The Legal Office Environment

• Author: Tina Kamakaris/Jane Kamakaris/Louis Kamakaris
• Pages: 1-9

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Chapter 1 The Legal Office Environment

CHAPTER 1

Laws should be like clothes; they should be tailored to t the people they are meant to serve. And

when the laws do not t the people, or the people do not t the laws, legal wars break out and

land on the doorstep of the legal profession — happily, the second oldest profession.

is chapter covers an overview of the legal oce environment and the role of lawyers, law clerks,

legal assistants (also referred to as legal administrative assistants), and paralegals. At points of the

gavel, you will read decided court cases that will reinforce the substantive law discussed and also

help you see how our courts interpret our laws when people sue.

THE LEGAL OFFICE

e legal oce, or law rm, is the place where lawyers carry on the business of law. Most law

rms practise as Limited Liability Partnerships, identied by the abbreviation LLP following

the partnership name, which basically means that the law partners are not personally liable for

any negligent acts of other partners or employees who are directly supervised by other partners.

Law rms vary in size, ranging from one lawyer to over two hundred lawyers. Figure 1.1 shows

the organizational structure of the small law rm of Michael, Eliad & Redford LLP. e law

rm consists of the three partners whose surnames make up the name of the law rm. e law

rm employs one associate (hired lawyer), who is Margaret Nesh, and one articling student

(student lawyer). Both Ms. Nesh and the articling student report to the partners. e law rm

also employs legal assistants, law clerks, a paralegal, a receptionist, and a bookkeeper.

Note from Figure 1.1 that you are a law clerk/assistant to Mr. Robert B. Redford. You report

directly to Mr. Redford and, by extension, to the remaining partners. Whenever the need arises,

you are also expected to do work for the associate and the articling student. e same applies to the

remaining legal support sta. is reporting structure is typical of many small law rms. Figure 1.2

is an organizational chart of a large law rm. It features a sophisticated organizational hierarchy with

numerous departments, services, and career positions typical of many large law rms.

LAWYERS

Education Generally, Ontario lawyers must obtain a university degree; pass a Law School

Admission Test (LSAT); obtain from a law school a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) or its equiva-

lent Juris Doctor (JD) degree; write a barrister and a solicitor licensing examination; complete

either (a) an articling period during which they work under the supervision of a lawyer, or (b) a

Law Practice Program consisting of a training course and a work placement; and comply with the

THE LEGAL OFFICE

ENVIRONMENT

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