Your Development

At Stikeman Elliott we want you to excel the moment you walk through our doors and we hope to see you develop into talented lawyers with a long and exciting career with us.

Our unique philosophy on your development aims to help you succeed professionally and to build upon your individual strengths, career goals and aspirations. We take a multi-layered approach to your training and development, ensuring that as you advance in your career you are learning everyday through hands-on experience with a variety of files, real client contact, formal and informal mentoring, consistent feedback and, of course, our many education and training courses. Our goal is to develop well-rounded lawyers who are driven by intellectual curiosity and a desire to think creatively about the law.

The majority of our CLE courses are designed and presented by our own lawyers with the goal of providing substantive legal training and practical knowledge on a wide range of topics. These sessions are in-depth, interactive and a great chance to meet other lawyers in the firm. We also bring in legal scholars to speak on specialized topics and external consultants to provide coaching on a range of business, legal and professional skills.

Our CLE current curriculum for Student and Associates includes the following courses:

Substantive Skills Training

  • Issues in Establishing a New Business
  • The A to Z of Selling a Business 
  • IPOs - "The Big Show"
  • The Ins and Outs of Public M & A
  • What it Means to be a Public Company and Navigating Regulatory Waters
  • Securities 101 - The 21 Rules That Matter
  • Shareholders Agreement - The Corporate "Pre-Nupt"
  • Off to the Bank - Obtaining Bank Financing
  • Drafting Skills 101 and 102
  • Drafting Skills 201 - Grammar and Style
  • The "Foundations" of Real Estate Transactions
  • Pensions & Benefits  - The Nest Egg from the Corporate Perspective
  • Tax Considerations in Corporate Transactions
  • Employment Considerations in Corporate Transactions
  • The ABCs of Affidavit Drafting
  • Examinations For Discovery and Cross-Examinations - Conducting and Responding Effectively

Leadership Development/Practice Management

  • Making the Transition from Law Student to Lawyer - What You Really Need to Know
  • Being A Good Team Member (external consultant)
  • Introduction to Business Development and Marketing
  • Building Relationships Internally and Externally (external consultant)
  • Building Your Practice - Keeping Your Life: Strategies for Finding Balance
  • Leading the File Team and Managing the Matter (external consultant)
  • Creating an Effective Network - Business Development for Women (external consultant)
  • Becoming the Responsible Lawyer - Practice Management for Senior Associates

Our leadership in Knowledge Management is also an important benefit to your development. Our KM and research lawyers are go-to expert resources for students, associates and partners alike, providing advice on complex legal issues, assisting with questions on our leading edge resources and keeping our lawyers and students up to date on important changes in the law. They and the rest of the KM team are actively involved in fostering our students' and associates' research, writing and drafting skills both through our CLE programs and one-on-one interaction.

Although our practice is built upon a spirit of team work and collective goals, we never lose sight of you as an individual. Our lawyer mentors and members of our Student and Associate Programmes Department get to know each student professionally and personally and meet with you several times over the course of your articles to discuss a number of topics related to your work and firm life.

If you have any questions about our approach to student training and development or about any of our specific education or leadership initiatives, please contact Shanin Lott, our Director of Recruitment & Education.