While industries across Canada launch major recruitment programs to fill the vacuum left by baby boomer retirees, the legal profession remains as competitive as ever.
In Vancouver, the number of legal professionals who want to live and practice on the West Coast have kept the environment highly competitive, resulting in lower compensation for young lawyers.
That means law school graduates on the West Coast can expect to earn less than their counterparts in Toronto and Calgary.
“I always say, ‘Don’t go into law to make money,’ especially in Vancouver because it’s so expensive to live,” explained Pamela Cyr, director of career services at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) faculty of law.
“It’s not like you’re going to become a millionaire; there are very few lawyers practising in Vancouver that are making the kind of money you would in the business world,” Cyr said.
That might be a bit of a letdown for students who grew up watching fictional litigators on TV divide their time between golf courses and beaches.
But that’s not to say you can’t make a decent living going to court.
Following law school, articling students can expect to make between $45,000 and $55,000 a year in B.C.
Ten years down the road, a partner at a downtown firm could pull in between $300,000 and $400,000 a year, Cyr said.
That’s not bad when compared with an average family income of $67,890 per year in B.C., according to 2008 Statistics Canada numbers.
But articling salaries in Toronto, for example, can be as high as $70,000 a year, according to the University of Toronto.
Cyr said first-year associates can expect to make somewhere around $90,000 per year in Vancouver, while in Toronto that number could be as high as $120,000 per year.
“It shows you how small and competitive the Vancouver market is … I’m trying to encourage students that want to work at a larger firm to go to Toronto or Calgary because there just aren’t enough jobs here and they make more money.”
High competition for lawyers in Vancouver is driven by a number of factors.
First, it’s a highly sought-after profession that attracts people from all walks of life.
For example, UBC’s law program generally receives 2,000 applications per year, Cyr said, but only 180 students are accepted.
Second, while the mining and technology sectors clamber for people to fill vacant spots left by retirees, lawyers, it appears, aren’t keen on retirement.
That means there are fewer holes for new lawyers to fill.
Last month the Law Society of BC reported that only 13% of sole practitioners have designated a lawyer to wrap up their affairs in the event of death or disability, prompting the society to launch a campaign to help solo and small firms improve replacement planning.
Heather Frost, director of professional development at Lawson Lundell LLP, said she receives 300 applications every year from students who want to article at her firm.
Only eight are accepted.
The competitive environment has caused the firm to search for lawyers who have more to offer than just good grades.
“It used to be that you could get on being just really bright and that was enough, but now you’ve got to be a bit of a businessperson too … clients want value, they want people who understand their business.”
The good news is that Lawson Lundell is one of a number of firms across the country that has a full-time staff member dedicated to professional development.
Despite the numbers, Jon Conlin said the environment isn’t as bleak as it sounds.
Conlin, a third-year UBC student, has already secured an articling position with a downtown firm and said there are lots of opportunities for young lawyers.
“It’s a lot easier for students to be informed about positions, especially with the use of social media and the career services office … it’s very competitive but the legal economy here is pretty good,” Conlin said.
Brian Fulton, Lawson Lundell’s managing partner, said the current marketplace for young lawyers is similar to when he left law school 30 years ago.
“We’re just hitting that part of the baby boom where folks are less inclined to step away … so there’s probably going to be less turnover for senior lawyers than would otherwise have been the case,” Fulton said. “But I think there’ll always be opportunities for really good young lawyers.”