I would rather be unemployed in the United States than gainfully employed in Canada.

Too bad most provinces require you to article for a few months regardless of how long you practiced in the US

the ABA should be ashamed of itself. it does a horrible job at policing our profession - allowing way too many lawyers to graduate from garbage law schools that shouldn't be accredited. I recognize the argument that affordable legal services (an offspring of an overpopulation of lawyers) is good for society, but the counterargument is that in a country where at least 50% of attorneys went to garbage schools and are way below average intelligence, the honorable profession of law is being done a great disservice and being flushed down the toilet.

4 - if you work or plan on working at one of the firms we're keeping tabs on here, the 50% you're talking about are not your competition.

Kash must be smoking the old ass lobster. Great idea, leaving aside the difficulty in getting admitted (articling + bar admission couses, as you don't waive in from the US) and the trifing detail of immigration. Of course, you can always marry a Canadian...

You also need to like socialism, but that is where the US will be at the end of Obam's first term, so it may not make a material difference.

Canada = number 1 in BIGIGLOOLAW.

5 - you're an idiot if you think all the people getting laid off this year are going to find new jobs in biglaw.

lol. you just self-identified in the bottom 50%.

The ship be...goin' north?

4/8 - if you're so smart, then you should have no problem competing with the bottom 50%, so quit whining.

if this were true, we'd see us firms opening offices north of the border or beefing up the existing ones.

Then you have people like Stevenp who comment on blogs attempting to call people out when he or she is wrong themselves. I love idiots. I don't love them when they are in BigLaw. But then I love them again when they are laid off.

http://stuffbiglawassociateslike.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/pwltcd-billable-posers/#comment-82

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has raised associate base salaries across the board. For the most junior classes, the increase is $15,000. New associates arriving at the firm in the fall will now receive a starting salary of $160,000, instead of $145,000.

(You saw the memorandum here first, people -- less than ten minutes after it was sent. MSM sources: PLEASE CREDIT ABOVE THE LAW. Thank you.)

The Simpson Thacher memo reprinted below was emailed to us by multiple sources. So we do not doubt its authenticity. It was sent out today by email, at 4:28 PM, by STB executive committee chairman Philip T. (Pete) Ruegger III, to all associates and non-senior counsel.

We are seeking additional comment from STB representatives -- namely, Pete Ruegger, who sent the memo, and Susan Bussy, who handles media inquiries. We will let you know if and when we hear back from them.

Without further ado, the memo:

SIMPSON THACHER & BARTLETT LLP

MEMORANDUM TO ALL ASSOCIATES AND COUNSEL

The Firm has been very busy and we expect the high level of activity to continue. We are proud of the results we are helping our clients achieve.

We believe we have the finest legal team of any global law firm. In appreciation of your efforts, we are pleased to increase associate base salaries as follows, effective January 1, 2007:

Class of 2006 - $160,000
Class of 2005 - $170,000
Class of 2004 - $185,000
Class of 2003 - $210,000
Class of 2002 - $230,000
Class of 2001 - $250,000
Class of 2000 - $265,000
Class of 1999 - $280,000
Class of 1998 - $290,000

We are also raising the base salary for the members of the Class of 2007, who will arrive in the fall, to $160,000.

Counsel and classes senior to 1998 will be addressed on an individual basis.

Again, on behalf of the Firm, thank you for your commitment and hard work.

January 22, 2007

Pete Ruegger

*************************
Other firms will surely follow suit and match this base salary increase. As the various firms match, please note their moves in the comments. THANKS!!!

It's extremely difficult to move to Canada and practice law, even as a lawyer from biglaw in the US. Canada has an increasingly protectionist attitude and looks down upon foreign law degrees. Before you can even think about getting an articles position and taking a provincial bar exam, you have to apply to the national accreditation committee and provide your undergraduate and law school transcripts, a detailed description of the legal courses you took, bar admission certificate, and relevant work experience. Just to apply costs $550. Then, after the committee reviews your application, they determine whether you have to take "challenge exams" or attend a Canadian law school. If it's the former, you have to take anywhere from 4-12 exams in different 1st year/bar exam subjects like contracts, torts, crim law, admin law, evidence, etc. These exams are only offerred twice a year, and cost $500 each. It takes months to get your results back and if you pass, then you can move on to the next step of articling and taking the bar. The whole process can take easily 2 years. Bottom line, it's simply not an option for the majority of US lawyers.

