🧑⚖️ Benefits of Becoming A Lawyer
- Wide range of areas of specializations
- High-salaried career
- Every case and client is different, presenting intellectual stimulation
- Able to help others and make a difference in society
Some aspiring lawyers attend law school in Canada to change the twisted way things are being done. People who love fair justice dare to fight for those inaudible voices in the crowd. They are the people who want to see the world become a more incredible place. In some Canadian cities, such as Ottawa, there are particular educational requirements for law school, including completing a law degree and starting to defend innocent people.
In Canadian cities such as Vancouver, bar exams are a day or two-day test, which students take after their law school graduation. The exam requires examiners to be law graduates since they'll be writing essay answers and creating questions that will test their knowledge of the law. If you pass the bar exam, a license to practice law is given.
Those people who get the best bar examination results quickly get a job at the best law firm in Canada, and even in some of its cities, such as Edmonton. Law is an excellent profession in Canada and Calgary. Even though starting with the degree seems new to you, the benefits of becoming a lawyer are gratifying and satisfying.
🌐 Benefit 1: Diverse Career Opportunities
The more you research the legal industry, the more you'll notice two key insights:
- Not all lawyers go to court. Lawyers who do are known as litigators, while those who don’t are often referred to as solicitors.
- Legal services vary widely in cost depending on the lawyer and their area of expertise.
These two key insights reflect the diverse career opportunities that a lawyer can undertake, especially in terms of their practice, where they develop their niche through their chosen area of law specialization, such as the following:
🏢 Corporate Law
Lawyers who specialize in corporate law assist clients with business-related matters, ensuring that transactions, employment practices, and contracts comply with applicable corporate laws and regulations. They may also mediate or advise in situations involving conflicts of interest. Here are some examples of lawyers who work in the field of corporate law:
Estate Planning Lawyer
✔️Provide client counselling to those who want to set aside their assets for their future beneficiaries
✔️Job description: Prepare wills, estate planning documents, and trusts
✔️Also advise on life insurance policies, retirement plans, and charitable contributions
Employment Lawyer
✔️Plays a vital role in assisting both employers and employee relations
✔️Job description: Ensures all employment issues adhere to state, local, and federal laws
✔️Key player to ensure employees' equal treatment in every workplace
Real Estate Lawyer
✔️Also acts as litigators (where they manage lawsuits and represent their clients in court)
✔️Job description: Drafts contracts and makes sure that the transactions of real estate or properties comply with the law
✔️Can work in different sectors, for public or private organisations
⚖️ Criminal Law and Civil Law
One thing is for sure: all lawyers who specialise in criminal law will be involved in court procedures, one way or another. Depending on their cases, they will either prosecute or defend individuals when a criminal action is committed.
On the other hand, lawyers who specialise in civil law may appear or may not appear in courts. Some civil lawyers may focus on advisory or transactional work and try to handle disputes out of court. Here are two areas of specialisation examples which represent criminal law and civil law, respectively:
Personal Injury Lawyer (Criminal Law)
- Personal injury lawyers are also known as trial or plaintiff lawyers
- Covers any form of injury cases involving emotions, mind, and body
- Examples include: Cases for battery (unlawful physical contact) and assault, medical harm and malpractice, a personal injury that results in the death of a family member or causes severe injuries
Family Divorce Lawyer
(Civil Law)
- The key person to consult when a decision to terminate a marriage is made between spouses
- Assists spouses to have a clear and agreed-upon understanding of dividing debt and assets to finalise the separation (could be done through court or outside court)
- Also involved in finalising the details of child custody and child support for spouses with children
🏛️ Public Service Law
Lawyers who choose a career in public service law are often driven by a commitment to social justice and typically work with government agencies or non-profit organizations. Some common public service lawyers' areas of specialization include:
Environmental Law
- A growing demand in Canada driven by increased awareness of sustainability and green policies.
- Ensures clients comply with the updated environmental laws while offering legal advice
- Scopes covered include environmental insurance, environmental litigation, and air law
Indigenous Law
- Reflects the inclusion and significance of Aboriginal rights and the First Nations community in Canada
- Protects and advances the rights of the Indigenous community
- Scopes covered include corporate and economic development, tax, and specific claims
💰 Benefit 2: Competitive Salary - Is Being A Lawyer Worth It?
While many people associate becoming a lawyer with earning a high salary, there are other important factors to consider. A lawyer’s compensation often depends on the demand for their specific area of law, where they practice (types of law firms or specific locations), as well as their years of experience and accumulated expertise.
