Finding, landing, and surviving your articling year in Canada.
28 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.
Nobody gets remembered for a perfect memo. They get remembered for being reliable, for good judgment, and for saying the awkward thing early. Here is how those skills actually show up.
Articling in a province where you did not study can widen your options and reshape your career. Here is what to weigh before you pack, and how to make the move pay off.
The questions you ask reveal as much as the ones you answer. Here are 12 that show judgment, plus what good and worrying answers actually sound like.
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.
Hard criticism is part of learning to practise law. Here is how to absorb tough feedback, keep your perspective, and stay motivated without letting one comment define you.
The articling search rewards preparation more than pedigree. Here is a practical, no-nonsense playbook for finding a position, from where to look to how to follow up without being annoying.
Articling for a solo lawyer means more responsibility, more variety, and less scaffolding than a big firm. Here is an honest look at the trade-offs before you say yes.
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.
Senior lawyers reuse memos they trust. Here is how to research and write ones that answer the real question, hold up under scrutiny, and make you the person they hand the hard problems to.
Assistants, clerks, and law clerks quietly run the firm. Here is how to work well with the people who can make or break your articling year.
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.
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.
Small-market and big-city articling shape very different lawyers. An honest look at the trade-offs in mentorship, workload, money, and the life you build around the work.
Everyone gets something wrong during articling. What sets students apart is how they own it, fix it, and turn a bad afternoon into the reason people trust them.
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.
A summer term is a long interview you can actually study for. Here are the habits during those weeks that quietly decide whether a firm asks you back to article.
Most articling jobs never touch a structured recruit. Here is how to find, approach, and win positions that get filled quietly, on their own timeline.
The articling year humbles almost everyone. Here is warm, practical advice on workload, feedback, mistakes, and the small habits that carry you to your call date.
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.
Nobody hands you the etiquette that experienced lawyers assume you already know. Here are the quiet habits and expectations that quietly decide how your articling year goes.
The first week of articling sets a tone that lingers all year. Here are concrete, low-drama moves that make people want to work with you, from someone who supervised dozens of students.
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.
Government articling gets less hype than Bay Street, but the work is real, the mentoring is patient, and the hours let you keep a life. Here is what it is actually like.
Boutique firms hand you real files early, real feedback often, and a front-row seat to how a practice actually runs. Here is what you gain, what you give up, and who thrives.
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.
Nobody hands you a map of the articling year. Here is a month-by-month walk through what tends to arrive when, so nothing catches you off guard.
I hired and supervised articling students for years. The signals that made me want to keep someone were rarely the ones students spent their energy polishing.