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EMPLOYMENT and in Quebec EMPLOYMENT AND young lawyers in QUeBEC FINAL REPORT – FEBRUARY 16, 2016 I PREPARED BY THE YOUNG BAR OF MONTREAL EMPLOYMENT AND TABLE OF CONTENT young lawyers in QUeBEC Table of content INTRODUCTION 4 SUMMARY RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 6 RESULTS OF THE STUDY 9 A. Participants 9 B. University 10 C. Articling and registering on the Roll of Order 1 1 D. Employment after registering on the Roll of Order 13 E. Looking at gender: the employment situation of young female lawyers 14 F. Ethnocultural issues 15 G. Miscellaneous questions 15 H. Chances of passing the bar exam 16 I. Student debt 16 J. Elements related to law practice 17 ISSUES RAISED BY THE STUDY 18 K. An increase in the number of lawyers and legal supply 18 L. Less job stability 19 M. The reality outside of Montreal and Quebec City 19 N. Decreased demand for traditional legal services 20 THE PATH TO SOLUTIONS 23 O. The round table 23 P. What is happening elsewhere 25 DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS 29 ANNEXE 35 03 EMPLOYMENT AND YOUNG LAWYERS IN QUEBEC - FEBRUARY 16, 2016 - FINAL REPORT EMPLOYMENT AND young lawyers in QUeBEC INTRODUCTION The Young Bar Montreal (YBM) represents the more than 4,600 members in their first 10 years of practice in the Montreal area. For a number of years, YBM’s executive committee and board of directors have noted and received complaints from its members about an increasingly deteriorating employment situation. Some members have gone back to school with the hopes of differentiating themselves from their colleagues or have started their own firms while waiting to find something else. In June 2014, we decided to conduct an in-depth study of this issue, in order to survey impressions in the field and provide sufficient support to our members. In January 2015, the Quebec Bar’s “Barreau-Mètre 2015” confirmed these complaints, indicating: [Translation] Over the past five years, the total number of lawyers in the Order increased at a rate between 1.2 and 2.6% each year. This is in part due to the increase in the number of students at the Bar School. For the 2013-2014 academic year, the Bar School1 received around 1,300 applications. This is a 42% increase of the student clientele compared to the 2005-2006 academic year (when the Bar School’s current training program took effect). This increase is relatively consistent and outpaces the general population growth rate. Since 1981, when the Barreau carried out its first socio-economic studies, the number of lawyers in relation to the general population has not stopped increasing2 (our emphasis). Later, it states: [Translation] As of March 31, 2014, 1,735 men and 340 women aged 65 and older (=2,075 members) were registered on the Roll of Order. This statistic highlights a trend: lawyers tend to work longer and delay retirement. From 2009 to 2014, the number of lawyers aged 65 and older increased by 63.4%3 (our emphasis). This led us to set the wheels in motion for YBM’s general consultation in June 2014. YBM’s Member Relations Committee4 first developed a 130-question survey that was distributed across the province with the help of two other young bar associations, Jeune Barreau de Québec (JBQ) and Association des Jeunes Barreaux de Région (AJBR)5. Some 1,346 young Quebec lawyers in their first 10 years of practice answered a 130-question survey that took around 25 minutes to complete. Based on the 8,875 young lawyers registered on the Quebec 1 The Bar School is Quebec’s bar school providing professional training to law graduates in preparation for the bar exam. 2 Barreau-mètre 2015, p.6-7 3 Barreau-mètre 2015, p.12 4 Mtre. Paul-Matthieu Grondin, YBM president from 2014-2015, and Mtre. Catherine Ouimet, YBM executive director, worked on this report with the general consultation’s sub-committee reporting to the Member Relations Committee with the following 2014-2015 members (in alphabetical order): Mtres. Stéphanie Beaupré-Camirand, Marie-Andrée Boutin-Clermont, Julie Bouthillier, Catherine Coursol, Simon-Pierre Diamond, Véronique Gaudette, Marie-Ève Gingras, Francis Hemmings, Anabel Medina-Gimenez, Catherine Méthot, Stéphanie Ruel, Pierre-Jude Thermidor and Martin Thibault. Sub- committee members reported to Mtre. Léa Maalouf, member of YBM’s board of directors. YBM would like to thank them for their work. 04 5 Young Bar of Quebec City and Association of the Regional Young Bars INTRODUCTION Bar’s Roll of Order,6 the survey response rate is 15%. Statistically, at a confidence level of 95%, the study’s margin of error is ±2.5%. At a confidence level of 99%, the margin of error is ±3.5%. With these margins, this study is very reliable.7 Henri Beauregard is an independent consultant who was hired by the