The Articling Placement Program assists articling students who are in untenable or unsafe articles due to harassment or discrimination with exiting their current position and finding replacement articles.

The program is not an avenue for students who are unhappy in their articling positions due to other reasons or who are unable to find an articling position. It is intended as a “911” response to those facing discrimination or harassment. If you are an articling student wanting to find out more about whether your circumstances qualify for the program, please reach out to the Law Society’s Equity Ombudsperson for an initial conversation.

The program was developed in response to the results of the 2019 articling survey, which revealed that approximately one-third of respondents reported experiencing harassment and/or discrimination during recruitment and/or articling.

However, many of these articling students do not report the behaviour and continue in their articling positions because of:

• a perceived lack of support in the firm/organization;
• no safe reporting structure in the firm/organization;
• a fear that raising these issues or formally reporting them within the firm/organization may negatively impact their reputation;
• the power imbalance between lawyers and articling students;
• the potential loss of the articling position and future call to the bar.

Articling students have the right to be free from harassing and discriminatory behaviour and have the right to report their circumstances without fear of reprisal. While coming forward about these issues will always be difficult, the program is intended to reassure articling students that reporting their issues will not lead to the loss of articles.

The Law Society is piloting this program in 2022, with the goal of gathering more information from participating articling students and firms/organizations to make refinements and recommendations for future use.

An articling student or anyone seeking information about the program can contact the Equity Ombudsperson at the Law Society for an initial, confidential conversation to discuss their experience of harassment or discrimination.

During these confidential conversations, the articling student can ask questions, discuss their concerns and gather information on possible next steps. It is an opportunity for an articling student to understand the resources and supports that are available to them, as well as assess their options.

The articling student’s principal will not be contacted at this stage.

After the initial conversation, an articling student may decide if the program is the option they would like to pursue.

The Equity Ombudsperson may be contacted at:

• Phone: 587.391.6596
• Email

Yes, initial conversations with the Equity Ombudsperson are confidential. During these confidential conversations, the articling student can ask questions, discuss their concerns and gather information on possible next steps. It is an opportunity for an articling student to understand the resources and supports that are available to them, as well as assess their options.

By engaging the program, the articling student consents to the Equity Ombudsperson sharing information about their experience with other necessary Law Society staff. This also protects the articling student from having to re-tell their story multiple times.

The articling student’s principal will not be contacted until it is determined that their experience has met the program criteria.

Once the articling student decides to engage the program, the Equity Ombudsperson will respond as quickly as possible since the student may be in an untenable or unsafe situation.

The Equity Ombudsperson will determine whether the criteria for establishing harassment or discrimination have been met given the information provided by the articling student.

The Model Code of Professional Conduct, developed by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, includes definitions of harassment and discrimination. Recently, the Federation has shared proposed amendments to these definitions. Our program is using these amended definitions as the basis for establishing whether harassment or discrimination has occurred.

While the criteria reference the behaviour of the principal, the program includes other lawyers at the firm/organization as well.

The criteria for establishing harassment include:

• the principal displayed an improper and offensive behaviour;
• the principal’s behaviour was directed at the articling student;
• the principal’s behaviour, while not directed at the articling student, created an environment for the articling student that was untenable or unsafe;
• the articling student was offended or harmed, including the feeling of being demeaned, belittled, personally humiliated or embarrassed, intimidated or threatened;
• the behaviour occurred in the workplace or at any location or any event related to work, or through communications; and
• there was a series of incidents or one severe incident that had a lasting, negative impact on the articling student.

The criteria for establishing discrimination include:

• the articling student has a personal characteristic that is listed as a prohibited ground of discrimination under human rights legislation;
• the articling student was treated differently than others in the firm/organization, or if the articling student was treated the same way as others, the treatment of the articling student put that student in a different position or had a different impact on that student because of their personal characteristic;
• the treatment had a negative impact on the articling student (or put them at a disadvantage compared to others); and
• there is evidence to show a link between the treatment or the impact that the articling student experienced and their personal characteristic.

If our Equity Ombudsperson concludes that the articling student’s experience has met the criteria, the Law Society will take steps to quickly end the student’s current articles. The student is not required to continue in their current articles until replacement articles are confirmed.