For example, lawyers who work in bigger provinces like Quebec and Ontario will enjoy a more competitive salary compared to their counterparts in smaller provinces like Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Here's a detailed breakdown of the average salaries of lawyers in Canada according to their different provinces, according to recent data from Indeed, an established employment website.
| Province/Territory | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Alberta | $153,007 |
| Ontario | $143,861 |
| Saskatchewan | $127,071 |
| British Columbia | $125,274 |
| Quebec | $112,344 |
| Nova Scotia | $114,317 |
| Manitoba | $122,668 |
| New Brunswick | $87,252 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $143,986 |
| Northwest Territories | $149,366 |
| Nunavut | $138,765 |
| Prince Edward Island | $97,206 |
| Yukon | $145,974 |
Here's a detailed breakdown of the average salaries of lawyers in Canada according to their areas of specialization, according to recent data from Talented.com, another established employment website.
| Specialization | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Immigration Law | $183,486 |
| Real Estate Law | $170,000 |
| Corporate Law | $150,000 |
| Intellectual Property Law | $130,000 |
| Family Law | $125,000 |
| Criminal Law | $120,000 |
Remember, these lawyers' salary figures only serve as a point of reference before you eventually decide on a full-time career in the legal field. In hindsight, these figures do reflect the amount of work that lawyers undertake, in terms of long hours of research and court proceedings, as well as high stress levels, which are some disadvantages of becoming a lawyer. It's essentially a service-based industry, where logic and emotions sometimes collide.
The average salary, depending on the type of legal work, for Canadian lawyers was $145,300 yearly in 2019. You'll notice that this figure can fluctuate as years go by, according to other factors such as years of experience levels too. The longer you work as a lawyer, the higher your pay will be.
🧠 Benefit 3: Intellectual Challenge
A lawyer deals with different challenges every day, yet they still stay positive. Laws are ever-changing and complex. You will be investing a lot of time deep analyzing and researching these laws for you to represent your client effectively. This means you have to constantly squeeze your brain juice and do lots of mental stimulation to review different angles of a case, from the law, from your client's perspective, and even from the opposing side.
As an aspiring lawyer, you should enjoy investigating facts, precedents in the law, unearthing nuances, and creating new plans of action for every case and client. Practicing the law is rewarding since every case represents a new set of challenges. The following steps must come naturally to you to make your working experience efficient and meaningful at the same time.
🧩 Detailed research and accurate interpretation of the law (cross-checked with updated laws according to provinces)
🧩 Come out with persuasive arguments while connecting with evidence
🧩 Relate and apply the right legal principles (context)
🤝 Benefit 4: Opportunity to Help Others
Every case a lawyer handles is essential to someone. A person won't contact a lawyer if they can address the issues by themselves, or a family member or a friend.
Lawyers can also decide how they desire to make such a difference, regardless of whether it's to help families and children or bring criminals to justice. Lawyers offer solutions and support in a client's challenging times. In fact, many lawyers work on a pro bono basis, which means free of charge through legal aid societies or law firms.
The justice and legal system affect society in many ways. Lawyers have contributed to the freedom and growth of the community. Here are some ways a lawyer in Canada can help others and contribute to society:
📍 Tips for Aspiring Lawyers
Nowadays, lawyers are needed depending on their areas of speciality. Becoming a lawyer is never easy, but is fulfilling in the end, giving more benefits than you can imagine. The career path may be difficult, but finishing it is something you can be proud of, plus enjoying and experiencing the reward of being one.
If you are a student who is an aspiring lawyer, here are some tips to help you kickstart your dream to become a lawyer in Canada.
🔑 Tip 1: Get practical experience early
As an aspiring lawyer, you would have probably enrolled in a law school, but that's not enough because legal experience is all about real-world cases. You've got to be hands-on.
That's why it's best to put your theoretical knowledge to the test by applying for summer internships or university students working experience positions at law firms to get a glimpse of what it takes to be part of the legal industry. You could also opt for shadowing opportunities to learn what experienced lawyers do in their everyday work.
🔑 Tip 2: Join various volunteering opportunities
Any form of working experience (whether paid or unpaid) will bear rewards in your legal career in the future. Volunteering at places like Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) is also extremely handy if your cause of passion has always centred around human rights, social justice and the marginalized community. Additionally, you get to review a wide range of cases of public interest as it is.
🔑 Tip 3: Don't be shy away from networking with the legal community
Transitioning into the real world from a law student to a practicing lawyer in Canada can be seamless when you are connected in a supportive and collaborative community. As a student, you can start joining many law school info sessions and legal panels to meet different law practitioners in your local community or outside your city.
In the process, introduce yourself and be respectful when engaging in discussions. Also, don't forget to keep in touch via LinkedIn in this modern day and age. You'll never know if this one connection can lead you to your first job or next job in your legal career.
🔑 Tip 4: Strengthen your legal knowledge with a Superprof tutor
Finally, there's always room for improvement when it comes to studying law. Perhaps you are interested in specialising in an area of law like immigration law and would like to know more from an experienced law tutor who has practised in this area. Perhaps, you would like some personalised guidance for your bar exams, whether it's physical or online lessons.
At Superprof, you can connect with qualified and reliable law tutors from across Canada and take your passion for law to the next level. Most Superprof tutors offer their first lesson for free, so be sure to seize this opportunity
Ready to take the next step to be closer to your dream of becoming a lawyer?
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