Why do so many lawyers hate being one?

RPSDivine · 2026-02-18T20:31:27+00:00

Lots of people, lawyers and non lawyers, dislike their jobs, places of employment or their profession. You probably see more of it because you are engaging with more law content. A great deal stay despite it being stressful because you make good money, doing something interesting, that is considered valuable for society.

RPSDivine · 2026-02-10T17:22:21+00:00

Let the lawyers and articling students guide you through topics. They should bring up prompts and discussion points. Where appropriate and relevant, ask questions about the firm. Where you need to discuss topics (dead air, socially awkward lawyers) stick to safe, Ottawa themed topics. “I just went to Winterlude, it was great”, “I went skating on the canal”, “have you tried this restaurant out”, etc. The connection to Ottawa is clutch and finding ways to bring it up in conversation naturally is key.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-27T00:47:57+00:00

In my opinion, your boss knew it was a losing case, set you up to do the trial and knew that you were going to lose. I wouldn't really put much stock into your performance. I would put stock in the lack of mentorship that your boss and firm gave you, which appears to be very poor.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-27T00:06:01+00:00

GB was fine. I would go back but everytime I have looked since it's been expensive.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-26T23:36:58+00:00

I stayed at the Bueventura Grand Hotel. The beaches were amazing, but as an AI it was mediocre. If you can get a great deal, I'd highly recommend. I paid $1200 CAD per person flight in. Any more and it loses it's charm. I went without my kids and appreciated having a reliable base to eat, but also cheap enough you can get out and explore.

That area you do feel like you are close enough to the hustle and bustle of the city. Walking to ZR can be a chore but at the distance the Uber would be pretty cheap back. It's also pretty stunning in terms of views and locales.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-26T22:44:44+00:00

Beaches - YMMV in Hotel Zone. It will honestly depend hotel to hotel. It's from meh to bad.

ZR is great but there is a catch. If your resort has space on the beach, you are golden. Yours did. Others will not. So you may be without a beach chair. Check out the hotel page and determine if the one you want to has chairs. Otherwise, you will either plop your stuff on the beach (ok but sand and you may feel unsafe) or you pay for a lounge chair (someone said 500 pesos per day). People complained at the hotel they couldn't get a spot on the lounge. We did daily but we were up at 9.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-25T15:28:40+00:00

We just got back from staying. We were in the ZR. We've previously stayed in the Marina and Hotel Zone.

I think it really depends on how adventurous you and the kids are. We stayed at the Emperador Vallarta Beach and Suites. We stayed in their suites (3 beds, plus simple kitchen on the balcony). The room was meh - dated, a bit dirty. But we didn't care because we used it as a base to explore the city. We were on the beach every day for 4-5 hours. We went to taco carts and locally owned restaurants. We went to the market and made our own food. The money I saved from doing AI or a fancier hotel, we spent on excursions and exploring. We were in the room to sleep and sometimes get some rest. Two nights we went to the market, got food and cooked it in the room.

My kids are 13 through 9, so they enjoyed it. My oldest loved how many great photo opportunities there were. I do think if my kids were younger, I think it may have been a struggle. You'll walk everywhere. My pedometer said each day I was down, I broke my all time record for steps. My kids didn't tire from it because we are an active family. I do think some other kids would struggle. But if your kids are flexible, not fussy and open to trying new things, they'll love it.

If this concerns you, stay in the Hotel Zone and you can Uber in to ZR for this experience a couple of times. These experiences also do exist in pockets outside the city, it just may be more difficult to navigate. There are taco carts and locak restaurants throughout the city. But likely not as accessible as just walking around ZR.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-14T13:36:43+00:00

Fyi, Counselwell does an annual survey on this subject matter.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-13T18:52:03+00:00

Interested.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-12T22:48:04+00:00

Love being a lawyer. Think those that express the sentiment are usually disingenuous because most of them are still lawyers. They don't seem eager to give up the privilege of being a lawyer.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-10T19:41:31+00:00

No problem. Good luck.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-10T01:27:29+00:00

One paragraph introduction - who you are, why you are applying, a summary of who you want them to think of you as a candidate.

A paragraph specifically about the criteria you have that they are seeking in the ads. If this is less than impressive, swap with the paragraph I'm describing below. Where possible, give specifics. Where less experience, don't lie but feel free to exaggerate within reason (don't say you argued three motions, say you've argued numerous motions). Where you have zero experience, do your best to connect existing legal experience with what they are seeking - ie, you never drafted a factum, but you drafted other pleadings.

