Articling and the 2011 LSUC Bencher Election

As it's voting time in the 2011 Law Society of Upper Canada's Bencher election, I thought it would be useful to see what candidates are saying about articling. At the end of this post you'll see a chart where we've listed all the candidates that mentioned articling in their profile in the 2011 Bencher Election Voting Guide and included a brief summary of what they said. [Special thanks to aspiring law student Teja Garisa-Reddy for collecting this information!]Amazingly, just under one-third of the candidates mentioned articling as an issue that needs to be addressed. However, the good news is that those who did mention articling appear to recognize that there are serious problems with the current system. Laurie Pawlitza, LSUC Treasurer, emphasizes that, "the number of students seeking articles has increased by 50% over the past ten years." Robert Shawyer notes that, "approximately 385 applicants per year are unable to secure articling positions," which "threatens the stability of the licensing process and threatens to drive young people from the profession." Dan Gutman states that, "it is unacceptable that 20-30% of graduating law students cannot find an articling position." Randall Johns notes that with a surplus of articling candidates who can't find positions, "access to justice will certainly become an even greater problem than it is today and a wealth of legal talent will be under or un-used." And Emir Aly Crowne makes what I believe is an excellent overarching point: "(T)he challenges facing law students and articling students are often overlooked or neglected by those who have advanced within the profession.”While none of the candidates advocates abolishing articling (at least not explicitly), a number of candidates suggest specific solutions including:

• Allowing job-sharing for articles and funding for a real time online registry to match students with firms that can accommodate articling student for shorter periods (William McDowell)
• Creation of incentives (including financial) for articling students and new lawyers to join lawyers and firms in smaller centres (Steven Benmore, Lee Akazaki, Sudha Chandra, William McDowell)
• Designation of each County and District Law Association as an articling principal and encouraging the provincial government to appoint clerks to Superior Court judges in rural areas (John Hill)
• Supplementing the licensing process with training courses geared to graduates who wish to practise as sole practitioners, or who wish to commit their careers to the public interest; establishing a formal network to help graduates connect with smaller communities or to place them in public-interest organizations (Jacqueline Horvat)

In conclusion, I absolutely agree with Monica Goyal, a bencher candidate who has been very active this election in providing forums for discussion and debate on this and other pressing issues, when she states that: "We need to keep revisiting this problem until we have a fair solution for everyone." If you are eligible to vote in the Bencher Election, make sure you cast your ballot before 5pm on April 29th!In other matters related to articling, I had a piece in a recent online edition of  Canadian Lawyer here and participated in a virtual townhall organized by Monica Goyal (see above) and Glenn Kauth, editor of the Law Times (YouTube recording can be found here).  I've also received a lot of feedback in terms of posts, emails, and through informal conversations from everyone from law students to benchers and thought it was worth adding other perspectives to the mix.I note that these are random comments that may not be representative:

• Many students and law grads seem to feel that law schools shouldn't be letting  so many students in knowing that there aren't enough articling positions. Many also think that there should be more transparency about numbers of unplaced students by school.
• On the flipside, some see this issue as the Law Society's problem as law schools are simply responsible for ensuring that they have a fair process for accepting students and that students complete necessary criteria to graduate with a law degree.
• Some expressed the view that there are simply too many lawyers and this is simply a symptom of a supply and demand issue.
• Apparently, many students will not consider placements outside the GTA even when they haven't secured articles and a position outside the GTA is available.
• A number of lawyers, including in-house lawyers, noted that the requirements for an articling position can be difficult to meet for anyone who does not practice at a full service firm.
• The problem is not so dire:  The Law Society's Placement Report states that for 2009,93.1% of all 2009 Licensing Process candidates had secured an articling placement by June 2010.  The average overall articling placement rate for candidates self-identified as being from an equality-seeking community (Aboriginal, Persons with a Disability, Francophone, Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered, Mature, Racialized Community) is 89.7%.
• The problem is even worse than reported. Here's a post that I received in response to my previous post on articling:  "I am a 2010 grad who has entered the process and I can personally attest that three employers in Toronto have stated that they each received over 150 applications for a single articling position. These positions were posted in February and March of this year. The last position received over 200 applications according to a member of their student committee. The situation in Ontario clearly has been underestimated if there are 200 or so applicants still fishing in Toronto come April."

