. Here is where to find real experience, how to build momentum, and why the small firm nobody applied to might be your best move.
Articling for several lawyers means juggling work that all feels urgent. Here is how to take on tasks, negotiate deadlines, and keep every ball in the air without burning out.
E-discovery, remote hearings, and legal AI are quietly rewiring how disputes get run. Here is what the tools actually change, and what they don't.
The first years of practice can blur into a smear of deadlines and small tasks. Here is how to hold onto purpose when the work is relentless and the wins feel invisible.
Tailoring is not swapping the firm's name into a template. It is homework that shows. Here is how to research a firm well enough that your letter reads like it was written for them.
Access-to-justice work is often framed as charity. Look closer and it is one of the smarter investments a society makes, and a real career worth taking seriously.
IP law is broader and stranger than most students realize, from patent prosecution to brand disputes. Here is what the practice actually covers and who tends to thrive in it.
The choice between a big national firm and a strong regional one shapes your training, your hours, and your path. Here is how to weigh them honestly.
Practice management software is the quiet backbone of a modern firm. Here is what it really does, how the pieces fit together, and why it matters to you as a new lawyer.
Not being kept on after articling feels like a verdict. It isn't. Here is a calm, practical plan for the days after the news and the months that follow.
Managing up is not about flattery. It is a set of habits that make you easy to rely on, and it is the quiet skill that turns a good articling student into a keeper.
You can ask for more without souring the relationship. Here is how to advocate for yourself on a legal job offer with confidence, warmth, and good judgment.
Faculty references and mentorship rarely come from grades alone. Here is how to connect with your professors genuinely, without the forced small talk or transactional cringe.
Legal research platforms reward good technique, not endless clicking. Here is how to frame the question, run tighter searches, and get a reliable answer faster.
Flat fees, caps, contingency and subscriptions are quietly reshaping how legal work gets priced. Here is how each model works and where it actually fits.
Public-interest law asks a lot and pays less, but the work is real and the stakes are human. Here is what a career in legal aid and community law actually looks like.
Deals look glamorous from the outside. Here is the real early-career work behind corporate transactions, from diligence and checklists to closing at 2 a.m.
Feedback during articling is often vague, rushed, or missing entirely. Here are the scripts and habits that pull useful notes out of busy lawyers and turn them into visible progress.
Automation is quietly rewriting how legal documents get drafted. Here is what it actually does, what it doesn't, and why juniors should learn it now rather than later.
Protecting your time and health without torching your reputation is a learnable skill. Here is how to say no, manage expectations, and still be the person people trust with real work.
LinkedIn is where legal opportunities get referred before they are ever posted. Here is how to build a credible profile and use it well, without sounding like a robot.
A law firm looks like a place that sells legal advice. Underneath, it is a business that rents out hours and lives on the gap between what it pays and what it bills.
Contentious or non-contentious? Here is an honest look at what litigators and solicitors actually do all day, and how to tell which side of the profession fits you.
Everyone has an opinion on which courses matter. Here is a practical way to build a schedule around the lawyer you want to become, not the loudest advice in the room.