Articling

AuthorWendy Griesdorf
Pages51-58
Articling 51
SIX
Articling
H t Exc  Arcl
Articlin g is a hard year, regardless of your background. It may be the f‌irst time you have ever had to push
yourself beyond your personal limits. Few lawyers recall their articling year with pleasure; however, al-
most every lawyer will tel l you that what she learned during artic ling shaped her lawyering skills.
There are several factors that increase pressure during art icling and each factor should be ad-
dressed individually as you move though the art icling experience. First, there is the translation of
your academic understanding of the legal system into a practical application of serv ice to clients. The
apprenticeship model that is the basis for articling predates university law training. Some argue that
the amount of learning that occurs dur ing articling equals or exceeds the amount of learni ng that oc-
curs during t he three years of a university law degree. When articling, you must absorb a tremendous
amount of new information within a relatively short period of time. If you were involved in your law
school’s legal aid program or you were a law clerk before attending law school, you may f‌ind the transi-
tion from law school to articling easier.
A second factor that increases the pressure during articling is the volume of work. Many lawyers
recall that the heavy workload was the most dif f‌icult aspect of articling. In t he illustration below, the
work volume is represented by a triangle made up of three elements.
volume of work
Itty
Dri Dvrty

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