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Aird & Berlis LLP - Toronto, Ontario
Recruitment & Hiring
| 1st Yr. Summer | 2nd Yr. Summer | Articling Students | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you hire: | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| How many did you/will you hire for: | |||
| 2022 | 8 | 16 | 13 |
| 2023 | 11 | 11 | 15 |
| 2024 | TBD | 16 | 11 |
| 2025 | |||
| 2026 | |||
| Rotation | |||
| Split/Secondment | |||
|
First Year Summer Students |
|
|---|---|
| FIRST YEAR SUMMER STUDENTS:Do you recruit first year summer students? | Yes |
| When is the application deadline for first year summer students? | As prescribed by the Law Society of Ontario's Recruitment Procedures. |
| When is the interviewing period? | As prescribed by the Law Society of Ontario's Recruitment Procedures. |
| Do you participate in on-campus interview (OCI) programs to fill such positions? | No |
| Description of first year summer program: |
Unlike our articling program, we do not have a rotation system during the summer. Our students are encouraged to try as many different areas of practice and to work with as many of our lawyers as possible. Where a student has a particular area (or areas) of interest, they are encouraged to seek work from our practitioners in that area, with the help of their mentors.
A&B lawyers who take a special interest in our student program are assigned as mentors to ensure that each student’s summer is a successful and rewarding one. Our summer students are assigned two “official” mentors, typically in areas of practice that are of particular interest to the student. Mentors can provide appropriate work to their students and are encouraged to involve their students, and other students, in their files. Mentors help ensure that students are exposed to high quality work and have opportunities to participate in many different types of work, including closings, drafting sessions, hearings, motions and meetings with clients. While mentors are encouraged to involve their students in files, they do not filter or "gate keep" the student's work. In addition, students should not receive the majority of work from their mentor. Instead, mentors act as liaisons for their students, introducing them to others in the firm and suggesting who a student should approach for particular work. Lawyers contact students directly to ask for their help on files and our students are responsible for managing their own workload. The first week of the summer is spent in our orientation program, where students learn everything from how the firm is organized to how to work with a legal assistant. During orientation, our summer students learn (among other things) about making the transition from classroom to boardroom, and receive guidance on professional ethics and practice management. After orientation, we hold weekly Lunch-and-Learn sessions throughout the summer on a variety of topics including practice area overviews, transactions, advocacy and general skill building. We have several informal events over the summer to help our students get acquainted with each other and other members of the firm. Past student events have included a welcome dinner, a Blue Jays game, a volleyball tournament, a ping-pong tournament, a bowling competition, events at our partners' homes, our firm's summer party, and a celebratory goodbye dinner with our legendary after-hours karaoke. During the pandemic, we hosted virtual events and smaller gatherings with social distancing. |
| Comments | |
| How many weeks is the first year summer program? | 13 |
|
Second Year Summer Students |
|
|---|---|
| SECOND YEAR SUMMER STUDENTS:Do you recruit second year summer students? | Yes |
| When is the application deadline for second year summer students? | As prescribed by the Law Society of Ontario’s Recruitment Procedures. |
| When is the interviewing period? | As prescribed by the Law Society of Ontario’s Recruitment Procedures. |
| Do you participate in on-campus interview (OCI) programs to fill such positions? | Yes |
| Description of the second year summer program |
Unlike our articling program, we do not have a rotation system during the summer. Our students are encouraged to try as many different areas of practice and to work with as many of our lawyers as possible. Where a student has a particular area (or areas) of interest, they are encouraged to seek work from our practitioners in that area, with the help of their mentors.
