Education · 1 of 5

The path

Same licence as every lawyer. The side you article on tends to become the side you stay on.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   English, business and law courses.

2. 2

   Bachelor's degree

   3 to 4 years

   Business, industrial relations, psychology and political science are common. Any subject works. Write the LSAT (law school admission test).

3. 3

   Law school (JD, juris doctor)

   3 years

   Take employment law, labour law, human rights and administrative law. Many schools have a workers' rights clinic.

4. 4

   Articling

   About 1 year

   8 to 10 months in the labour and employment group of a big firm, at a boutique on either side, or at a legal clinic, plus the barrister and solicitor licensing exams. Ontario's Law Practice Program is the alternative.

5. 5

   Called to the bar

   Ceremony

   Pick a side. Switching from employer to employee side later is possible, but firms on each side are wary of the other.