Driving for Work

[ashp 18]

Hi all,

 

Kind of a strange question— because of an accident from when I was younger, I have stayed away from driving as much as possible. However, I'm now wondering how feasible that will be if I decide to work in law (hopefully starting law school this year).

Does anyone know how possible it might be to work as a lawyer without driving? I'm not set on a particular type of law just yet, but to cover my bases I'd be particularly interested in how possible this is in either criminal law or BL. My intuition is that it might be a hindrance but not a dealbreaker, especially for bigger markets with stronger public transit systems + more ubers and cabs. If driving were that important to my career, I might consider trying to drive again with some psychological help or otherwise, but if it's in any way avoidable I'd love to know.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Starling 951]

What's BL? 

[whereverjustice 4939]

2 minutes ago, ashp said:

I'd be particularly interested in how possible this is in either criminal law

See this:

And point 1 here:

(I'm probably embarrassing myself here but I don't know what BL is. Bankruptcy law?)

I used to be a litigator who practiced across a large territory and definitely needed to drive for that. Now I'm an in-house solicitor and can't think of I time I've had to drive for work purposes in the last few years.

[WindsorHopeful 310]

For some areas of law, it may be a deal breaker. Some areas, like criminal defense, require the flexibility of a license and being able to easily get to various courts, meetings, etc. I've seen multiple law job postings which require a drivers license and access to a vehicle.

I don't know your situation but if you're in an area outside of a major transit city (Toronto, Van or Montreal), you should consider trying to overcome your fear of driving. I was in a serious car accident a few years ago and it wasn't easy to adjust back to driving every day but it's worth the effort. I would recommend speaking with a therapist if the accident is still on your mind, and then slowly increasing the time you spend driving. It will be worth it for the independence and flexibility it will provide you.

[ashp 18]

1 hour ago, Starling said:

What's BL? 

 

1 hour ago, whereverjustice said:

(I'm probably embarrassing myself here but I don't know what BL is. Bankruptcy law?)

BL is Big/Corporate Law! I'm used to the law applicant forum, so maybe that's just one of the terms for people that don't actually know much about the reality of the profession yet 😅

[ashp 18]

1 hour ago, whereverjustice said:

See this:

And point 1 here:

(I'm probably embarrassing myself here but I don't know what BL is. Bankruptcy law?)

I used to be a litigator who practiced across a large territory and definitely needed to drive for that. Now I'm an in-house solicitor and can't think of I time I've had to drive for work purposes in the last few years.

Thank you so much for these— exactly what I was looking for and having trouble finding!

[ashp 18]

1 hour ago, WindsorHopeful said:

For some areas of law, it may be a deal breaker. Some areas, like criminal defense, require the flexibility of a license and being able to easily get to various courts, meetings, etc. I've seen multiple law job postings which require a drivers license and access to a vehicle.

I don't know your situation but if you're in an area outside of a major transit city (Toronto, Van or Montreal), you should consider trying to overcome your fear of driving. I was in a serious car accident a few years ago and it wasn't easy to adjust back to driving every day but it's worth the effort. I would recommend speaking with a therapist if the accident is still on your mind, and then slowly increasing the time you spend driving. It will be worth it for the independence and flexibility it will provide you.

Thanks for the info, and it's really encouraging to hear when people have gone through similar situations as well. Though I'm planning to try and stay in major transit cities (not just for the transit of course), I'd love to be able to drive again one day for the independence and flexibility like you mentioned. Cheers!

[Starling 951]

7 minutes ago, ashp said:

 

BL is Big/Corporate Law! I'm used to the law applicant forum, so maybe that's just one of the terms for people that don't actually know much about the reality of the profession yet 😅

Oh haha. I work in Big Law and have never heard it called "BL". 😂

 

[Jaggers 10835]

There are tons of jobs in big firms that you don't need to drive for. I didn't have a car while I worked on Bay St. I did have my license and used autoshare a handful of times (probably less than 10 times in 5 years) but you could easily get by with Uber these days for anything like that.

Once you move inhouse, most positions would never require you to drive anywhere. I haven't driven somewhere for work a single time since I started my current job in 2018 (I haven't left my house for it in a year, but that's another story...).

[Jaggers 10835]

Just now, Starling said:

Oh haha. I work in Big Law and have never heard it called "BL". 😂

 

I have never heard this either, and I started posting here well over 10 years ago as a student. But I haven't read the applicant forums in a decade or so now.

[Starling 951]

2 hours ago, Jaggers said:

I have never heard this either, and I started posting here well over 10 years ago as a student. But I haven't read the applicant forums in a decade or so now.

Thank you for validating me haha. 

[baskinpalsam 14]

I work at a big firm downtown Calgary and live within walking distance - as do many students/juniors - and much of what I need to do is within walking distance from the firm. Any time that I have had to go outside of downtown (e.g., meet with a client for signing something), there’s been no issue with me charging a cab or Uber to the file. The understanding is that very few of us at this stage of our careers/working in this area drive to work. Obviously differs depending on firm and location, but my 0.02.