THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
July 15, 2011 | 23
BUSINESS
CAREERS
Part of a profession with a reputation
of being overly cautious at times, Canada’s legal community appears enthusiastically optimistic about the economy, at
least when it comes to hiring, according
to the results of a new study by legal
staffing company, Robert Half Legal.
The survey, conducted by Pennsylva-nia-based International Communications Research (ICR) for the Robert Half
Legal Hiring Index found that half (50
per cent) of the 150 lawyers interviewed
by phone plan to hire full-time staff in
the third quarter of 2011. Only one per
cent anticipated reductions in personnel.
The net 49 per cent projected increase in
hiring activity represents a six percentage point rise from the second quarter
forecast for 2011.
Most of the hiring is expected to take
place at law firms.
The results are found in Robert Half’s
quarterly Professional Employment
Report — launched last year — which
involved 75 lawyers at law firms with 20
or more employees and 75 corporate
lawyers at companies with 1,000 or
more employees.
A whopping 91 per cent of lawyers
surveyed were confident in their organizations’ prospects for growth between
July and September.
In terms of hiring, almost all the
respondents — 96 per cent — said they
would most likely hire lawyers, followed
by legal secretaries and assistants (56
per cent), law clerks (39 per cent), paralegals (35 per cent) and legal administrators ( 18 per cent).
While the numbers “almost sound too
good to be true,” they are supported by
the flurry of activity at Robert Half Legal,
where recruiters “can hardly keep up”
with the demand for lawyers and other
staff in Canada, said Canadian regional
manager Anne Edmonds, who hasn’t
seen such high demand for staffing since
she joined the company six years ago.
“We’ve had such drastic layoffs over
the last two years that firms and corpor-
ate legal departments were a little gun-
shy and didn’t want to hire people and
then lay them off. But business has picked
up and it’s a different landscape, so they
now are confident that they have the cap-
acity to bring people on full-time.”
Canadian confidence outpaces the
results of a similar survey conducted in
the U.S. There, 84 per cent of lawyers
expressed confidence in their organiza-
tions’ ability to expand this quarter (up
three points from the previous quarter)
and 35 per cent said they planned to add
legal staff in the next three months. Five
per cent plan reductions in personnel,
resulting in a net 30 per cent projected
increase in hiring activity—a one per-
centage point rise from the second quar-
ter forecast for 2011.
Lawyers (93 per cent of responses),
legal secretaries and assistants (32 per
cent) and paralegals ( 20 per cent) are the
top three positions in demand south of
the border. Law clerks and legal administrators rounded out the list at 19 per cent
and 12 per cent respectively.
According to Charles Volkert, execu-
tive director of Robert Half Legal in
Menlo Park, Calif., law firms are rebuild-
ing their support teams and are hiring
experienced legal assistants and para-
legals able to add “immediate value and
perform multiple job functions.”
In a news release, he noted that the
“most marketable” support professionals
in the U.S. have backgrounds in litigation
and e-discovery, as well as experience in
document management.
The U.S. study was based on 200 telephone interviews with lawyers: 100 of
them at firms with 20 or more employees
and 100 at companies with 1,000 or
more employees.
Meanwhile, in the Canadian survey,
44 per cent of the respondents identified
corporate law as the practice area
See Hiring Page 26
JUDICIAL VACANCY
ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE
LONDON
The Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee advises the Attorney General of
Ontario on the appointment of Judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, and invites
applications for a judicial position in London.
This appointment involves presiding over criminal and family law matters and could
also involve travel within or beyond the regional boundaries as assigned by the
Regional Senior Justice and/or the Chief Justice.
The minimum requirement to apply to be a Judge in the Ontario Court of Justice is
ten years completed membership as a barrister and solicitor at the Bar of one of the
Provinces or Territories of Canada.
All candidates must apply either by submitting 14 copies of the current (Jan 2011)
completed Judicial Candidate Information Form in the first instance or by a short
letter ( 14 copies) if the current form has been submitted within the previous 12
months. Should you wish to change any information in your application, you
must send in 14 copies of a fully revised Judicial Candidate Information Form.
