A Journey into Criminal Law from Bay Street: Tips for students interested in criminal law from five practicing lawyers
There is a well-known joke amongst students at the Faculty of Law that everyone goes into law school wanting to become the next Amal Clooney, but everyone comes out of law school headed for Bay Street. All over the country, young law students fantasize over what a career on Bay Street promises: prestige, cutting-edge files, and of course, high pay. As a student facing substantial tuition debt and sky-rocketing rent, it’s difficult to imagine a better option. Why would anyone ever leave those benefits behind?
I spoke with five lawyers who excelled in law school, earned a position on Bay Street, and later abandoned the heart of the Financial District to practice criminal law. Each had their own reason for making the change. Some were always interested in criminal law; others wanted more opportunities to get on their feet. One lawyer made the switch after a Crown Attorney called him and said, “you have to try this, it’s the most fun you’ll ever have at a job!” Nevertheless, every lawyer’s reasons to enter criminal law seemed to center around two factors: greater litigation experience and a desire to help people.
Clockwise from left: Sherif Foda, Foda Law (photo credit: Chloe Ellingson); Megan Schwartzentruber, Cooper Sandler LLP; Daniel Goldbloom, Goldbloom Law; Scott Bergman, Cooper Sandler LLP; Mark Polley, Polley Faith LLP. Photos compiled by Anna Zhang.
Switching from a Bay Street Practice
Four out of five lawyers I spoke with started their careers at McCarthy Tétrault LLP (McCarthy’s). Despite being a Bay Street firm, McCarthy’s has a renowned quasi-criminal practice in white collar crimes that until recently, was led by David Porter, a former partner at the firm who in 2019 was appointed as a Judge at the Ontario Court of Justice.
For Sherif Foda, his interest in criminal law was sparked during his clerkship at the Supreme Court of Canada, where he watched high-profile defence lawyers like Frank Addario and Marie Henein advocate before the court. He also watched the SCC tackle a variety of groundbreaking decisions that year, including R v Hart, a case regarding the admissibility of “Mr. Big” confessions.
However, most of the lawyers I interviewed had no prior experience with criminal law during their careers in corporate practice. Scott Bergman, partner at Cooper, Sandler, Shime & Bergman LLP, said that prior to becoming a defence lawyer, he had never been involved in a criminal intensive or clinic, had never participated in a criminal law moot, and had taken very few criminal law courses in law school.
This appears to show that the practice of criminal law can be learned, regardless of when and where you start. In fact, many echoed that the biggest challenge in switching from corporate to criminal was not learning the law itself but learning about criminal procedure. Thanks to the Martha Shaffers and Vincent Chiaos of the academic world, we know that as students, we are well-positioned to acquire this knowledge early on.
Why Criminal Law?
The lawyers I spoke with recounted how rewarding the practice of criminal law is. Whether you are representing the defence or the Crown, criminal law allows you to serve your community, protect people in vulnerable situations, and prevent and rectify injustice.
According to Megan Schwartzentruber, “Most people go into [criminal law] because they want to help others, they like to be involved in solving social problems, and they have a true passion for it.” A passion for the subject matter, and for the people affected by the criminal justice system, is a vital reason why Schwartzentruber and many others have switched paths.
Another benefit of practicing criminal law is the courtroom experience, according to litigator Mark Polley. Polley is a former Assistant Crown Attorney and is currently a partner at Polley Faith, a litigation boutique that also takes criminal cases. According to Polley, you get court experience from the beginning of your practice. You’re not sitting at a desk on the 42nd floor of the TD Tower. You’re on your feet, you’re going to trial, and you’re making arguments in front of a judge or a jury in a courtroom.
There are admittedly some downsides to the practice. When Daniel Goldbloom left his corporate practice as a second-year associate to become a criminal defence lawyer, someone asked him, “what is it about money and respect do you not like?”
