Why You Should Consider Articling with a Municipality

One of the biggest challenges I faced in law school was trying to figure out which area of law I wanted to practice in in the future. Over the years, I’ve pictured myself working in quite a few different practice areas. At some points I thought I would end up in environmental law, then litigation, and then family law. Even going into articling this year, I still didn’t know for sure where I would end up. Several of my classmates, and even lawyers that I’ve met, have gone through similar struggles. Figuring out your future career path seems to be a common struggle that many law students encounter at some point.

In law school, students learn about the many different pathways that they can take after graduating. Not only can students choose from a variety of practice areas, but they must figure out if they want to work for a boutique firm, a big law firm, the government, or even clerk with a court. Over the years, I’ve never been sure which pathway was right for me. For instance, during law school, I found it hard to get enough exposure to specific practice areas to figure out if I could work in them over the long term. One solution for many students is to article with a law firm that offers a rotation program. This type of experience exposes articling students to several areas of law, to help them figure out what they enjoy. Unfortunately, not everyone can article in a law firm with a rotation program. However, as I’ve come to realize, its not just law firms that offer this type of rotational articling experience. Law students who are unsure of what they want to do can have a similar rotation experience by articling with a municipality. Municipal legal departments can offer their articling students a chance to get hands-on experience in many different areas of law.

I started articling with the Regional Municipality of Peel (“Peel”) in July. Peel is an upper-tier municipal government made up of the City of Mississauga, the City of Brampton, and the Town of Caledon. Peel’s Legal Services department has approximately 20 lawyers who work across various practice areas, including business law, property law, and dispute resolution. Based on my experience so far, there are several reasons why I would recommend that every law student should consider articling with a municipality, particularly if they can’t decide what they want to do.