A&B lawyers who take a special interest in our student program are assigned as mentors to ensure that each student’s summer is a successful and rewarding one. Our summer students are assigned two “official” mentors, typically in areas of practice that are of particular interest to the student. Mentors can provide appropriate work to their students and are encouraged to involve their students, and other students, in their files. Mentors help ensure that students are exposed to high quality work and have opportunities to participate in many different types of work, including closings, drafting sessions, hearings, motions and meetings with clients. While mentors are encouraged to involve their students in files, they do not filter or "gate keep" the student's work. In addition, students should not receive the majority of work from their mentor. Instead, mentors act as liaisons for their students, introducing them to others in the firm and suggesting who a student should approach for particular work. Lawyers contact students directly to ask for their help on files and our students are responsible for managing their own workload. The first week of the summer is spent in our orientation program, where students learn everything from how the firm is organized to how to work with a legal assistant. During orientation, our summer students learn (among other things) about making the transition from classroom to boardroom, and receive guidance on professional ethics and practice management. After orientation, we hold weekly Lunch-and-Learn sessions throughout the summer on a variety of topics including practice area overviews, transactions, advocacy and general skill building. We have several informal events over the summer to help our students get acquainted with each other and other members of the firm. Past student events have included a welcome dinner, a Blue Jays game, a volleyball tournament, a ping-pong tournament, a bowling competition, events at our partners' homes, our firm's summer party, and a celebratory goodbye dinner with our legendary after-hours karaoke. During the pandemic, we hosted virtual events and smaller gatherings with social distancing. |
| Comments | |
| How many weeks is the second year summer program? | 13 |
|
OCIs |
|
|---|---|
| Will you be participating in OCIs this year? | Yes |
| Schools: | Osgoode Hall Law School, York University|Queen's University, Faculty of Law|University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section|University of Toronto, Faculty of Law|University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law|University of Windsor, Faculty of Law|Ryerson University, Lincoln Alexander School of Law |
|
Other Campus Recruiting |
|
|---|---|
| We will be recruiting students from the following law schools (outside of the OCI process) | |
| Comments | We welcome applications from other law schools but we do not participate in OCIs outside Ontario. |
| 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| No. of 1st Year Summer Students | 11 | TBD |
| No. of 1st Year Summer Students Offered Articling Positions (region dependent) | N/A | N/A |
| No. of 2nd Year Summer Students | 11 | 16 |
| No. of 2nd Year Summer Students Offered Articling Positions | 15 | 11 |
| Quebec: Number of future articling students working as a 2nd year summer student | N/A | N/A |
| Atlantic: No. of articling students hired during 2nd year January recruitment | N/A | N/A |
| No. of additional articling students hired (in some regions, in addition to students hired through the summer process) | N/A | N/A |
|
Articling Students |
|
|---|---|
| When do you hire articling students? | We routinely invite all our second year summer students to return to the firm for articling. We expect that all our 2022 second year summer students will return to article for the 2023/2024 articling term. We do not expect to hire any additional articling students for that period. |
| Do you still have any articling positions open for this year (starting 2024)? | No |
| Do you anticipate having articling positions open for next year (starting in 2025) for external candidates outside of your current student hires (if any)? | No |
| If so, how many positions do you anticipate having for external candidates? | N/A |
| Do you allow students to work during the licensing process in your jurisdiction? | |
| Description of articling program |
We offer our articling students a flexible rotation system. Students are expected to complete a “Transactional” rotation (which includes Capital Markets, Corporate/Commercial, Real Estate, Tax Planning, Wills and Estates, Lending, non-litigious IP matters) and an “Advocacy” rotation (which includes Litigation, Labour and Employment, Municipal and Land Use Planning, Bankruptcy and Insolvency, Tax Litigation, Estates Litigation, IP Litigation), but the amount of time spent in each rotation may vary. Students are responsible for managing their own workload. Information regarding which students are in what rotation is provided to everyone in the firm and lawyers contact students directly with work assignments. Students are encouraged, with the assistance of their mentors and/or principals, to seek out work of interest to them in their different rotations.
After orientation, we hold regular Lunch-and-Learn sessions throughout the articling term on a variety of topics. Our articling seminar schedule typically includes topics such as: “Due Diligence: Reviewing Minute Books and Solving Typical Problems,” “Practical Legal Research and Writing,” “Best Practices for Completing Real Estate Transactions,” “Securities Law 101,” "Researching and Writing Legal Memos," “The Law Firm as a Business,” "Financial Statement Fundamentals," "Drafting Litigation Documents," "The Basics of a Lending Transaction," and various other substantive programs. While we work hard, we also take time to have fun and socialize. We host a full roster of social events for our articling students. Past events have included a Welcome Dinner, a private cooking class, a Raptor's game, a Leaf's game, a concert (The Weeknd), and the firm Holiday Party in December, complete with the crowd-pleasing Articling Student Skit. We also hold an end-of-articles celebration where the location and guest list is chosen by the students themselves. During the pandemic, we have organized virtual events to ensure we stay connected. |
| Comments | |
| Do you offer internships? | No |
|---|
|
Summer/Articling |
|
|---|---|
| Do you accept applications for summer/articling positions from foreign trained students/lawyers? | Yes |
| If yes, do applicants need to have an Assessment Report from the National Committee on Accreditation (in Québec, an attestation from le Barreau du Québec) before applying? | Case-by-Case |
| Comments | We accept applications from foreign trained students/lawyers provided the applicant meets the criteria set out in the Law Society of Ontario's Recruitment Procedures. |
|
Required Application Materials |
|
|---|---|
| Required Application Materials |
Resume cover letter post secondary transcripts law school transcripts list of upper year courses |
| Comments | Reference letters from employers and professors can be helpful but are not required. |
|
Preferred Method of Application |
|
|---|---|
| Preferred Method of Application | viDesktop Portal |
| Comments | |
| 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| How many articling students did you offer a first year lawyer position? | 7 | TBD |
| How many articling students in your articling program were seeking a position? | 9 | TBD |
| How many additional first year associates did you hire outside of your articling student program? | 0 | TBD |
| How many of the additional students clerked? | 0 | TBD |