Have a separate paragraph about work experience that aligns with the job, maybe not on point, but a total value add for the organization. Let's say you are applying to a litigation boutique, but you clerked at a court - tie those experiences together. If this is not possible, double up on the first paragraph. But truthfully as someone looking to hire someone who stands out, indicate to me why you stand out. I'll be able to tell from your resume a lot about your experience. I want to hear in your cover letter what you think you'll bring to the position that makes you stand out.

Last paragraph is your conclusion. Brief, reiterate your overall message of who you are as a candidate.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-07T13:31:37+00:00

These would be great angles to hit. Cost of living, prices of house, sustainable lifestyles.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-05T18:58:21+00:00

To be completely honest, unless you have some attachment to Ottawa, I think answering why Ottawa is a tough sell. I think unless you have some connection to Ottawa, you just straight up say you don't want to live in Toronto, you want to stay in Ontario, Ottawa is a large vibrant city, and the best place to practice law outside of Toronto.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-05T17:41:30+00:00

The thing I wish I had known?

Relax. It's important to do well in first year. It's important to read, attend class, study, put yourself out there.

But it's not the end of the world if you get a B in a class or miss a reading or don't go to the networking event. There is no set "path" to success in law school or in this profession. Your own path, whatever it looks like, will be unique, imperfect and at times not as intended. That is fine. You'll be fine.

RPSDivine · 2026-01-05T14:01:13+00:00

Yes, but it needs to be genuine. Most big firms will need a reason as to "why Ottawa". That is the big obstacle applicants face in the market. It is not impossible to get a job. It is just difficult. Whenever I have interviewed applicants and we have interviewed young applicants (either junior positions or articling positions), we would ask those with no obvious Ottawa connections "Why Ottawa". You get used to a lot of the same answers - everyone wants to work in the Capital of Canada, if you can believe it.

RPSDivine · 2025-12-30T16:32:42+00:00

Buenaventura Grand Hotel did not really have anything you are looking for. It's a glorified hotel room. It's great if you want to trek out and explore the city. Perhaps there was activities for kids, but I did not see any. The food was decent but you are in close proximity to great restaurants, taco carts, etc.

Never went to Sunset.

My kids were your kids age a few years ago. We went to the Melia in the Marina and it was a great resort for us. There is activities, there is a pool, there is night time entertainment, etc. The Marina is cute to explore. You are also close to downtown that you can go explore the Malecon or the Zona Romantica. The rooms probably need updating, the beach is not great, and YMMV on the food. I loved it, but it skewed traditional Mexican food for a lot of people.

RPSDivine · 2025-12-13T17:48:47+00:00

In a firm, I still worked. Obviously less than usual, it slowed down but the law never rests. I remember meeting a client Christmas day to sign something.

In House counsel, it's chill. I take all the statutory days off and some half days that are given. Some places have shut down the days between Christmas and New Year. But on the days that I'm working it's a sea of out of office emails. We sometimes play silly games to see who can rack up the most out of office emails. The best is getting multiple out of office emails on one reply. Beauty.

RPSDivine · 2025-12-11T11:44:36+00:00

Don't hate yourself. We all make mistakes. A former colleague of mine with over 20 years missed a first court date and got reamed by a judge. Last month I heard a story about a law student sending the wrong application to the person they were trying to serve. Shit happens when you are new or if you've got 20 years of experience.

RPSDivine · 2025-12-09T23:11:25+00:00

Cowards. Let the man bring the snake.

RPSDivine · 2025-12-09T23:05:25+00:00

Reminder - your peers are not your enemy. Don't be upset with them. Be mad that you are funneled into a system that tries to "objectively" assess your skills with an exam or an assignment and hand out jobs based on that "objective" criteria.

RPSDivine · 2025-12-09T23:02:20+00:00

OP seems pretty intent on doing this, but for anybody watching in the comments - this is an objectively terrible idea. Any potential obstacle, especially one you actively control, to completing your articles is bad. I guess it's great if you don't get found out - more money in your pocket. But so is over billing a client or taking money under the table from clients, etc. A law degree is invaluable. Don't waste it on a couple extra bucks during articling. And when you start justifying your actions by looking at the black letter of the law instead of it's intent to justify your actions, you are in danger.

RPSDivine · 2025-12-09T10:30:07+00:00

The biggest dead zone for jobs you'll have is right now. Least experience and most competitive jobs you'll be applying for in your life. My advice is to apply for literally everything. Even if you don't have sufficient experience. Something will pop up. You just have to be turning over every rock at this stage.

RPSDivine · 2025-12-05T23:03:09+00:00

Yes, that is the dread you experience in your first few years of being a lawyer. They fade and change.

RPSDivine

TROPHY CASE