Articling Program
- Articling Student Rotation System
- Mentoring System
- Professional Development
- Social Events
- The "Nuts & Bolts" of Articling
- How to Apply
Articling Rotation System
- At Blakes, we try to ensure that you receive well-rounded articles by getting experience in different areas of law. This ensures that they obtain broad exposure to the principal areas of our practice under the individual guidance and supervision of experienced lawyers in each of these areas.
- We want our students to receive exposure to the core areas of our practice. We believe that our rotation program best allows us to develop and assess our students and gives them individual attention.
- In our Ottawa office, students do rotations in the following areas:
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Mentoring
- During each articling student rotation, students are assigned a mentor. The most important role of a mentor is to make sure a student gets a good work experience at the firm. Mentors give the students work directly, but also make a concerted effort to find work for the student with partners and senior associates at the firm in the rotation practice area. A mentor also helps the student deal with work flow, shows them precedents, reviews their work and gives the student advice about work styles of different lawyers.
- The mentor will also ensure that students receive ongoing feedback on their work and will prepare a written evaluation of the student's performance at the end of each rotation.
- We evaluate our students twice during each rotation. These evaluations provide useful and constructive information for the students and afford students 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 year. This is in addition to the "open-door" approach we have for accessibility to all lawyers.
- During the course of the year, students meet with their principal (currently Gary Jessop) for formal assessments as required by the Law Society of Upper Canada.
- On an ongoing basis, members of the Students Committee are available for ongoing assistance and problem-solving with respect to student issues.
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Professional Development
- When articling students start at Blakes, they receive an orientation on the resources at the firm. They also receive a two-day professional development program. We have an educational plan for our articling students as well, which focuses on developing substantive skills such as legal research and writing, advocacy and drafting skills. Click
here for the articling student education plan.
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Social Events
- Social events are a great way to get to know the lawyers and other
students at the firm. Throughout the articling year, students have
the chance to participate in a range of social events. In addition
to our Christmas dinner party, we hold an event in the summer or
fall which in the past has included a night at the races and a Halloween
ghost tour. Spouses or significant others are invited to attend many
of these events.
- We have additional social functions tailored specifically to lawyers and students, including dinners and casual social get-togethers. We believe that our size, our relative youth and the characteristics that we look for in our students and lawyers make our office a friendly, as well as exciting, place to practice law.
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The "nuts & bolts" of articling
- The Law Society of Upper Canada requires students to complete the Bar Admission Course and complete 44 weeks of articling in order to practise as an associate. For more information, click here.
- At Blakes, we strongly encourage all of our articling students to complete their Bar Admission Course requirements (Skills Phase and Substantive/Procedural Phase) before starting the articling period at the firm in. For information about the Bar Admission Course, click here.
- At Blakes, we pay salary and all course fees for the Bar Admissions Course if students accept an articling position with us.
- Students are paid once they commence the Licensing Process. Blakes will pay all Licensing fees. Articles will commence late July/early August
- We pay a salary and benefits comparable to the highest paid students at Ottawa firms.
- Upon accepting a position as an articling student, students receive a tuition bonus.
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How To Apply
Please send your application, including a resume and law school and undergraduate transcripts, to:
Gary Jessop
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
45 O'Connor Street
Suite 2000, World Exchange Plaza
Ottawa ON K1P 1A4
Tel: (613) 788-2224
Fax: (613) 788-2247
e-mail: gary.jessop@blakes.com |