YBM to sort through the survey results database and present the data in statistical tables to analyze and identify the most significant results, highlight correlations and write a report on the survey results. Emploi-Québec de l’Île-de-Montréal also provided financial support. Specifically, survey respondents were: n 67.9% women/31.7% men8 n 61.0% from Montreal, 8.7% from Quebec City and 27.1% from other areas of Quebec Lawyers who left the profession could not be reached for this study. The conclusions of this analysis were compiled in the Rapport intérimaire sur la situation de l’emploi chez les jeunes avocats (the “Interim Report”). The main results and summaries of topics to consider in the Interim Report were presented by the YBM on May 29, 2015 to over 300 people at the YBM’s Annual General Assembly. The Interim Report’s conclusions confirmed our members’ fears.9 Despite the provisional nature of this initial report, we felt it important for this problem to be made known at that time to allow for wider consultation on topics to consider.10 After announcing the results, we set up a round-table discussion group with representatives from all of Quebec’s law faculties and the Quebec Bar. The group met twice in November 2015. The goal of the first round-table discussion, held on November 9, 2015, was to present an overview of the problem brought up by the study’s results and to discuss it with the stakeholders present in order to confirm or reject certain hypotheses put forth in the Interim Report. The goal of the second round-table discussion, held on November 17, 2015, was to debate potential solutions, which led to this report’s final recommendations. It is important to mention that the YBM, supported by the JBQ and the AJBR, is the sole author of this report. While the Quebec Bar and law faculties were consulted for this report, we did not submit the document to them for approval. That being said, the YBM would like to thank them for their openness and constructive participation in this process. The issue of employment in the legal field affects the entire legal community, and it is important to make a concerted effort to improve the situation. We hope you enjoy reading the report. The Young Bar of Montreal 6 As of March 31, 2014, according to the Barreau-mètre 2015, p. 17. 7 For comparative purposes, page 6 of the Barreau-mètre 2015 explains: [Translation] “For the purpose of building an accurate profile of the profession and to offer services that are more adapted to its members’ needs, the Quebec Bar asked 25,095 lawyers to complete an optional survey, ‘Evolution and Trends,’ at the same time as their 2014 annual registration form. Some 275 lawyers answered the survey. This sample provides a margin of error of 5.88% with a confidence level of 95%. In other words, 9.5 times out of 10, the survey’s results will fall within the margin of error of 5.88%. Thus, even if the survey is an indicator rather than an exact metric, it provides a fairly clear picture of trends and their development.” 8 These rates are representative of Quebec Bar members in their first 10 years of practice, according to the Barreau-mètre 2015, page 10. Also of note, it was possible to not answer the question, which accounts for the missing 0.4%. 9 See Conclusions and Recommendations section of this report 10 Page 6 of the Interim Report: (1) The Quebec Bar must commit to assessing legal supply and demand using reliable tools, (2) Students must know the reality of the job market, (3) Universities need to train lawyers to better recognize the economic and administrative realities of practicing in a firm, (4) Students and young lawyers must innovate and we need to encourage them to do so, and (5) Quotas must be seriously considered. 05 EMPLOYMENT AND YOUNG LAWYERS IN QUEBEC - FEBRUARY 16, 2016 - FINAL REPORT SUMMARY RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS The number of lawyers in Quebec is growing at a significantly faster rate than the population.11 Our neighbouring province, Ontario, has the highest rate of lawyers per capita in Canada.12 Ontario recently had to compensate for a serious lack of articling positions for law school graduates by integrating a system of supplementary training courses that count as articling positions.13 In the United States, where the rate of lawyers per capita is 20% higher than in Quebec,14 there are countless articles discussing a fundamental problem in the job market, a reduction in demand and an explosion in the number of lawyers who are not working in the field and who are saddled with excessive student debt. We are also starting to note some signs of a drop in demand for lawyers in their traditional roles15 or, in other words, a discrepancy between legal supply and demand.
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