We look for students and new hires who will carry on our tradition of hard work and excellence into the future. Smart, savvy individuals with a keen business sense and ability to focus on outcomes are a great fit for our corporate and commercial work. Our litigation teams are looking for articulate, passionate, results-oriented candidates with strong communication skills. New associates will eventually be expected to build their own practice through new clients and referrals.

In short, there’s no one like us in the region! We offer a wide variety of sophisticated and complex work that students and new associates can sink their teeth into, including both corporate law and litigation. (The only practice areas we don’t offer are family law, criminal law and insurance defence.) This is fantastic for those starting out, since without broad exposure it’s hard to discover what kind of law is the best fit for you. Cross-training also prepares students to take advantage of opportunities in a number of different fields, rather than only being able to find work in one area. Our students and new associates directly contribute to files, so they can follow them as they progress and see how their work is making a difference. Students are never stuck behind a desk–they’re out in the community doing important tasks that will move files forward (including, for articling students, going to court). Then there’s our reputation, the quality of our lawyers (our partners are very highly respected and some are considered tops in their field), and the fact that the firm has a stable foundation (our partners rarely leave) and is growing. There’s also something to be said for working in a community-based law practice in terms of quality of life–we offer big-city calibre files without the big city lifestyle.

So glad you asked–because fit is very important. Before the articling application deadline, you can find out more about us by looking for our table at your law school career fair. If you attend Western or Windsor, we typically sponsor the joint Windsor/Western law school tour every March, which gives students the opportunity to tour our firm and others in Hamilton. It also gives us a chance to meet prospective students early on in the recruitment process. Once the formal articling interviews are complete, our firm typically hosts a cocktail party for candidates. It usually takes place on the Wednesday night during the Hamilton interview week, and provides students with the opportunity to meet the associates and partners they didn’t meet during the formal interviewing process.

We routinely hire one second-year law student as a summer student and two articling students each year.

We prefer to grow by grooming our students rather than hiring from outside. We hire summer students hoping that they will continue with us the following year to complete their articles and our track record for hiring articling students as associates is excellent–of the associates working at the firm at the end of 2013, only four were external hires. If you’re looking for specific stats, from 2009 to 2013, we hired back one summer student each year to complete his or her articles with us. During the same five years we hired back at least one articling student each year as an associate. If we can’t offer a student a position, we do our best to assist him or her in finding employment elsewhere.

The application and interview process for articling positions must comply with the recruitment procedures established by the Law Society of Upper Canada. Applications are usually due by early May, with interviews conducted in late May or early June. To apply, you’ll need to submit a cover letter, resume, copy of your undergrad and, if applicable, grad school transcript and law school transcript to date. Reference letters are optional. You can apply by mail, courier, email or fax to Colleen Yamashita [link goes to her bio]. You can also apply online by clicking here [link goes to the online form].

Interviews are usually conducted in mid-February. Applications should include a cover letter, resume, copy of your undergrad and, if applicable, grad school transcript and law school transcript to date. Reference letters are optional. You can apply by mail, courier, email or fax to Colleen Yamashita [link goes to her bio]. You can also apply online here [link goes to the online form].

Applications for associate positions are accepted at any time. Include a resume, copies of your law school, undergraduate and, if applicable, grad school transcripts. Reference letters are optional. You can apply by mail, courier, email or fax to Danielle Iampietro [link goes to her bio]. You can also apply online here [link goes to the online form].