An articling student reporting the behaviour of their principal or of another lawyer to the Law Society is taking a difficult step and we do not take that lightly. Importantly, the default position of the program is that articling students are believed.

In many instances, the articling student may not have objective proof of the harassment or discrimination they experienced. In these situations, the Equity Ombudsperson will make reasonable inferences and conclusions from the information provided.

The Equity Ombudsperson has experience dealing with issues involving articling students and principals or other lawyers. They bring considerable expertise to the program.

There may be circumstances where articling students do not meet the eligibility criteria for a change of articles. Where the articling student is amenable, we will address these matters through mediation efforts to help preserve the principal-student relationship.

If the articling student does not want to engage in mediation efforts with their principal or other lawyer at the firm/organization, they may work with the Equity Ombudsperson to identify resources and supports to address their current concerns.

Once the decision is made that a student’s articles will end, the Law Society will contact the previous principal. The work to find replacement articles will begin as soon as the articling student is formally in the program. The Law Society will inform the principal that the articling student will not be continuing with the firm/organization. It is an opportunity for the Law Society and the principal to discuss the principal’s or other lawyers’ behaviour towards the articling student. It also provides the principal and/or the other lawyer with an opportunity to give their view of the situation and for the Law Society to listen to their perspective.

This conversation will inform further steps the Law Society may take regarding the principal or the other lawyer in the firm/organization, whether that might include education, training or the conduct process.

The Law Society may determine that the previous principal is unable to have future articling students until they take and complete training or education to address the underlying issues.

If the situation warrants the involvement of the conduct process, the Law Society will carefully review all the information provided by the articling student and the principal and/or the other lawyer to determine the appropriate next steps. The Law Society may determine that it is necessary to proceed with a complaint against the principal and/or the other lawyer, either at the articling student’s or the Law Society’s initiative. This may occur:

• to prevent harm to future articling students;
• when there is a potential risk to the public;
• when the principal’s and/or the other lawyer’s behaviour is of such a nature that it harms the standing of the legal profession.

The Law Society has recruited a group of law firms/organizations that meet specific eligibility criteria and are willing to offer replacement articles to articling students through the program. View the list of participating roster firms/organizations.

If your law firm or organization is interested in being added to the roster, you can reach out to the Equity Ombudsperson for more information.

To be included as a roster firm/organization, they must meet specific eligibility criteria including:

• can offer replacement articles on short or little notice.
• must provide a principal who can fully meet the duties required by the Law Society.
• relies on the Law Society’s conclusion that the articling student has met the program’s eligibility criteria.
• must pay the articling student’s salary for the duration of the articles with the firm/organization. The salary must be commensurate with the salary paid to the firm/organization’s other articling students, if applicable. Please note that the replacement firm/organization is only responsible for salary once the articling student begins their employment with them. The Law Society does not pay the articling student’s salary.
• must pay the articling student’s CPLED fees if the student has not taken PREP (the bar admission course) but will during their articles with the roster firm/organization. Note: This is only applicable if the roster firm/organization pays the CPLED fees for the firm/organization’s other articling students. The Law Society does not pay the articling student’s CPLED fees.

If the Law Society determines that the student’s current articles should end, we will work with the articling student to find a roster firm/organization. We will let the articling student know which roster firms/organizations are available and will work with both the articling student and roster firm/organization to facilitate replacement articles.

After a student is placed in new articles, the Equity Ombudsperson will check in with the articling student to offer support, see how they are faring and provide an opportunity to give feedback.

The Law Society will advise the roster firm/organization that the articling student has met the eligibility criteria of the program but will not provide any detailed information about what occurred during the student’s previous articles. The Law Society will provide the roster firm/organization with information regarding what has been accomplished so far in the student’s articles.

The replacement firm/organization is prohibited from asking questions related to the harassing or discriminatory behaviour in the articling student’s previous firm/organization.

It is up to the articling student to decide whether they or the Law Society provides any information to the roster firm/organization regarding their experience during their previous articles.

An articling student may contact Assist for information and related resources. Articling students have access to Assist’s programs and peer support and can contact the organization to learn what mental health and other supports are available to them at any time.