I'd much rather be unemployed in Canada with free health care and a year of unemployment than here with 20 wks of unemployment benefits and no health care. You'll notice the Canadian economy is not taking as bad a beating as we are. If it wasn't for the articling/bar courses, I'd be there in a heartbeat.

14 = killjoy

I said it back in December. Mark Drier should have stayed in Canada.

Things here are not as rosy as they are made out to be. Most firms' corporate departments are as dead here as they are in the U.S.

Alberta's over dependence on oil / gas and the enormous capital cost of oil sands is a ticking time bomb.

18, oil is a finite resource. that fact has not changed. at some point the oil sands will be a huge boon again.

I'd much rather be unemployed in Canada with free health care and a year of unemployment than here with 20 wks of unemployment benefits and no health care. You'll notice the Canadian economy is not taking as bad a beating as we are. If it wasn't for the articling/bar courses, I'd be there in a heartbeat.

I'm not surprised but what 14 reports: I've worked with junior lawyers who graduated from McGill and their legal system and practice really sounds radically different.

There are also law jobs in Louisiana for those willing to take a week-long bar exam and live in a third world country.

14 - Slight clarification: If you went to a reputable US law school, it's more like 2-3 challenge exams at least one of which will be Canadian conlaw (which is fair enough). Also, though I can't speak for the other provinces, Ontario bar exam is a two day, open book, multiple choice exam. Otherwise, your information is spot on and it's a pain in the ass process.

I would rather work in Canada than Texas, but that is not saying much.

Ontario tends to be the least protectionist in that they will at least consider waiving articling if you've practiced in the US for 7 years (I think) and had a solid CV

I live and work in Canada as a lawyer (Ontario, not Alberta) and grew up (and went to law school) here, though I am a U.S. citizen (and admitted in NY). I'll post a link to this post on a Canadian law board, people will get a good laugh out of it...as others have indicated:

1. the boom is primarily in Alberta because of resource law;

2. there is an accreditation process (NCA) for those with non-Canadian law degrees and an articling requirement. Though in some provinces there may have been some changes shortening this for those admitted in the U.S., I don't know, and there's still a process to be followed that might, as another poster noted, take up to 2 years (it might be less and almost all articles which range from 6 months to a year depending upon the province are paid positions, but still...);

3. The earning potential for lawyers is high, but entry-level salaries are not comparable to U.S. biglaw. Although living standards may still be good (lower cost of living), that's not much help for someone looking to repay U.S. student loans.

At least for some states (NY, California [if admitted in Canada, not just a law school graduate], Massachusetts) it's much easier to go the other way, get a Canadian law degree and write the bar (there are a number of U.S. NY law firms that, pre-economic meltdown at least, recruited regularly from some Canadian law schools).

There are some big positives and negative to working in Canada, as there are anywhere. But unless a firm is looking to hire a foreign legal consultant (as I recall there are some U.S. firms with offices in Toronto doing so), it's not the sort of professional move you can do quickly.

I live and work in Canada as a lawyer (Ontario, not Alberta) and grew up (and went to law school) here, though I am a U.S. citizen (and admitted in NY). I'll post a link to this post on a Canadian law board, people will get a good laugh out of it...as others have indicated:

1. the boom is primarily in Alberta because of resource law;

2. there is an accreditation process (NCA) for those with non-Canadian law degrees and an articling requirement. Though in some provinces there may have been some changes shortening this for those admitted in the U.S. as a prior poster noted, I don't know the details, and there's still a process to be followed that might, as another poster noted, take up to 2 years depending upon your circumstances;

3. The earning potential for lawyers is high, but entry-level salaries are not comparable to U.S. biglaw. Although living standards may still be good (lower cost of living), that's not much help for someone looking to repay U.S. student loans.

At least for some states (NY, California [if admitted in Canada, not just a law school graduate], Massachusetts) it's much easier to go the other way, get a Canadian law degree and write the bar (there are a number of U.S. NY law firms that, pre-economic meltdown at least, recruited regularly from some Canadian law schools).

