Young at Law

Summering, articling, networking, mentorship and more - check here regularly for practical tips, insights and ongoing discussion about the issues facing Ontario's law students and new lawyers.

Today
Today
young adults - one man, one woman - in business attire in office pumping fists and grinning in excitement

SPILL: What excites you about your area of practice?

  • June 13, 2024

With Call to the Bar ceremonies taking place across the province this month, and a new cohort of legal change-makers carving out career paths, what better time to pull back the curtain to expose the possibilities – the intrigue and enrichment – found in some of law’s most dynamic legal specialties and settings?

illustration of three partially open doors, one of which reveals a road to a cityscape

Why You Should Consider Articling with a Municipality

  • March 13, 2024
  • Sean Ovas

Figuring out a career path to pursue long term – a preferred practice area and a setting – is a common struggle for law students. For those looking to find the right fit, articling with a municipality offers not only hands-on experience in several areas of law but exposure to both barrister and solicitor work.

A group of young lawyers seated in rows listening to a woman speak from the podium

Stay Calm! Lawyers make mistakes

  • March 13, 2024
  • Nancy Bediako

"Get comfortable with losing" – and other lessons learned from legendary litigators at a uniquely revealing, riveting and reassuring evening of tales from the courtroom and mentorship through storytelling.

meeting between a worried-looking client and lawyer who is listening and leaning in, offering counsel

Enhancing Client Service and Lawyer Wellness through Trauma-Informed Lawyering

  • November 30, 2023
  • Jakob Wenzel

Understanding and addressing the impact of trauma on clients and practitioners is crucial for compassionate and effective representation. In a recent program jointly hosted by the OBA’s Elder Law Section and Family Law Section, experts in the fields of law, mental health and academia offered valuable insights and strategies to enrich legal services with a trauma-informed approach.

illustration of female law student sitting at desk with books and staring pensively

SPILL: Advice for your new-to-law-school self

  • August 30, 2023
  • Young Lawyers Division Executive Members

As we enter September, we asked members of our Young Lawyers Division Executive to reflect back to their earliest days of legal learning to find out, with the benefit of hindsight, what they might say to their ‘new-to-law-school’ selves to more nimbly navigate the challenges or make the most of the experience.

female mentor provides feedback to younger male mentee at conference table

Mentorship Means Never Having to Pay Back, Only Forward

  • May 31, 2023
  • Jeremy Martin

Woven into the fabric of the profession, mentorship connects lawyers to those who came before and those who follow, empowering them to be vulnerable and victorious, to learn and develop, and to pursue a path singularly rewarding but never solitary.