Services for students
Having a Juris Doctor is a very versatile degree that offers a wide range of careers in private practice, public service, corporate, international and community based sectors.
Practice Law in Traditional Settings:
- Private Practice: Law firms - big, medium, small or boutique shops
- Public Sector: federal, provincial, or municipal; courts (provincial and federal); government ministries and agencies; crown corporations; administrative tribunals; legal aid services; ombudsman office; educational institutions; and foreign consulates and embassies
- Corporations (In house)
- Organizations
Pursue Additional Roles in:
- Academia: legal publishing and research, teaching (faculty and sessional lecturers), research assistant
- Access to Justice/Social Justice: alternative dispute resolution, community, law reform, lobby groups, mediation and arbitration, online dispute resolution, tribunals
- Associations, Business and Industry: accounting, consulting, financial institutions and insurance companies, health authorities, retailers, real estate
- Communications and Journalism: news agencies
- Compliance
- Entrepreneurship: counselling, consultants, legal coaching and advising
- Fellowships and Internships
- Government Funded Groups
- Human Rights and International Relations
- Law Enforcement
- Legal Process Analysts
- Policy Advising
- Politics: lobbying/government relations, elected office
- Tech
- Unions
The College of Law, Career Development Office has a number of resources available for students, including information on:
- Developing your legal career development plan/strategy
- Understanding your competencies
- Exploring your legal career plan
- Professional Identity
- Networking
- Law career events
- USask job search guides and resources
- Salary information and benefits
- Job postings
- Formal recruitment by province and territy
- Self-directed job search
- Judicial clerkships
- Legal interviews
- Job Offers(s) acceptance and declination
- Life after law school
- Alumni services
The Career Development Office organizes a number of events throughout the year to assist law students in their career planning efforts, including information sessions, career fairs, virtual on-campus interviews (VOCIs), receptions and law firm tours and open houses. These events are coordinated with legal employers, the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) - Saskatchewan Branch and other organizations in the legal industry.
Professional development (PD) sessions
PD sessions are encorporated into the Class schedules for all law students, in both terms! The first year law students' (1L), professional development sessions are held on a weekly basis, and give you all the information you need to ensure that you are presenting yourself as a competitive applicant with regards to any applications you submit - job search or other. Upper year proffesional development sessions are also provided in the Class schedules for both terms, and are scheduled as needed, according to formal recruitment timelines.
USask career events
All USask Career Events can be found on this Career Development Page, or the Current Students webpage.
Law events - events calendar
All upcoming law events, that are held for students operate on an ongoing yearly basis, even when you are not in school! These events are not coordinated by the College of Law, but rather they are organized by firms, associations, or organizations. The timing of these events will depend on where you are focusing your job search (geographical location preferences), and formal recruitment timeframes.
The Career Development Office offers specialized services to our law students. We strive for efficient and effective career development services while trying not to replicate the services that students can access elsewhere such as USask Career Services. Therefore we have developed a process to ensure that when we meet, we can focus on issues of legal recruitment and your career development strategy.
Please send an email to lawcareers@usask.ca, to schedule a meeting - in person, or over zoom, for about 45 minutes of time.
Connect with:
Shari Thompson, Career Development Director
306-966-1924
lawcareers@usask.ca
2nd floor, Room 247, 15 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A6
A Juris Doctor is a diverse degree that provides the foundation for many exciting career options. Numerous opportunities in a variety of fields are available to our students and graduates. Legal job postings can be found on - CareerLink - College of Law Tab.
It is suggested students utilize additional sources of information in conjunction with job postings, such as firm/organization websites, legal directories and web searches to research opportunities and legal employers. It is also recommended that students be aware of the Formal Recruitment by Province and Territory/Country and the protocol and timelines that are applicable.
Your career path will unfold over time, beginning prior to attending the College of Law. It is an evolving process and the Career Development office will be with you every step of the way.
Take time on a regular basis to work on your legal career goals, assess why you applied to law school, think about your motivation and values, and speak to lawyers and gather information about various legal career paths.
Be sure to review our website and the resources available through the Paws Portal regularly, keep notes of contacts and information about law firms/organizations and recruitment activities, and make decisions and develop a strategy based on your interests.
Throughout your law school journey, be sure to meet with our Career Development Director who can help you develop a career plan and help you hone your various application packages.
Please send an email to lawcareers@usask.ca, to schedule a meeting - in person, or over zoom, for about 45 minutes of time.
Connect with:
Shari Thompson, Career Development Director
306-966-1924
lawcareers@usask.ca
2nd floor, Room 247, 15 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A6
Services for employers
The Career Development Office is committed to the career and professional success of all students at the College of Law. Part of our role consists of fostering strong relationships with employers in the legal community in order to ensure that our students secure rewarding and meaningful opportunities throughout their studies, as well as beyond and upon graduation.
To ensure the quality of our services and to assist students in the College of Law, the Career Development Office has established recruiting policies. Our policies are intented to provide a framework for the professional relationships between employers, students, third party recruiters and career educators.
The University of Saskatchewan and the The College of Law are committed to maintaining a learning and work environment that promotes the understanding and respect for dignity of the person as part of the University community and one that is free from harassment and discrimination.
The Career Development Office offers a number of services for legal employers including posting jobs and arranging virtual on-campus interviews (VOCIs). Employers also have the opportunity to participate in our annual Career Forum events in January and other career-focused events throughout the academic year. We are always happy to hear from the legal community who would like to engage with or act as mentors to our students!
As an employer, you are able to create a CareerLink profile, and post your own jobs!
Are you interested in hiring a law student for summer (1L and 2L positions), part-time, research-based, contract, volunteer or articling employment? Once you have a CareerLink profile, you are able to submit your job postings for approval, on CareerLink.
Our office also keeps an email listing of students/alumni seeking articling positions for the current or upcoming year. All articling positions will be posted on CareerLink for current students to apply to, and/or emailed to alumni who continue to seek such opportunities.
All employers that post job opportunities with the College of Law, agree to provide a workplace that is free of discrimination in compliance with all provincial and federal Human Rights Legislation, and provincial law society professional standards, codes of conduct and recruitment procedures. All employers also agree to comply with our Recruiting Policies where applicable.
- All articling opportunities must be paid, whether they are with for-profit or not-for-profit organizations
- Employers who wish to post a paid summer or articling opportunity must be in a positin to offer at least the provincial minimum wage
- We reserve the right in our sole discretion to restrict, remove or refuse to post any job posting without notie that we feel is inappropriate for our students and/or alumni
- We will not post any job opportunity or otherwise cireculate employment information where a non-lawyer is seeking a student to perform legal research or engage in any activities that could potentially be construed as providing legal advice
If you are interested in hiring USaskLaw alumni for positions other than articling/clerking, we recommend that you use the University of Saskatchewan’s CareerLink portal. If you need assistance, please contact USask Career Services at career.services@usask.ca, or 306-966-5003.
In addition here are some additional websites that you may find valuable.
Career events
The Career Development Office organizes a number of information sessions throughout the year to assist law students in their career planning. Topics range from professional development to networking to business etiquette.
Connect with:
Shari Thompson, Career Development Director
306-966-1924
lawcareers@usask.ca
2nd floor, Room 247, 15 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A6
Information Sessions/Receptions and Open Houses are spread out across Canada, depending on the location that students want to work in, and a lot more of these sessions are being held virtually, for law students to access.
Typically, larger national firms or associations will host these events, either prior to formal recruitment timelines or during these timelines as a means of getting to know students personally in addition to noting a student application when it comes through. For law students that are interested in these locations and the firms/organizations that offer them, then it is wise for law students to be in attendance.
The Career Development Office coordinates interviews between our law students and some out-of-province firms during Virtual On Campus Interviews (OCIs) each year in Saskatoon. These interviews are specifically for second-year law students (2L) for the upcoming summer. The legal employers that participate are primarily from Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver, but there may be others from various locations. These events include a day of 17 minute interviews.
On-Campus Interview (OCI) Information for Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary
- (2L) 2024 Western Canadian Law Schools' Virtual On Campus Interviews (OCIs), Tuesday, Sept. 10
- (2L) REMOTE On-Campus Interviews (OCIs) for Vancouver Firms - Thursday, Sept. 19th, 2024
- (2L) REMOTE On-Campus Interviews (OCIs) for Calgary (Edmonton) Firms - Monday, Sept. 23, 2024
(All Years) Saskatchewan Law Firm Showcase, hosted by CBA Saskatchewan, (2024)
On Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in collaboration with the College of Law, The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Saskatchewan Branch hosted the Law Firm Showcase to introduce law students in all years to some of the great firms/organizations here in Saskatchewan.
The CBA Saskatchewan Branch and the Career Development Office coordinate this event yearly to allow students to have access to information about various practice areas and opportunities. Law firms/organizations from across Saskatchewan visit the college to meet with students to raise awareness about the various opportunities and exciting career possibilities right here in our province.
Students engaged directly with representatives from each of the participating firms/organizations.
Event Details
When: Monday, Oct. 21, 2024
Time: 01:00 PM - 04:30 PM CST
Location: Marquis Hall Events Centre, 97 Campus Drive, Saskatoon
Contact
Shari Thompson, Director of Career Development, 306.966.1924
The (All Years) Career Forum 2024 event attracted more than 35 firms/organizations from across Western Canada who met with law students from first year (1L) - third (3L) year. It was a great opportunity for students to meet and connect with legal employers including government, large firms, medium firms, small firms, boutiques and the courts.
The 2024 event kicked off with a Welcome Reception on the Friday evening. Saturday's activities included sponsored information sessions, a networking brunch for law firm/organizational representatives and students, followed by both parties proceeding to the Career Fair for the afternoon. Firm/organizational representatives were located at tables and they were there to meet with and share information with our students. Once the formal part was complete, Saturday evening provided an opportunity for socialization at a joint Law Students' Association (LSA) & Indigenous Law Students' Association (ILSA) - organized event
- Save the Dates - Friday, January 10th and Saturday, January 11th, 2025!
- Registration for Firms/Organizations and students is currently closed on Eventbrite.
- Delta Downtown, is the featured hotel, where the majority of events takes place.
Contact us
Shari Thompson, Student Professional Development Strategist|Director of Career Development
306-966-1924
lawcareers@usask.ca
Room 247, 15 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A6
All students at the College of Law can access CareerLink to find current job postings, book a Career Development Meeting, and a number of other resources to assist with successful career planning.