If you have something to say about articling, please feel free to comment on this post. The more debate, the better. 

WHAT BENCHER CANDIDATES HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ARTICLING

Howard Goldblatt (Toronto)“I am also interested in improving access to mentors for young sole practitioners and finding solutions for the growing crisis concerning the placement of articling students in Ontario.”Laurie H. Pawlitza (Toronto)“The number of students seeking articles has increased by 50% over the past ten years. Not surprisingly, the number of unplaced students has also risen dramatically. There are few articling positions outside of our major urban areas, and in certain practice areas such as criminal defence.”Dan Gutmann (Toronto)“The Law Society should also address to the extent possible the current lack of sufficient articling positions for graduating law students. Unfortunately, the pressure on positions will only increase with the possibility of more law schools being opened in Ontario. It is unacceptable that 20-30% of graduating law students cannot find an articling position.”William C. McDowell (Toronto)“There is increasing pressure from different quarters to end articling in its traditional form. I oppose this – the Law Society must protect the public interest by continuing to provide law graduates with the skills (and more important – ethics and values, such as civility) to begin practise at the Bar. At the same time, many smaller firms, particularly those outside Toronto, are finding it difficult to justify hiring an articling student.The Law Society can help by amending its Rules to promote job-sharing in articling. Convocation should provide funding for a real time online registry to match candidates with firms who can accommodate them for short periods of time. I want to explore ways of assisting articling students in under-serviced areas where firms can provide articles and mentorships but cannot afford to pay students.”Monica Goyal (Toronto)“Articling Students will find it harder to find positions. In the interim, they will have invested years of time and money to meet the requirements to be called to the bar. We need to keep revisiting this problem until we have a fair solution for everyone.”Janet E. Minor (Toronto)“Increased numbers of graduates, especially those from equity groups, face difficulty in obtaining articling positions. I am convinced of the importance of mentoring. We need to improve the availability of appropriate mentoring for new lawyers, especially those in small and sole practices.”Mark J. Sandler (Toronto)“The number of students seeking articling positions and ultimately employment as lawyers has dramatically increased. The Law Society must play a greater role in addressing the issues associated with this growth, such as the impact on the profession as a whole; employment opportunities; and the financial burdens of legal education.”Wendy Matheson (Toronto)“...the growing divide between the number of law students seeking articling positions and the number of positions available in the province must be addressed.”John. A. Campion (Toronto)“The future contains an equal number of challenges: … the maintenance of articling as law schools expand their total enrolments...”Sudha Chandra (Toronto)Will advocate for ”financial assistance to small law firms for hiring articling students by matching the stipends paid those students by the law firms”Robert Shawyer (Toronto)“Growing the profession: At the present time approximately 1,650 law school graduates and approximately 185 foreign trained lawyers per year are applying to be licensed by the Law Society; however there are approximately only 1,450 articling positions, which means that approximately 385 applicants per year are unable to secure articling positions. This threatens the stability of the licensing process and threatens to drive young people from the profession. At present only 33% of all licensed lawyers in Ontario are under the age of 40. The Law Society must take action over the next four years to deal with this situation and come up with and implement a plan to ensure that young people have the ability to be licensed.”Steven Benmor (Toronto)“I want to see the Law Society create incentives for articling students and new lawyers to join lawyers and firms in smaller centres."M. Philip Tunley (Toronto)"Our articling system has ensured highly qualified new entrants, well-positioned to compete for jobs both outside Ontario and within. We need to refine that system to preserve its strength, to better meet the needs, particularly of smaller firms, and to expand its capacity to accommodate the increasing numbers of qualified graduates seeking a position."Paul B. Schabas (Toronto)“There are not enough articling positions available for those seeking them … We need to confront these issues. This includes looking at the future of articling and our licensing process, being more pro-active in providing support to lawyers who need it – especially new lawyers and lawyers in sole and small firm practices.”Carl S. Zeliger (Toronto)“There must be a better way to prepare our future lawyers for education, articling, and work in the legal profession. With a daughter presently articling with a large downtown Toronto law firm I am keenly aware of these concerns.”R. Lee Akazaki (Toronto)“When the numbers of law school graduates outstrip the capacity of the bar to generate articling positions, the Law Society must, once again, be accountable for the competence of new members and allow them to go forth