Articling Information

Overview

Congratulations! If you are viewing our web site to learn about our articling program, you are well on your way to finishing law school and are preparing to start your legal career.

At Rogers Partners LLP we endeavour to make the articling experience an enjoyable and rewarding experience that leaves our students, at the conclusion of their articles, confident and armed with skills necessary to begin a successful litigation career. We offer a professional and collegial environment that can be expected in a smaller law firm, yet also provide the expertise and quality legal services you might expect to find at a larger firm. Our students play an important role in our firm's success.

If you are interested in beginning your legal career in this environment and joining our team, we encourage you to read on.

What Students Can Expect

As an articling student at Rogers Partners LLP, you can expect a challenging, rewarding and educational articling experience.

We are different from other firms that provide articling programs. At Rogers Partners LLP you can expect a hands on articling experience. We encourage our students to become involved and actively participate in litigation matters as soon as they are ready. We encourage our students to attend court. Our students are frequently handling and attending motions on their own. Our students have direct contact with our clients. Students handle small claims court files independently.

Our students also play an important supporting role for more complex litigation files by conducting legal research, and drafting various documents, facta and memoranda.

Of course, there are limits to what articling students are permitted to do in accordance with the Rules of the Law Society of Upper Canada. However, to supplement the students' direct hands on experience, all of our lawyers, from our junior associates to our senior partners, encourage students to attend with them at various stages of litigation matters including pre-trial conferences, mediations, examinations for discovery, client meetings, witness interviews, administrative hearings, trials and appeals.

Our articling students can expect to be welcomed as members of our team and contribute to the success of our firm, while working in a busy, professional and very collegial environment.

What We Expect Of Our Students

We expect our students to begin their articles with an eagerness to learn and become productive members of our team.

We expect our students to develop their skills as litigators and advocates and to actively participate in our litigation matters. We expect our students to take advantage of the fast-paced litigation environment and make their articling term an ongoing learning process in preparation for their own practice following their call to the bar.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.              How many articling students does the firm hire?

We expect to hire 2 articling students for the 2009/2010 articling term.

2.              How many interviews do you typically grant?

We typically interview 20 to 25 candidates for our articling positions.

3.              What are the important qualifications the firm looks for in articling students?

There is no doubt that academic performance is important. However, we also know that the best academic performance does not necessarily equate to the best articling student. We are looking for individuals who have a commitment and interest in litigation. We are looking for students who have good research skills. More importantly, we are looking for students who will fit well in the collegial, yet professional environment of our firm, with the hope that our students will become future lawyers at our firm.

4.              Is there a rotation system?

No. Our predominant practice area relates to insurance defence litigation. For that reason, there are no formal rotations.

We do rotate our students geographically throughout the office during the articling term to ensure exposure to all members of our firm. By doing so, students can observe various styles of litigation, methods of practice and personalities.

5.              Is there a target billable hour expectation for students?

No. It is our belief that the articling term is an educational experience. We expect our students to gain a great litigation experience. Our goal is not to detract from that experience by focusing on billable hour targets.

6.              How to apply?

We receive and review applications in accordance with the procedures outlined by the Law Society of Upper Canada with respect to recruitment for hiring students in the City of Toronto.

For the 2009/2010 articling term, the application deadline is July 11, 2008.

If you are interested in applying for a position at Rogers Partners LLP, we ask that your application include a complete resume, covering letter, as well as copies of your official transcripts from both law school and your undergraduate studies. Please submit applications to:

Monique Meloche

Rogers Partners LLP

181 University Avenue

Suite 1900

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

M5H 3M7

7.              How do I contact your current articling students?

The contact information for our current articling student is as follows:

Marie Hynes:  marie.hynes@rogerspartners.com