The Articling Program has been a challenging journey for many law students. It is intended to satisfy the Law Society that the applicant has practical & substantive knowledge of being a lawyer in Canada. It is a significant step in a law student’s legal career that enables the transition from school to practice. The Law Society of Alberta’s (“LSA”) admission program requires an eight-to-twelve-month articling term. Students must also enrol in the Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP) administered by the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED). You can learn more about the process of becoming a lawyer in Alberta here.
The Articling Placement Program has been introduced by the LSA with the goal of assisting articling students exit their current position and find replacement articles if they are placed in untenable or unsafe work environments and subjected to harassment or discrimination.
Harassment or Discrimination during Articling
The demand for articling positions in Alberta has been at an all-time high and is only increasing. Students work diligently to secure a spot to boost their legal career and look forward to receiving invaluable training, mentorship and support form experienced principals. Since there are no articling placement programs in place, every student must individually search for a position. Often, a student-at-law may face discrimination or harassment at their workplace leading to stress, dissatisfaction amongst other things. There is a pervasive belief that lawyering is hard work, and that the amateur class must be pushed hard from day one. However, it is unquestionable that no workplace should become an abusive environment for anyone. For a student-at-law, the task to quit an ongoing position and hunt for a new one is unfeasible. Consequently, many who face hardship in the form of discrimination or harassment restrain themselves from speaking out. Resultantly, such high-tensioned situations lead to inconsistency in training students, and it is increasingly alarming as it can leave articling students without any confidence or required skills.
Why LSA’s Articling Placement Program?
The Articling Placement Program is a pilot program developed in 2022 by the LSA, to address the significant reports of students experiencing harassment and/or discrimination during the recruitment cycle and/or while articling. The program is not an avenue for students who are unhappy in their positions due to other reasons or who are unable to find an articling position. According to the LSA’s webpage, it is intended as a “911” response to those facing discrimination or harassment.
Discrimination is an act or omission of providing benefits or opportunities available to others but effectively denied to selected individuals or groups because of a distinction related to personal attributes. Sexual harassment means one or a series of incidents involving unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Students who are being discriminated against or harassed may suffer from stress, depression, and other illnesses that either keep them away from work or reduce their well-being and productivity.
Articling students have the right to be free from harassment and discriminatory behaviour and have the right to report their circumstances without fear of reprisal. While coming forward about these issues may always be difficult, the program reassures articling students that reporting such issues will not lead to the loss of articles.
The LSA conducted an Articling Student survey in May and June 2019, wherein students and lawyers called to the Bar in the past five years gave feedback about their experience in the articling recruitment process, in articling, and in practice. The statistics revealed that 32% of students and new lawyers reported experiencing discrimination and harassment across all types of firms. It was also highlighted that most of the young lawyers or students who face such discrimination or harassment, were unaware of the resources available to them to address such issues.
How Can One Apply?
The steps to apply for the Articling Placement Program have been laid down by the LSA as follows:
- The articling student must contact the Law Society’s Equity Ombudsperson for an initial confidential conversation to discuss their experience of harassment or discrimination. During these confidential conversations, the articling student can ask questions, discuss their concerns, and gather information on possible next steps. The Articling Placement Program may be raised as an option available to the student. The program also emphasizes that students who report their experiences will be believed.
- The Equity Ombudsperson will determine if the criteria for establishing harassment or discrimination have been met, given the information provided by the articling student.
- If a decision is made that a student’s articles should be terminated, the LSA will contact the previous principal. The process to find replacement articles begins as soon as the articling student is formally admitted in the program.
- To further the goal of providing safe articles to students who face harassment or discrimination, the LSA recruited a roster of law firms/organizations that are keen on offering replacement articles.
- Thereafter, the LSA will advise the respective roster firm/organization that the articling student has met the eligibility criteria of the program, but it will not disclose any detailed information about their previous articles. It will provide such roster firm/organization with work-related information as to how much was accomplished in the student’s articles thus far.
Subsequently, the Equity Ombudsperson will check-in with the articling student to offer support, observe how they are faring and provide an opportunity to give feedback. Furthermore, students and lawyers in Alberta have open access to the Assist program and can contact the organization to learn more on counselling and other supports made available to them.
The LSA through its Articling Placement Program is sending a positive message to the legal profession about the importance of addressing discrimination and harassment in the workplace. It provides confidential and unbiased assistance to students who are placed in high-risk environments. The program is designed for such students to understand the various resources that are available to them and accordingly assess their next options.
- By Ravitanay Singh