with confidence. It must encourage more flexible arrangements, such as the sharing of articling students in non-urban settings, and set up the ethical criteria to facilitate these measures.”Graeme Mew (Toronto)“Many observers think that the failure of the Law Society in England to effectively deal with complaints against lawyers was the catalyst for government intervention…It is why the Law Society should stay the course on education, training (including keeping articling), ethics, standards and continuing professional education. But these requirements must be reasonable and defensible. It is important that they are not seen as protectionist.”Anita Szigeti (Toronto)Mentions that the legal aid crisis exacerbates other problems such as articling positions.John L. Hill (Central East)“Rural Ontario can expect to be particularly hard hit as older members of the profession retire. The Law Society can assist by initiating measures that will attract younger members of the bar to smaller communities. The Law Society could designate each County and District Law Association as an articling principal or encourage the provincial government to appoint promising students as Law Clerks to Superior Court judges in rural areas.”Robert Wadden (East)“The place of articling in the profession will be among the issues to be identified and dealt with by the benchers you elect.”Judith M. Potter (Southwest)“I am committed to addressing the growing problem of too few articling positions available for the numbers of law school graduates.” Goes on to say that it is time to explore other cost effective options that would level the playing field - as long as articling is a prerequisite to being a member of the profession fairness demands that we create a solution to a growing inequity.Norman Panzica (Central East)Discusses some current issues including "the difficulties faced by articling students and young lawyers to secure employment"Stephen G.A. Pitel (Southwest)“The Law Society has actively considered proposals and embarked on recent initiatives relating to the requirements of the common law degree in law (whether J.D. or LL.B.), the articling process and the licence examination process…all issues that interest me as a law professor.”Constance Backhouse (East)“Continuing to reassess legal education in the universities, bar admission course, articling, and continuing professional development programs to ensure there is coherence and effectiveness of outcomes.”Stephen Bale (Central East)Problem: “inability of law school graduates to find articling positions”Jay Chauhan (Central East)“Dramatic changes in society, as reflected in the legal system, require not only a strong programme of articling to have good lawyers, but also a continual effort to educate the lawyers both in specialities in an increasingly complex society and continual education for the general practice lawyers to adequately service an ever more demanding public.”Thomas G. Conway (East)LSUC should “(m)eet the challenges presented by the numbers entering our articling and licensing programs. About 250 students per year cannot find articling positions. The number of law school graduates and foreign-trained lawyers seeking admission to the Society continues to increase dramatically. We must address this challenge in a way that is fair to those who have invested time, effort and money in their training, without compromising ethical and competency standards."Emir Aly Crowne (Southwest)“Ensure that student recruitment and the articling process is conducted in a manner that respects the integrity of the student and the ethical ideals of the profession. Indeed, the challenges facing law students and articling students are often overlooked or neglected by those who have advanced within the profession (especially the challenges of those from equity seeking groups).”Ross F. Earnshaw (Central South)Committed to…."the securing of articling positions and permanent jobs for our graduating students"Carol Hartman (Northeast)Position: “Lobbying and voting to continue the articling requirements for candidates seeking admission to the Bar.”Jacqueline Horvat (Southwest)“More than 1,100 law graduates are called to the Bar of Ontario each year. Yet the LSUC, for all its efforts, has not been able to generate enough articling positions to meet students’ needs…One option the LSUC might consider is to supplement the licensing process with training courses geared to graduates who wish to practise as sole practitioners, or who wish to commit their careers to the public interest. Another option is to establish a formal network to help graduates connect with smaller communities or to place them in public-interest organizations.”Randall V. Johns (Northwest)Something needs to be done:  “(T)here is a surplus of new graduates who cannot find articling positions…access to justice will certainly become an even greater problem than it is today and a wealth of legal talent will be under or un-used”Michael M. Lerner (Southwest)“It has become increasingly difficult, if not impossible, for every law school graduate to secure an articling position. Diverse and unique opportunities need to be explored to ensure that every new call to the Bar has the ability to gain the practical experience needed to serve the community with competence and integrity.”Beverley A. Martel (Central West)“WHAT are the specific issues I consider important to the Bar? In no particular order, we need to focus on: the graying of the bar… and the need to mentor and support our articling students and recent calls”