Articling Program
- Articling Student Rotation System
- Mentoring System
- Professional Development
- 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. 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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