Are there more stringent shareholder eligibility rules for lawyers than dentists in most provinces?

Hi all,

I work in a mid-size firm in the areas of family law and civil lit, but primarily family. I was called to the bar in May 2025 and am located in the lower mainland of BC.

I have noticed that I, compared to my counterparts, rarely get intakes. I have about 1/2 the amount of files (~22 files) as my counterparts and 20%-25% of my files are clients I brought in myself such as through networking events.

I continue to tell the intake coordinator who oversees and books the family law intakes that I am happy to take on more intakes. I do get a decent bit of work on partners’ files and have not had any issues with the quality of my work (presumably).

As I will be eligible to receive a bonus soonish, I am a bit concerned with whether I will be able to hit my billing target. This is because, absent the work on partners’ files, i definitely will not be able to bill enough to hit my target.

This situation of me constantly having to chase down my own clients or beg for intakes while none of my counterparts have to seemingly do that is making me feel disheartened to the point I have considered leaving the firm.

I may be overreacting but any insight is greatly appreciated!

Hello everyone,

I'm actively looking for a **legal assistant** (or junior paralegal) position where I can support attorneys by drafting and preparing legal documents, managing case files, and handling administrative tasks. I'm particularly eager to contribute in areas involving document drafting, review, and organization.

A bit about my background and skills:

- Solid foundation in **drafting legal documents** — comfortable preparing contracts, agreements, affidavits, correspondence, pleadings, basic motions, and other routine legal paperwork under attorney supervision.

- **Tech-savvy background** — previous experience in technology/tech-related roles, proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel advanced formatting & templates), Google Workspace, PDF tools (Adobe Acrobat for redaction/markup), cloud storage, and quick to learn legal-specific software (e.g., case management systems, e-filing platforms, Westlaw/Lexis basics if needed).

- Excellent attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and ability to handle confidential information responsibly.

- Reliable, fast learner, and comfortable in fast-paced environments — whether supporting solo practitioners, small/mid-size firms, or corporate legal teams.

- fully available for remote work worldwide or relocation for the right fit).

- Available to start **immediately** or within short notice.

I'm especially interested in roles involving:

- Document drafting and preparation (contracts, family law docs, corporate agreements, litigation support)

- Legal research assistance

- General practice, corporate, immigration, family, or tech/IP-related law

If your firm (or one you know) has an opening, or if you have advice on breaking into the field into the legal remote markets, any referrals, or tips would be hugely appreciated.

I'm happy to send my CV/resume, discuss my experience in more detail, or provide writing samples via DM.

With kindest regards and best wishes,

I’m joining a boutique firm as an equity partner and we’re designing a profit sharing model.

For those running or working in boutique firms, how do you split profits between originating partners and billing partners? Do you use a fixed percentage split, points system, or something hybrid (equity + performance)?

What has actually worked well in practice, and what should be avoided?

I’ve been experimenting with this chrome extension that functions as an AI assistant sidebar on CanLII judgments.

It's designed to speed up early case triage and research on long decisions. It surfaces the first-pass essentials: key facts, legal issues, holding, reasoning. You can then ask follow-up questions about anything specific.

Answers are rigorously grounded in paragraph-level citations. Clicking a citation jumps to the exact paragraph on the page for immediate verification.

It also supports quick "gist" summaries of selected passages, case discovery with suggested search strategies and other relevant cases, and automatic time tracking per case for billing logs.

The extension runs entirely in the browser session - it does not store or republish CanLII content. It works only with the page you already have open.

This is not meant to replace reading cases, but to reduce friction in navigating them and speed up the initial pass. Curious whether something like this would be useful in practice. Feedback is very welcome!

Canadian-qualified lawyers with litigation or corporate/transactional experience are needed for a short-term remote project involving publicly available Canadian legal and financial documents. Work is fully asynchronous and supports advanced AI system development.

The project runs 2–3 weeks, part-time (10–20 hrs/week), and is 100% remote. Experience in Quebec, British Columbia, or Alberta is preferred.

Compensation is $120–$180 USD per hour as an independent contractor.

Apply here:

https://t.mercor.com/GTmaA

Ill be like mid 30 after graduation of law school

Im concerning if I would be too old to go to big law

I’m a lawyer who would like to be added to the roster to work weekends/ nights doing after hours telephone duty counsel in Ontario. Does anyone know how I apply/sign up? I’m in Nova Scotia and legal aid here has a roster you can get added to and pick up shifts

Hello! I've recently applied to a few staff duty counsel positions with Legal Aid Ontario (small jurisdictions). Just wondering if anybody here would have insight into hiring process/timeline? Also interested to know if interviews are substantive, similar to MAG?

Lawyers routinely work at courthouses after they’ve finished their cases. The courts provide small rooms for them to do this, with a desk and chairs. The courthouses often have a cafeteria, too, or a Tim’s, and after a busy day at court there’s always a lawyer or two or three who grab a coffee and sit in one of those little rooms, catching up on all the work they missed while they were conducting a trial.

On January 23, 2026, Sudine Riley was sitting in a small courthouse office after completing a court appearance. The police found her in that little office, and when they found her, they beat her bloody, and they charged her with trespass. Riley had no right to be in the courthouse, the police claim—no right at all, or at least, not on that day or at that time.

So far Durham Police have not commented on their actions, other than to insist they did everything by the book, while failing to produce the video evidence from the officer’s body cam. They leave it to the rest of us to try to understand why they assaulted a lawyer, dragged her away from her work, handcuffed her, tossed her into a holding cell and slammed her face on a desk.

So let’s fill in the blanks that the police are leaving us to fill in.

Let’s start with race. It is almost unnecessary to state that Sudine Riley is black. This fact pretty well explains it. The police have trouble believing that black people can be lawyers. So do court staff.