If you wish to apply and need a current Judicial Candidate Information Form, or if you
would like further information, please contact:
Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee
Tel: (416) 326-4060. Fax: (416) 212-7316
Website: www.ontariocourts.on.ca/jaac/en/
All applications, either sent by courier, mail or hand delivery, must be sent to:
Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee
c/o Ministry of Government Services Mail Delivery
77 Wellesley Street West, Room M2B-88
Macdonald Block, Queen’s Park
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1N3
Applications must be on the current prescribed form and must be
TYPEWRITTEN or COMPUTER GENERATED and RECEIVED BY 4:30 p.m. on
Friday, August 5, 2011. CANDIDATES ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE 14
COPIES OF THEIR APPLICATION FORM OR LETTER. A Fax copy will be
accepted only if 14 copies of the application or letter are sent concurrently by
overnight courier. Applications received after this date WILL NOT be
considered.
The Judiciary of the Ontario Court of Justice should reasonably reflect the
diversity of the population it serves. Applications from members of equality-seeking groups are encouraged.
POSTE À POURVOIR AU SEIN DE LA MAGISTRATURE
COUR DE JUSTICE DE L’ONTARIO
LONDON
Le Comité consultatif sur les nominations à la magistrature conseille le Procureur général
de l’Ontario sur les nominations de juges à la Cour de justice de l’Ontario et invite les
personnes intéressées à présenter leur demande au poste de juge à London.
Cette nomination comprend la présidence de questions mettant en cause des instances de
droit criminel et de droit de famille et pourrait exiger des déplacements à l`intérieur ou au-delà des limites régionales, selon les directives du juge principal régional et / ou du juge
en chef.
Pour pouvoir poser sa candidature à un poste de juge à la Cour de justice de l’Ontario, il
faut, comme condition minimale, avoir été inscrit comme avocat-plaidant et procureur au
barreau de l’une des provinces ou de l’un des territoires du Canada pendant au moins
dix ans.
Tous les candidats et candidates doivent poser leur candidature soit, dans le premier cas,
en présentant le Formulaire de renseignements sur le candidat/la candidate à la
magistrature courant (jan 2011), soit en envoyant une courte lettre (en 14 exemplaires) si
le formulaire courant a été présenté au cours des 12 mois précédents. En cas de
changements à apporter à un formulaire déjà envoyé, le candidat ou la candidate
doit envoyer à nouveau 14 exemplaires du formulaire de renseignements corrigé.
Si vous voulez poser votre candidature et que vous avez besoin d’un Formulaire de
renseignements sur le candidat/la candidate à la magistrature courant, ou encore si vous
souhaitez obtenir de plus amples renseignements, veuillez communiquer avec :
Comité consultatif sur les nominations à la magistrature
Téléphone : (416) 326-4060 Télécopieur : (416) 212-7316
Site Web : www.ontariocourts.on.ca/jaac/fr/
Toutes les demandes envoyées par service de messagerie, par la poste ou en main propre
doivent être soumises à l’adresse suivante :
Comité consultatif sur les nominations à la magistrature
a/s Ministère des Services gouvernementaux - Services de
distribution du courrier
77, rue Wellesley Ouest, salle M2B-88
Édifice Macdonald, Queen’s Park
Toronto (Ontario) M7A 1N3
Les demandes de candidature doivent être déposées par l’entremise du formulaire
prescrit courant et DACTYLOGRAPHIÉES ou CRÉÉES PAR ORDINATEUR et reçues
au plus tard à 16 h 30 le vendredi 5 août 2011. LES CANDIDATS ET CANDIDATES
DOIVENT FOURNIR 14 EXEMPLAIRES DE LEUR FORMULAIRE OU DE LEUR
LETTRE DE CANDIDATURE. Une télécopie ne sera acceptée que si 14 exemplaires
du formulaire ou de la lettre de candidature sont également envoyés par service de
messagerie de 24 heures. On n’accordera AUCUNE considération aux candidatures
reçues après cette date.
La magistrature provinciale doit refléter raisonnablement la diversité de la
population qu’elle sert. Nous encourageons les membres de groupes de promotion
de l’égalité à présenter une demande.
