Well, until UM gets a Career Counselor for you guys, this and whoever is running the Articling Committee is as good as it gets. Enjoy and Good Luck!
SECOND YEARS - Get your resumes and transcripts ready now for summering applications! I haven't had time to really look into it yet but I know that there are a few firms out there with deadlines of September 1st! Most Toronto firms have deadlines of Sept. 15th, firms from other cities have deadlines of around Sept. 30th but you should start preparing anyways.
Rough Timetable:
First Years: Basically take it easy. Enjoy your summer and unwind from your first year at law school. Most firms don't hire first years anyways. That said, it's not unusual nor unheard of to work at a law firm after your first year.
One way to get a summer job is through the Mentorship Program. At least one student has been hired each year for the past two years through the program.
You can also check the window in front of the general office around April for summer research jobs with professors (these jobs are open to 1st and 2nd years). IMHO, this is probably the best job you could get but then again I'm probably biased ;) But seriously, the benefit is that you get to research a particular area of law plus you'll get at least one really good reference from a prof.
Finally (for all years I guess), you can fill out an application on the Federal Student Work Experience Program website. Hey, you never know...Just the other day I got a call from the Department of Justice for a research job in Winnipeg that they needed to fill right away but since I'm in Vancouver for the summer I had to turn it down (yes I did put down on my application that I'll be in Vancouver...I can only assume they called b/c I listed my law school as UM). Anyways, I wanted to suggest some names to call but the nice person on the phone said that you must fill out an online application and that jobs like this pop up all the time.Second Years: Okay, there's three important time periods:
1) Summering deadlines can be from the beginning of September to the end of November and beyond depending on the firm. Most major firm will have their deadlines in from mid to the end of September. Interviews if I remember correctly were around the end of November in Vancouver (I'll have to check). Some of the bigger firms from Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto come out during our Career Day to give interviews. Some firms have a second interview period during the winter break for out of province students but it's probably a good idea to try to go to the earlier one if you can. Reason being if out of 5 summering positions a firm has decided on 4 of them by the time winter break rolls along...do you really need me to finish the rest? Anyways, summering is probably a good thing as all firms that I've looked up will take you back for articling unless some sort of problem arises (screwing up a multi-million dollar deal, deciding to article in another city, etc... ;).2) Clerking deadlines run from around the end of January to early February. If history repeats itself, certain profs will be late in submitting 1st semester marks but don't fret. The courts understand this and as long as you send something so that they have you on file it's okay, you can send in your transcript later (but not too late! :)
What is clerking and why would you want to do it? As I understand it you'll be primarily helping a judge do research on various points of law, writing a lot of legal memos, and possibly proof-reading/editing judgments. Basically you'll be a judge's lackey, whatever they want you to do, you'll do. Now why would you want to do it? If you had a good time judge shadowing in first year and want to know even more about how the judicial system works from the other side then that's a good start. On a more practical level, you may be able to pick up on what judges are looking for when coming to a decision. Plus, apparently clerking is something that firms like...I'll reserve judgment on that for until I get a job [I got an articling job! And yup, I do think having the clerking is helpful. Plus it give you that extra year if you don't get a job right away]. Anyways, there are several people at school who have clerked whom you can turn to for advice: Professors Casey Chisick (SCC) and Debra Parks (BCSC). Plus there's Kate Ballweg who's going to clerk for the FCTD. After them, you can talk to me but I don't see how I can be any more helpful than the people above [When I start clerking in Sept 2003 I'll write more about the experience].3) Articling deadlines for most firms begin from early June to as late as mid July. Winnipeg, Calgary, and some Toronto firms have a matching process. Basically in a matching system, students interview, rank order the firm they'd like to article at. At the same time, firms rank order which student they'd like at their firm. If things work out, then super. Sorry to be so brief but there's more than enough info on the UM site and NatMatch. About the most important thing that I remember from those articling sessions is that if you're entering a match process, be honest with your choice. The system is geared for the student, if you feel strongly that a certain firm is #1 for you, then put that down. In addition to checking out this site and articling handbooks that you've scammed off friends, remember to look up the National Articling Database (NAD) in Quicklaw. Hey, you might as well put that free access to good use. Note: apparently in Ontario, clerking satisfies the articling requirements so basically you would just apply as an associate. For BC, clerking satisfies up to 5 months of PLTC.
Note: Generally what you need to include in your applications: a cover letter, your resume, copies of your official transcripts from undergrad and law school. Some firms want references letters so you might want to get some done in advance from your professors. For out of province students, before you leave for the summer BE SURE TO GO TO THE RECORDS OFFICE AND GET A COPY OF YOUR TRANSCRIPT SENT TO YOU WHEN ALL YOUR MARKS ARE IN!! Also, the only time I've seen a request for a writing sample is the Federal Court and legal journals looking for a summer student.
Third Years: If you were unable to secure an articling position over the summer, the only thing I can say is to keep an eye out for smaller firms and best of luck. A listing of firms that are hiring for the 2003-2004 year will be kept here and at the Career Corner in the Library [well, depending on who will be running this next year]. Also, whether or not you've landed an articling position, you can still apply to clerk at some courts. I think that as long as you haven't actually written the bar exam you can still clerk after your articling year (Gotta check on that). I know of several 3rd years who applied and interviewed for clerking jobs with the Tax Court and the SCC. For example, Sascha Paul landed a well deserved clerking job with the SCC!
Articling: I gotta admit to being spoiled...my firm just sent me everything and I handed it in by November. What you have to do is figure out your articling pattern, i.e. which PLTC session and when you're going to be doing your articles. You're also gonna need 2 passport sized photos and a notary public/lawyer's stamp on the application form (I just asked one of the lawyer's from my solicitors' transactions course to do it for me). Just a quick note on costs: The BC PLTC is around $2,600 - find out if your firm is paying it. My buddy who's going to TO got a letter in March to that said that they have to pay for the Ontario Bar Ad course by Apr. 11th...and that's $5,000! Just a head's up if your firm's not paying for it.