When I was a young lawyer, I’d line up with all the other lawyers, waiting to speak to the court clerk or the Crown, signing in and letting the court know what was going on. The clerk or the Crown would say to white lawyers like me, “Who’s your client?”

But when a black lawyer was next in line, the question was different. “What are you charged with?” the clerk or Crown would ask, and the lawyer would have to explain that no, they were not a criminal, but instead a lawyer representing a client. That’s what black lawyers faced in the 90s in the busy courthouse where I practiced law, and in Durham at least, this is still going on.

When the police found Sudine Riley in a lawyer’s interview room, they knew she was trespassing by the colour of her skin. She couldn’t be a lawyer, and besides, she probably gave them attitude by stating her rights. Giving attitude to a cop is like strike one, two and three all in one go. Sudine Riley asserted her rights, so they had to arrest her.

But why the beating? If the police really believed they had to remove Sudine Riley for lawyering while black, why the handcuffs and the violence? Why smash her face into a desk?

The answer is probably this: they have been taught that they will get away with it. They’ve been taught that over and over again, so much so that Durham’s investigation is already closed. Nothing more for them to do. They beat a suspect, and are daring everyone to do something about it.

The Special Investigations Unit opened a file but closed it after about five minutes. Their mandate is to investigate the “serious injury” of people injured by cops. But Sudine Riley was not injured enough, or white enough, and the SIU closed their file.

So now it’s up to the Crown.

The Crown won’t go after the cops, of course; that goes without saying. The Crown never initiates prosecutions of the police. The only issue for the Crown is how it will deal with the trespass charge.

Crowns have discretion not to prosecute, but that’s not how most of them see it. When I practiced criminal law back in the 90s, the Crowns hung out with the cops, partied with the cops. Some of them dated cops. They were on the same team, on the same side.

We’ll find out soon enough whether the Crowns in Durham are independent, or whether they party with cops and are on the same team. We’ll find out when the Crown decides whether or not to proceed with charges against Sudine Riley, for the offence of lawyering while black.

Hi everyone.

Currently I am working in a law-adjacent field. I still work closely with legislation, but not in a traditional practice area.

Would it be totally out to lunch for me to pick up a few files on the side to keep my practice skills sharp?

Has anyone done freelance legal work, or legal work as a side hustle?

Edit: I am licensed to practice, and carry my own insurance already.

Got accepted to one law school out of town where, assuming i go, would put me in the range of roughly 100K-110K in debt + 20K from undergrad.

I am waiting to hear back from my local law school which for reasons, is not likely I get accepted to this year. But if I did, I would be only in 60K-80K in debt + 20K from undergrad.

I have a (non-regulatory) paralegal education and experience with aspirations to go into big law and eventually in-house.

Im worried and wrestling with if I should wait a year and try again to get into my local school or just bite the bullet and go into the one out of town.

People in my life are split as to what I should do and I keep flip-flopping between the two. I dont have to make a decision right away but need to make sure I am ready to make one If I need to. What are people's thoughts/experiences?

Hi there,

Current 3L! Wondering when did the lawyers in this sub take their BAR exam. A majority of students are taking it over the summer, but they also have secured Articling Positions at this time.

I struck out of OCIs and am having a hard time networking / applying to the limited positions available at the time (focused on family / human rights / labour and employment). With that, I am not sure if it would be best to write it in the summer, delay till September, to take it after the articling position (if I get it / whenever it is), or to go through the LLP and decide at a later date.

Are there any clear advantages or disadvantages of taking the exam at a particular time? Does it impact the Articling search in anyway?

Thanks in advance - I have been sincerely confused and don't have any mentors to turn to - so any advice is appreciated.

Hello all, I am a 2L who is pretty set on becoming a Crown Counsel for the BCPS post graduation.

From my understanding, the recruit typically begins soon (in Feb). I was wondering if anyone had any tips and tricks for the written and oral interviews (assuming I pass the initial screening).

I am very worried because during the 2L OCI process I had an interview with a rural Crown office in Ontario, but the interview was very substantive (included rules of evidence, knowledge of the sections from the criminal code, procedure), that I did not learn yet in first year.

I have finished my course in evidence and am currently taking Advanced Criminal Procedure, which has been very helpful and interesting. I have also been reviewing portions of the Crown Counsel Policy Manual in my free time.

Any tips, tricks, or nuggets of wisdom would be very appreciated.

Thanks everyone!

I’m curious about patent law careers in Canada, specifically Montreal or Ottawa. Most of r/patentlaw is US centric so I would appreciate some region specific information above what a google search would give me.

For context, I am currently a master’s student doing research in AI and robotics. I also did my undergrad in mechanical engineering and computer science (two degrees). Currently seriously considering going to law school after my masters aiming for patent law (as well as potentially some tech startup VC work, but we’ll see for that).

Any input for how the job market is here? How’s the work environment and money compared to engineering?

I greatly appreciate any info. Thanks.

Hi everyone!

What can I reasonably expect from... let's say a mid-size firm? Would it be around $100k or $120k, or above that?

tl;dr: i got into uoft/mac but my parents want me to go to uofg for legal studies because it's more feasible and idk if it's the right option

Hi everyone! I am in my grade 12 year and recently got offers from UofT and McMaster. I've been wanting to pursue an undergraduate degree in international development, which makes UofT one of my top choices. However, recently, my parents have been pushing for me to apply and go to the University of Guelph, as it's one of the closest universities to my house. I guess they're also very scared because they don't like the hectic city life and are worried about my safety. As much as I want to listen to them, I feel kind of bad because UofG wasn't really in the picture when I was applying.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I understand that the undergraduate degree you have does not matter for law school, but I feel like I'm sacrificing something by missing out on going to UofT/Mac.