Home  About Blakes  Offices  People  Practices  Publications  Seminars  Media  Join Blakes   French  Chinese font [+] [-]

Associates

  Chicago
Montréal
  New York
  Ottawa
  Toronto
  Calgary
  Vancouver

Students

  Montréal
  Ottawa
  Toronto
  Calgary
  Vancouver

Law Clerks

  Montréal
  Ottawa
  Toronto
  Calgary
  Vancouver

Administrative Staff

  Chicago
  Montréal
  Ottawa
  Toronto
  Calgary
  Vancouver

 

 

  First Year Program Second Year Program Articling Program Our Students Blakes at your School Resume Preparation Interview Guide Career Resources Blakes Scholar Award  




Articling Program

  1. Articling Student Rotation System
  2. Mentoring System
  3. Professional Development
  4. The "Nuts & Bolts" of Articling
  5. 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. Our rotation system also ensures that you work with a wide variety of lawyers at the Firm. Students do four rotations in different practice areas. Each rotation is 2 ½ months in duration.


  • We work with our articling students to help them get the experience they want and need to develop. Our students are required to do at least one corporate-focussed rotation. We also recommend that over the course of your articles that you consider doing a rotation in litigation and one of the specialty areas of the Firm.


  • In our Toronto office, students do rotations in the following areas:


  • We also offer a number of rotations outside the Firm. In the past, we have offered rotations with the Ontario Securities Commission, the ARCH Disability Law Centre, the Deutsche Bank, Justice for Children and Youth, UPS, Coca-Cola, GE and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

Back to Top

Mentoring

  • During each articling student rotation, students are assigned a mentor whose role it is to ensure the student receives good work experience at the Firm. Mentors give the students work directly, and make a concerted effort to find work for the student with partners and senior associates at the Firm who can evaluate them. 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 mentors enjoy the mentoring role and have a proven ability to work well with students. We collect feedback from our students about their mentors and use that information to continually improve our mentor program.


  • While the mentor will assign most of the work, other lawyers will also assign work to the students.


  • The mentor will ensure that students receive ongoing feedback on their work. Students will also meet with a member of the Legal Personnel Committee and the Chief Officer of Legal Personnel who will review the student's performance and discuss the experience at the Firm. There are also regularly scheduled group meetings with articling students to discuss development in the Firm and to receive feedback from the students on matters which concern them.

Back to Top

Professional Development

  • When articling students start at Blakes, they receive an orientation on the resources at the firm. We also have an educational plan for our articling students that focuses on developing substantive skills such as legal research and writing, advocacy and drafting skills. Click here for the articling student education plan.

Back to Top

The "nuts & bolts" of articling

  • The Law Society of Upper Canada requires students to complete the Licensing Process and complete 10 months of articling in order to qualify to practice as an associate. For more information, click here.


  • At Blakes, we strongly encourage all of our articling students to write the Barrister and solicitor exams before starting the articling period at the Firm. For information about the Licensing process, click here.


  • At Blakes, we pay students 14 days salary to study and write the Barrister and Solicitor Exams, if students accept an articling position with us.


  • Blakes will pay all Licensing fees. Articles will commence in August.


  • The current salary for articling students is $1,450 per week.


  • Upon accepting a position as an articling student, students receive a tuition bonus.

Back to Top

How To Apply

Please send your application including a resume, law school and undergraduate transcript to:

Kari Abrams
Director of Student Recruitment & Development
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
199 Bay Street
Suite 2800, Commerce Court West
Toronto ON M5L 1A9
Canada

Tel: (416) 863-4194
Fax: (416) 863-2653
email: kari.abrams@blakes.com

MONTRÉAL   OTTAWA   TORONTO   CALGARY   VANCOUVER   NEW YORK   CHICAGO   LONDON   BAHRAIN   AL-KHOBAR*   BEIJING   SHANGHAI*
*Associated Office
Employee Access   Privacy and Copyright   Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP