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Job Search Tools

On this page: NALP Services | Articling Searches | Canadian Job Searches | U.S. Job Searches | European Job Searches | Public Interest Searches | Criminal Law Job Searches | Academic Job Searches | Internship Searches | Other Job Searches
Student in the Gelber Library

The information provided in this section is only a brief overview. For thorough information regarding application and interview tips, as well as recruitment processes, refer to the Career Development Guide available at the CDO Resource Centre or under Publications (myFuture or here).

External Job Search Engines

Other than myFuture, there are a variety of search engines that provide useful information about job opportunities in specialized fields of law and narrowed by geographic location. The following are useful sources for students or practicing lawyers looking for alternative career paths.

NALP Services (RECOMMENDED)

Articling Search Engines

  • École du Barreau du Québec - Offres de stages: Here you'll find a list of articling positions posted by various employers.
  • LSUC Articling Registry: Create an account, post a profile and search for available articling opportunities using various search criteria (geographic location, available start date, area of law, part-time articles, and more). For articling opportunities posted prior to June 12, 2009, click on "View job postings".
  • National Articling Database: LexisNexis' National Articling Database contains valuable information on articling and summer positions from firms across Canada.
  • Justice Canada - Legal Excellence Program: For information on articling positions with the federal government.
  • Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch: This is an innovative online Articling Registry for Canadian law students and BC lawyers. The Registry is the first of its kind to enable both lawyers and students to look for articling positions by location, timeframe, and area of practice. Firms and students can post positions sought, resumes and available articles.
  • MAG Ontario - Articling and Summer Law Student Program: The Ontario Public Service (OPS), through the Ministry of the Attorney General, employs lawyers across the Government of Ontario. See the website for job postings.

Canadian / Government Job Search Engines

  • Total Legal Jobs: Totallegaljobs.ca is an online job board dedicated to legal jobs in Canada - for lawyers, in-house counsel, paralegals, law clerks, legal administrative assistants, litigation support staff, articling students, and more.
  • Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP): The prime objective of FSWEP is to provide full-time students with work experience related to their field of study and to provide them with learning opportunities. Consult the website for more information and a list of job opportunities.
  • Public Service Commission - Post-Secondary Recruitment Campaign: Launched on September 9, 2009, various departments and agencies across Canada use this database to recruit post-secondary graduates to fill entry-level positions within their organizations.
  • Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT): Whether they are based in Canada or abroad, the more than 7,000 people who work for the Department strive to bring Canada to the world and the world to Canada. As with many federal government departments, DFAIT recruits most of its employees through the Public Service Commission (PCS).
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U.S. Job Search Engines

  • ABA Job Board: Allows individuals to create a profile, upload their resume and cover letters and search, save and apply for jobs. In addition, they can track the status of their applications, manage privacy settings, and be notified when jobs that match their search criteria become available.
  • LawCrossing: Legal job search engine for employment in virtually all fields of practice within the United States. Provides a free 7-day trial when you first log-in.
  • LawJobs.com: lawjobs.com is the legal market's most targeted job search engine connecting job candidates, employers and recruiters. Combining our expertise with the best available search technology, lawjobs.com has become a superior networking tool. Let lawjobs.com make your next search for the best job candidate a successful one.
  • AttorneyJobs.com: AttorneyJobs.com is a job-finding service that provides information about attorney positions in law firms as well as corporate and government entities. This service offers law students, particularly third-year students, a quick tool for scouting out job opportunities nationwide.
  • Job Rapido: Jobrapido enables jobseekers to find jobs posted on all web sites in one single search.

European / International Job Search Engines

  • European Union - European Personnel Selection Office: The EPSO provides a professional staff selection service on behalf of the European Union Institutions.
  • Legal Frontiers: McGill's blog on international law.
  • UNjobs: This website indexes a host of UN jobs and internships from different UN organizations and departments.
  • EuroBrussels: A search engine for jobs in Europe, including EU institutions and international organizations. Includes both legal and non-legal jobs.
  • RollonFriday: In addition to being a (primarily) UK job search tool, RollonFriday also provides news, views and gossip on the legal profession. Updated frequently.
  • The Lawyer: Much like RollonFriday, The Lawyer's "Jobs" section focuses on the UK. Nevertheless, its "News" section is quite comprehensive for all regions of the globe.
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Public Interest / Social Justice / Alternative Law Job Search Engines

