Articling Program @ the Montréal Office
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP is one of Canada's leading business law firms with more than 500 lawyers in offices in Montréal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa, New York, Chicago, London, UK and Beijing, China.
The Montréal office is comprised of a team of lawyers with expertise in all business practice areas, including corporate, commercial, pension and employee benefits, taxation, securities, financial services, commercial real estate, labour and employment, technology and intellectual property and commercial litigation, including restructuring and insolvency.
Our Montréal office has been steadily growing and attracts high quality professionals. Our team consists of more than 55 lawyers who share common values: excellence, teamwork and commitment to clients, vision and creativity. We consider our articling program an excellent way to maintain such growth.
Description
Students who accept an articling position with the Montréal office are given the opportunity to work at the Firm on a full-time basis as summer students, prior to their articling. This will enable them to familiarize themselves with the Firm's major areas of practice, its members and the day to day activities of the Firm. Upon request to the Student Recruiting Committee, students may also work at the Firm on a part-time basis during their studies.
The articling program at the Montréal office is divided into rotations between the Corporate/Commercial and litigation departments.
Responsibilities
Articling students are responsible for legal research and the handling of files delegated to them always under the supervision of the responsible lawyer. These files may require the articling student to draft various commercial agreements, to participate in major transactions, from due diligence to closing, to draft court proceedings, as well as to participate in examinations out of court and negotiations. Articling students are also given the opportunity to attend and plead before administrative and judicial courts.
Training
In addition to the continuing mentoring program, the articling students are assigned a principal (“maître de stage”) who assists them in their development throughout the articling period. Additionally, articling students are invited to participate in local and national information sessions and training workshops to improve communication skills and develop their interests and knowledge of the various areas of the law. The principal, mentors and members of the Recruitment Committee are always available for assistance and problem solving in order to enhance student development.
Resources
Articling students benefit from the assistance of a paralegal team and a librarian in charge of the Firm's library. In addition to the Firm's internal library, each student workstation is linked to Blakes' national electronic library, as well as to the main national and international legal databanks. A training session to familiarize articling students with the office computer resources is scheduled at the beginning of each articling program.
Evaluation and Hiring
Formal evaluations of each articling student are conducted on a periodic basis. These evaluations provide useful and constructive information for the students and afford them a formal opportunity to express their views on the Firm, the opportunities given to them, and the direction they would like to see for the balance of their articling program. This is in addition to the "open-door" policy we have for accessibility to all lawyers.
Our articling program constitutes a valuable opportunity for students to explore their areas of interest and enhance their skills. The articling program is of the utmost importance to Blakes, as it represents our favoured source of qualified young professionals.
Compensation and Benefits
As part of our commitment to attract and retain top legal talent, our compensation and benefits package is highly competitive with other large first-tier national law firms in the Montréal market, and is reviewed on an annual basis. Furthermore, the Montréal office pays all fees to the École du Barreau on behalf of the articling student.
Applications
Candidates who are interested in submitting their application should forward their curriculum vitae as well as a copy of their transcripts to the attention of:
Sindy Peixoto
Responsable du recrutement étudiant
Blake, Cassels & Graydon S.E.N.C.R.L./s.r.l.
600, boul. de Maisonneuve Ouest
Bureau 2200
Montréal (Québec) H3A 3J2 Canada
Téléphone: (514) 982-5043
Fax: (514) 982-4099
Courriel : sindy.peixoto@blakes.com
Recruitment Committee
For additional information, please do not hesitate to contact any of the members of our Recruitment Committee:
Sindy Peixoto : sindy.peixoto@blakes.com
Angelo Noce : angelo.noce@blakes.com
Francis Rouleau : francis.rouleau@blakes.com
Natalie Bussière : natalie.bussiere@blakes.com
Marie-Hélène Constantin : mariehelene.constantin@blakes.com
Hélène Deschamps Marquis : helene.deschampsmarquis@blakes.com
Philippe Bourassa : philippe.bourassa@blakes.com
Marc-André Landry : marcandre.landry@blakes.com
Katherine Girard : katherine.girard@blakes.com
Liviu Kaufman : liviu.kaufman@blakes.com
Eric Poole : eric.poole@blakes.com
The applications for an articling position in 2011 must be received before February 13, 2009.
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