Lawyer

What lawyers make

The spread is enormous. Legal aid, family and criminal lawyers often earn under $100,000. Partners at large Toronto firms earn well over $500,000.

Articling year

Large Toronto firms pay articling students around $100,000. Small firms and legal clinics pay half that. Since 2023 the Law Society of Ontario requires every articling placement to pay at least $620 a week, about $32,000 a year.

First-year associate on Bay Street

Several top Toronto firms moved first-year pay to $135,000 in 2025. The number rises roughly $10,000 to $20,000 a year for the first several years. Most lawyers do not work at these firms.

What it costs to get there

Undergrad degree (3 to 4 years)

$7,000 to $10,000 a year

Law school (3 years)

$12,000 to $35,000 a year

LSAT (law school admission test) and applications

$500 to $1,500

Licensing exams and fees

$5,000 to $8,000

Roughly, all in

$62,500 to $157,000

Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel

This is three or four years of an undergraduate degree, then three years of law school, then a licensing year. The low end is a cheaper undergraduate degree and a law school outside Ontario where tuition can be under $12,000 a year, plus the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) and the licensing fees. The high end is a full four year undergraduate degree and a high tuition school such as the University of Toronto, listed at about $36,000 a year with fees for 2026 to 2027. Most other Ontario schools sit between those two, around $18,000 to $28,000 a year, and the articling year is paid work rather than a bill.

University of Toronto law is $33,700 a year in tuition for 2026-27, about $36,000 with fees. Most other Ontario schools are $18,000 to $28,000. Schools outside Ontario are cheaper, some under $12,000.

How lawyers get paid

• Salary

  Associates at firms, government and in-house lawyers.

• Billable hours

  Big firms expect 1,800 or more billed hours a year, which means far more hours worked.

• Contingency

  Personal injury lawyers take a share of what they win.

• Partnership

  Owners of the firm split the profits.

The path

Undergrad, law school, then a licensing year.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   Strong marks in English, history and any writing-heavy course. No specific requirements.

2. 2

   Bachelor's degree

   3 to 4 years

   Any subject. Political science, philosophy, history, business and English are common. GPA (grade point average) matters most. Write the LSAT (law school admission test).

3. 3

   Law school (JD, juris doctor)

   3 years

   Three years at one of about two dozen Canadian law schools. Admission is competitive: a 3.7+ GPA and 160+ LSAT are typical at most schools.

4. 4

   Licensing

   About 1 year

   In Ontario: barrister and solicitor exams plus 8 to 10 months of articling (or the Law Practice Program). Other provinces have similar bar admission programs.

5. 5

   Called to the bar

   Ceremony

   You are sworn in and can practise law in that province.

High school courses that help

• English and writing

  Lawyers write for a living.

• History, law and civics

  Useful background.

• Debate or Model United Nations

  Not a course, but great practice.

• French

  Bilingual lawyers are in demand in federal government and Quebec.

Time and money, at a glance

Years after high school

7 to 8

Law school acceptance rate

About 10% to 20%

Total tuition

$60,000 to $140,000

Paid while training?

Only during articling

Regulated by provincial law societies

Each province has a law society that licenses lawyers, sets the ethics rules and disciplines members. Being called to the bar in Ontario does not automatically let you practise in BC, though moving between provinces is straightforward under the national mobility agreement. Quebec has a separate civil law system and its own path.

Things that raise your pay

• Clerking for a judge

  One year after law school. Prestigious, opens doors to top firms and academia.

• A specialty in demand

  Tax, corporate, securities, intellectual property and technology law pay the most.

• An LLM (master of laws)

  One year, useful for tax, international or academic paths.

• Business or accounting background

  Corporate clients like lawyers who understand a balance sheet.

Nice-to-haves

• Moot court and law review

  Standard resume builders in law school.

• Summer positions at firms

  First-year and second-year summer jobs often lead to articling offers.

• Legal clinic volunteering

  Real client experience during school.

A typical day

Very little of it is in a courtroom. Most lawyers spend their days reading, writing and negotiating: drafting contracts, researching cases, emailing clients, reviewing documents. Litigators prepare for hearings for weeks. Corporate lawyers close deals. Family and criminal lawyers see clients on the worst days of their lives.

The honest trade-offs

Work life

Typical hours

45 to 70 a week depending on practice

Remote work

Common since 2020, hybrid at most firms

Physical demand

Low

Unionized

Rarely, except some government lawyers

Similar paths

• Accountant (CPA)The money behind every business. A degree, a national exam, and a designation that travels.
• Police OfficerNo degree required. Paid training, a pension, and six figures within a few years of hire.
• TeacherElementary or high school. A pension, summers off, and a salary grid that doubles over ten years.

Canada has two legal systems

Quebec uses civil law, inherited from France. Every other province uses common law, inherited from England. McGill teaches both at once.

Articling is uniquely Canadian

The US has no equivalent. Canadian law grads must spend roughly a year working under a licensed lawyer before they can practise on their own.

There are only about two dozen law schools

Compared to nearly 200 in the US. That is why admission is so competitive and why many Canadians study law abroad and then return through the NCA (National Committee on Accreditation) process.

Most lawyers work alone or in tiny firms

Despite the Bay Street image, most Canadian lawyers in private practice work solo or in firms of 10 or fewer lawyers. Only about 1 in 5 work at a firm with 50 or more.