  • Public Service Law Network (RECOMMENDED): Opportunities in the PSLawNet database include internships (fall, spring, and summer), postgraduate fellowships, and a wide variety of permanent positions. PSLawNet also includes over 11,000 organizational profiles for nonprofit, government, and other public interest employers spanning the globe. NOTE - To access the database, students must register as "Job Seekers" and choose "McGill University Faculty of Law" from the list of schools.
  • Websites for International Job Searches [.pdf]: Find a compilation of listings related to international public interest.
  • Idealist.org: Find a job, a volunteer opportunity, an internship, and much more.
  • Careers United: A solid resource for those seeking jobs in international development and humanitarian relief. Registration is mandatory but free.
  • Devex: Devex is "a social enterprise bringing efficiency to international development through recruiting and business information services." The website contains a very comprehensive listing of international development, global health, and humanitarian aid jobs.
  • Alternative Lawyer Jobs: This site is self-advertised as offering information about careers for lawyers who want something more. In-house counsel, law related, non-legal & entrepreneurial careers from hundreds of websites, publications and employers are available.
  • Lawyers Without Borders: The CDO subscribes to Lawyers Without Borders, an organization that maintains data on legal careers in the area of Human Rights. To obtain the CDO's password, please log in to myFuture. Look for Lawyers Without Borders under Career Resources/Job Search Tools.
  • Pacific Island Jobs: Pacific Island Jobs provides information on paid and volunteering opportunities for the whole of the Pacific region, from Australia in the west to French Polynesia in the east. It also provides useful information on each Pacific country, to help job seekers decide which country(s) they would most like to live and work. Sustainable development is a key objective of PIJ and all vacancies advertised on the site focus on the environment and social change.
  • Open Society Foundations: The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. To achieve this mission, the Foundations seek to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. On a local level, the Open Society Foundations implement a range of initiatives to advance justice, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, we build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information. The Foundations place a high priority on protecting and improving the lives of people in marginalized communities.
  • Job Seeker User Guide 2012 [.pdf]
  • Employer User Guide 2012 [.pdf]
  • PSLawNet Fact Sheet [.pdf]
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Criminal Law Job Search Engines

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Academic Job Search Engines

  • AcademicKeys: This frequently updated site lists opportunities for legally trained academics wishing to pursue careers in higher learning. This website is a tool for students and alumni looking for academic positions, post-doctoral work or senior administrative positions at universities.
  • Academic Careers Online: Academic Careers Online is an academic job site where universities and colleges in Canada, the US, and around the globe, advertise lecturer, professor, Canada Research Chair, adjunct, post doc, library, endowed chairs, and all types of administrative and senior management jobs. The e-mail alert feature is handy. The Canadian portal can be accessed here.
  • The Chronicle of Higher Education Career Network: This website offers regularly updated job databases searchable by discipline or region, and lists available academic positions all over the world.
  • Legal Scholarship Network: This website is a subdivision of the Social Sciences Network. It contains a job posting section, with positions updated by month. Contains offers from universities all over the world.
  • The Times Higher Education Supplement: Lists jobs for professors and lecturers, including some positions at institutions all over the world. Also lists all kinds of university related positions such as librarian, research fellow, administrative staff, etc.
  • University Affairs: The main academic job listing for Canada.
  • NALP Directory of Law Schools: Many universities also post their own jobs on their website. The NALP Directory of Law Schools has a thorough list of law schools around the world.
  • The following websites are also useful:
  • Jobs.ac.uk
  • UniversityJobs.com
  • AcademicJobs.co.uk
  • TedJob.com
  • Career.edu
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Internship Search Engines

  • Access to Vault Guides for McGill Law Students: Law students get access to 15 Vault Guides, Firm Profiles, Career Advice Articles, and the Vault Message Boards. Can only be accessed from the McGill network. Students must register in order to access Vault resources.
  • Federal Student Work Experience Program: This site lists many public service jobs available to students. Students can apply directly through the website.
  • The Canadian Bar Association Young Lawyers International Program: Through this program, young lawyers are placed in seven and a half-month internships (they are overseas for between six and a half to seven months) to work with human rights legal organizations on issues such as women's rights, labour rights, constitutional rights, children's rights and indigenous people's rights, in Latin America and the Caribbean, Southern and Central Africa and South East Asia.
  • Arts Internship Database: A compilation of over 600 host organizations with preexisting internship programs spanning 18 departments and over 20 areas of interest. Searchable by department, location, level, and area of interest. This database is open to all McGill University students. To access the database, you must sign in on the top left corner using your MINERVA ID and password.
  • The World Bank Legal Interns Program: The Legal Interns Program (LIP) is open to individuals with a Master degree in law, LLM or equivalent, or current Master degree in law/LLM students who are nationals of the Bank's member countries, and attracts a large number of highly qualified candidates. The link provides the current listing of internship positions currently open.

Other generalized job search engines

Additional information for job searches for legal career professionals can be found on myfuture or in the various employment handbooks available at the CDO.

Please Note: Some of the search engines require passwords. These can only be accessed by students and alumni with access to the law students portion of myfuture by clicking on the documents tab, followed by the career resources tab for a complete listing.

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Law degree and work? Focus online: Law at work
Posted on: Mar. 9, 2011

Access myFuture to search jobs, employer information, internships, fellowship and scholarship applications, and more, specifically for McGill Law students.