Lexpert magazine features articles and columns on developments in legal practice management, deals and lawsuits of interest in Canada, the law and business issues of interest to legal professionals and businesses that purchase legal services.
Issue link: https://digital.carswellmedia.com/i/654294
LEXPERT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2013 17 Asked whether the new program risks creating a two-tier system of graduates, she bluntly points out, "ere's already a two-tier system of graduates: those who get the really good jobs and those who don't. "Your career is determined in large part by where you article. If you go to a great firm, you've hope- fully got decent prospects. But if you go to some no-name firm, you're never going to go higher. And if you don't article with a firm at all, then what do you do? "e issue is that it's all well and good if the short-term effect is, let's get everybody called to the Bar. But then what? Hang out a shingle? What are people who go through this alterative articling program go- ing to do with it? It doesn't necessar- ily address the issue that they couldn't find employment in the first place." omas Conway, the LSUC's Treasurer doesn't disagree, but offers a counterpoint. "e pilot project allows them to become licensed," he says. "e law society doesn't have an obligation to find people jobs. What we have, we think, is an obligation to provide fair access to the licensing pro- cess, and if there's a way of providing good- quality, experiential training that doesn't involve the traditional articling pathway, then in order to make a fairer process, we've developed this alternative." Conway says the program may actually prove more useful than articling for gradu- ates who hope to work in immigration, family or criminal law. "By their nature, ar- ticling positions are found in large firms, in large cities. If you're in a sole or small prac- tice, employing and paying an articling stu- dent every year is a harder financial case to make. By creating this alternative pathway, we may be opening up opportunities." THE GRIM REALITY for Ontario's grad- uating law students is that one in seven will be unable to land an articling position. e Law Society of Upper Canada, however, is attempting to remedy the situation with a three-year pilot program that provides an alternative to the traditional law firm arti- cling requirement. e program will allow those who don't get offers to be called to the Bar with four months of additional classes, plus a four- month "co-op" placement — possibly un- paid. e placements will be at small firms and non-profit organizations, which tradi- tionally cannot afford articling students. And the Law Society will defray the costs. e directors of student recruitment at several large Canadian law firms begged off when asked for their thoughts. One agreed to talk, but only on condition she not be identified. If her sentiments are widely shared, though, it's easy to see why she and some of her colleagues were reluctant to talk on the record. The Unpaid Article Co-op placements may only mask the problem BY SANDRA RUBIN SHOT IN THE DARK: For students unable to article, co-ops may offer a path to the Bar Toronto Area. Leading the way is construction for the 2015 Pan Am Games, including the Athletes' Village and several other projects. "ere's also a huge amount of work on Toronto's Waterfront," he says. "By the time you see tall buildings coming out of the ground, more than 95 per cent of the legal work has already been done, but construction on the Port Lands is largely still on the horizon." Toronto will also be building the Eglinton cross-town Light Rapid Transit line for 2020, and will likely have other LRT lines agreed before long. Beyond Ontario, the P3 market is also surging. "e trend is an inexora- ble rise," says Emakpor, who notes that the municipal sector is becoming more involved in P3s. Winnipeg has signed a P3 deal for a sewage treatment plant with the Paris-based corporation Veo- lia, while municipalities in Alberta and BC are also considering a P3 approach to waste treatment plants. "Schools are a key infrastructure requirement of most growing munici- palities," he adds. "us far, the only province that has embraced P3s in the education sector is Alberta, which has done three P3 school procurements in the last three years. ey have bundled a number of schools together, which is very attractive to the market and makes economic sense." TORONTO IS SET TO BE A P3 HOT SPOT IN 2013, WITH CONSTRUCTION FOR THE PAN AM GAMES, THE WATERFRONT AND PORT LANDS, AND A NEW LIGHT RAPID TRANSIT LINE | RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN BUSINESS LAW | PHOTO: REUTERS