Goldbloom laughed as he told this story, but the question isn’t entirely surprising. The promise of a big paycheque does not always flow in criminal law the way it does on Bay Street. Many criminal law practitioners face legal aid cuts, administrative tasks, or limits on resources that a lawyer at a full-service firm will likely never have to encounter. The job of a criminal lawyer can also be taxing and stressful — and the knowledge that someone’s liberty is at stake creates immense pressures for both the defence and the Crown attorneys.
That said, being a criminal lawyer is an extremely admirable calling and for a lawyer like Sherif Foda, “the stress is a meager cost to the privilege the profession gives.” Foda, who left Bay Street to work at Henein Hutchison and then opened his own practice, also noted that his corporate training was very helpful to him as a criminal defence lawyer.
In fact, all five lawyers said that their experience in a full-service firm was hugely beneficial to their criminal law practice. Big corporate firms are often very meticulous and detail-oriented. They train their associates on how to think about a file, how to be diligent, and how to manage high expectations from demanding clients who are investing heavily in their work. When hiring students at his firm today, Scott Bergman sees this type of training as a huge asset.
Advice for Students Interested in Criminal Law
As an aspiring defence attorney, I asked each lawyer what advice they would give to students who are thinking of pursuing a career in this field.
First, go for it now.
Although all five lawyers began their journey from Bay Street, they all recommended that if a student knows they are passionate about criminal law, they should pursue it from the beginning. In Scott Bergman’s opinion, “it’s a lot easier to take risks earlier in your career than later. So, if you know [criminal law] is where your passion lies, you shouldn’t divert from that.”
Second, mentorship and training is vital.
Mentorship is important to any profession, but according to Mark Polley, “it is much more important [for criminal lawyers] because there is so much at stake […] Any way you can figure out how to get training — speaking with criminal lawyers or watching them in court — I would do that first.”
This sentiment was shared by Megan Schwartzentruber, who recommended that students gain as much exposure as they can during law school. “The more practical experience you can get, the better. Volunteering, clinic work, and making connections with as many people as possible are all helpful.”
However, good training can come in a variety of forms and does not necessarily need to focus on criminal law. According to Sherif Foda, it’s also important to learn and study the law broadly because “any good lawyer in any field has to have a holistic understanding of the law — one that involves understanding procedure, the constitution, [and] the law of evidence.”
Finally, know your “whys”
Criminal law is a profession that requires a considerable amount of persistence, strength, and resilience. For law students wanting to enter the profession, it’s important to know both why you want to become a criminal lawyer, and why you might not.
Although these reasons are different for everyone, Daniel Goldbloom advises from his own experience, “Don’t do it if you can bring yourself to practice any other type of law. Don’t do it if you don’t like disagreeing with people. And don’t do it if one of your goals is earning the respect of society. Do it if it’s the most exciting work you’ve ever tried. And do it if you want your career to be an important part of what you do in the world.”
Thank you to all the lawyers involved in this article: Megan Schwartzentruber (Cooper Sandler LLP), Mark Polley (Polley Faith LLP), Scott Bergman (Cooper Sandler LLP), Sherif Foda (Sherif Foda Law), and Daniel Goldbloom (Goldbloom Law). The transcripts from each lawyer’s full interview can be found on the CLSA’s website below:
Interview with Megan Schwartzentruber (Cooper Sandler LLP).
Interview with Mark Polley (Polley Faith LLP).
Interview with Scott Bergman (Cooper Sandler LLP).
Interview with Sherif Foda (Sherif Foda Law).
Interview with Daniel Goldbloom (Goldbloom Law).
This series by the Criminal Law Students’ Association introduces the law student body to the wild, wild world of criminal law and criminal justice. Articles will be published in print in Ultra Vires as well as on the CLSA’s website, uoftlawclsa.weebly.com/blog. To pitch an article to the CLSA blog series, please contact the CLSA Blog Editor, Teodora Pasca, at [email protected].
Correction: in the January 27, 2021 version of this article, we did not include a photo credit for Sherif Foda. We included the photo credit and corrected the spelling of Sherif Foda Law on January 28, 2021.
Addition: in the January 27, 2021 version of this article, we did not include the hyperlinks to the full transcripts of each interview. We included the hyperlinks on February 5, 2021.
