Precedent readers believe that increasing enrollment at law schools cannot be solely blamed for the lack of articling spaces available in many Ontario communities.

Our latest poll asked: “What’s the main reason for the rise in Ontario’s unplaced articling candidates rate?” And while more than 40 percent of respondents chose the option “Law school enrollment is increasing too quickly, diluting the talent pool,” nearly that same number indicated that they believed issues within the firms themselves — economic concerns and a lack of participation by small firms — was the main concern.

All of these potential reasons will be explored by the Law Society task force recently assembled to address the articling shortage. How serious is the problem? As one of our readers wrote in a comment on a blog post about the task force, “For those contemplating law school, read this report before you decide to enter a legal market that will only get worse.”

Full poll results:

What’s the main reason for the rise in Ontario’s unplaced articling candidates rate?

• 43.3% Law school enrollment is increasing too quickly, diluting the talent pool (42 votes)
• 19.6% Economic concerns have decreased the number of articling positions available (19 votes)
• 19.6% Not enough smaller firms take on students or participate in joint articling (19 votes)
• 11.3% People not prepared or suited for legal careers are nevertheless entering law school (11 votes)
• 6.2% Unplaced candidates from previous years are building up (6 votes)