Summer Program

Our summer program is available to both first and second year law students. The deadline for applications for our summer program is either the deadline set by your law school (contact your Career Office for applicable dates) or, for law schools without such a process, September 9, 2008.

For summer positions, the Calgary office hires first and second year law school students and students who have completed their third year of a four-year program. We view the summer as a great opportunity for you to get a broad exposure to the practice areas in which you are interested.  Some of the highlights of our summer program include: 

Flexibility During the Summer:  We do not have formal rotations during the summer, so you can have a varied work experience or focus on one practice area, depending on your interests.

Mentorship Program:  You will be matched with a mentor (a partner or a senior associate). Your mentor will be instrumental in the work that you are involved in at the beginning of the summer, and will provide you with career development advice and support throughout the summer.

Work Allocation and Responsibility:  You will get an unusually high degree of individual responsibility in order to help you in developing your initiative, maturity and practice skills. Summer students receive a significant amount of their work through their mentors, although they also need to seek out work from other lawyers. You will meet regularly as a group with Nicole to discuss workload, and will discuss work with your mentors as well.

Continuing Legal Education Program: We have a comprehensive CLE program for summer students that includes intensive in-house seminars and seminars conducted by external organizations we invite to the firm.

Evaluation Process:  Summer students receive formal feedback in late August from lawyers with whom they have worked during the summer. This feedback informs our decision as to whether to offer first year students second year summer positions. We have had great success with our summer students, with virtually all of our summer students returning to us as either second year summer students or articling students over the last several years.

Summer Student Compensation and Benefits

Salary:  Our summer program compensation philosophy is to pay our students at the forefront of the Calgary market. Our 2008 summer students were paid $1162 per week. 

Vacation:  Summer students receive one week paid vacation during the summer.

Fitness Membership:  The firm pays the full cost of a four-month fitness membership for summer students.