There are some big positives and negative to working in Canada, as there are anywhere. But unless a firm is looking to hire a foreign legal consultant (as I recall there are some U.S. firms with offices in Toronto doing so), it's not the sort of professional move you can do quickly.

Hey 13 --

Did you notice that the effective date of the memo is 2007 ?

15 -- Wait another couple of months. Imploding manufacturing + drop in resource prices = big trouble for Canada.

Could you waive in if you were already a hockey fan?

-really nervous sandwich stealing Michigan 1L
hoping to be nervous 1L sa, but maybe revoked, broke, unemployed & hungry undocumented Canadian.

13 = awesome.

I don't give a crap about Canada.

Did the name of this web site get changed to "Above the United States law"?

god i hate nervous.

THIS FAMOUS CELEBRITY SUPPORTS CHILD ABUSE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoiOo3zSVDw

Canadian here,

The reason they have a shortage in places like Edmonton is that they can't find enough people willing to live there... it's like hell except with ice instead of fire for 6 months a year. The other thing is that the govt. pays (bady) for a lot of the family law stuff and no one will take new clients when the govt. budget is cut (which it has been). The people who are being turned away are people that would hav their tab paid by the govt in better times, ala legal aid.

It is better to work at a McD south of the border than anything in Edmonton.

Canadians = Texans from the North.

Don't move here.

36= ridiculous moron

We already have too many lawyers. Like a couple dozen.

Edmonton = Detroit of Canada

Vancouver = Los Angeles of Canada

One can't "write the Alberta Bar". There isn't a bar exam in Alberta. Instead they have a 6 month long correspondence program involving drafting contracts, trust agreements, real estate purchases, wills, memos, etc. As long as you satisfactorily complete the assignments and spend 12 months as an articling student you get called to the bar.

Also, you can get your articling term shaved down by one month for every year of work in a foreign jurisdiction.

Lastly, you do have to get NCA accreditation.

Calgary = Houston of Canada

Calgary = Houston of Canada

Edmonton= Armpit of the Universe

Calgary= All hat, no cattle

14 = Canadian who's scared of real manly competition

Don't bother running to Canada, little children. I know where it is, and will give you your pink slips anyway.

Toronto is a nice city. I couldn't live in Calgary or Edmonton though, for the same reason nobody lives in the Dakotas.

There may be a lack of lawyers in some parts of Canada, but perhaps that's because they pay $90,000 to first years and take more away in tax. Speaking as a Canadian the real problem is not that there are too few law schools in Canada, the problem is that it is too tempting to come down to the States to work.

How difficult is it for a Canadian to land a law job in the U.S.?

First, as a Canadiens all I have to say is DONT TAKE OUR JOBS, we need our jobs. (being Canadian I need to add 'please')

second, to 50, in the past it has not been too hard for a Canadian to get a job in the US. We are limited regarding which states allow us to take the bar, however of those who end up at a law firm I would say 25%+ of students end up in the USA.

First, as a Canadiens all I have to say is DONT TAKE OUR JOBS, we need our jobs. (being Canadian I need to add 'please')

second, to 50, in the past it has not been too hard for a Canadian to get a job in the US. We are limited regarding which states allow us to take the bar, however of those who end up at a law firm I would say 25%+ of students end up in the USA.

First, as a Canadiens all I have to say is DONT TAKE OUR JOBS, we need our jobs. (being Canadian I need to add 'please')

second, to 50, in the past it has not been too hard for a Canadian to get a job in the US. We are limited regarding which states allow us to take the bar, however of those who end up at a law firm I would say 25%+ of students end up in the USA.

51-53 here, the internet up in Canada does not work as well as good old American internet, sorry about that.

Can someone explain the bar and visa requirements for a Canadian to get on at a law firm in the States? Does bar passage precede immigration status? Vice versa? How to begin the process?

Captain Canuck has heard the cries of Canadians and vows to protect the Great White North. Although I permitted Americans to dodge the draft in Canada, I will not permit them to dodge the Financial Crises of '09. You shall not spoil our pristine natural beauty

-Bay Street is awesome!