The firm that you choose for summer and formal articles sets the stage for your career. We know that you have questions and criteria and agree that it’s just as important for you to find the right place to learn as it is for us to hire the right students to contribute to our firm.

Let’s start with the top 10 reasons why you should consider Harper Grey for your articles:

1. We have been a leader in civil litigation for over 100 years.
   
   
2. We have grown into the largest litigation-focused firm in B.C., with a history of success in all levels of court in many of the province’s highest profile cases.
   
   
3. Our firm culture makes room for individuality. Our lawyers are strong, independent personalities and self-starters who have thrived in a firm with the freedom to express themselves. They are also highly approachable and collegial.
   
   
4. We are committed to assisting students to reach their potential in the field of law and have the resources in place to make sure you get the most out of your experience.
   
   
5. Our support begins the moment you arrive with a week-long training period and introduction to the firm. You will be paired with a senior lawyer (principal) to guide you and provide feedback and an associate mentor to help you settle in.
   
   
6. Your student experience includes a private office and the assistance of support staff.
   
   
7. Our program has an open structure, allowing you to set your own goals. It stresses hands-on real world experience, supported by guidance from the firm’s partners.
   
   
8. In keeping with our goal to help you build a comprehensive skill set your experience can include: developing the foundation for legal arguments to be used in all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, assisting in interviewing and preparing clients throughout litigation, assisting with drafting pleadings, documents and affidavits, attending discoveries and trials, and responsibility for your own small claims files.
   
   
9. True to our firm’s nature, we encourage students to explore and expand in directions that interest them.
   
   
10. We hire students from law schools throughout Canada, occasionally from foreign countries, and from a variety of backgrounds - our clients are not all the same, and neither are our lawyers
    

Our student program has been thoughtfully designed with the intention of helping our summer and articling students succeed. If our program has piqued your interest we would love to hear from you, learn more about you, what you are looking for and what drives you. Please send us your cover letter, transcripts and resume — let’s see if there is a fit.

Program

We will do everything possible to ensure that your articling year is successful (i.e. to ensure that you are hired back as an associate, should you choose to stay, or that you are well prepared for a successful career at another firm should you decide a different route).

This requires a commitment from you and a commitment from the firm.

We do not move students from department to department within the firm. You will have the prospect of becoming involved in a specific lawsuit, contributing to and managing the case at considerable depth.

If you develop an interest in particular practice areas, you'll be encouraged to explore them in depth. You'll work with veteran lawyers who will share practical experience, mentoring you and showing you how the work you do makes a difference to real life issues.

At some point during the year, you'll complete the Professional Legal Training Course (PLTC) . You'll be given paid time off to study and prepare for the exam.

Welcome to the ballpark...

During your first week, you'll be trained on our office systems and given a full orientation about what you can expect from a typical workday. This includes a tour of the office and a skill testing questionnaire about where each partner's office is located. Just kidding.

Lori Williams, our Director of Training and Development will be here to provide guidance. She will pair you with a senior lawyer who will act as your principal. You'll meet your principal to discuss your expectations and ours, ways to approach work and various assignments.

Early innings...

In the first months, you will begin to work on assignments. This could include research memoranda, accompanying a lawyer to court, answering a question from a client or interviewing witnesses. The emphasis, right from the start, is on doing "real" work for real clients.

Our lawyers will guide you in recognizing what is needed from your work product and how it can be improved on. Learning from practical, applied experience is what your articling year will be all about.

Liisa Tella, our librarian will lead a library and research seminar for you. She and her team are an invaluable resource. They are patient, and they have trained many articling students on what the lawyers expect from you.

The first few months are crucial for students to show initiative. First impressions will be based on perceptions of your motivation, how you clarify expectations, your writing and research skills, your ability to meet deadlines and how you get along with others in the office.

This is one of the more stressful times in the articling year. No one expects you to be perfect. Ask questions, communicate with your principal and demonstrate that you are committed to doing a good job for our clients and that you are willing to learn.

Covering the bases...

As more lawyers become familiar with your interests and strengths, you'll receive more varied assignments. Lori Williams and your principal will help you manage your workload; this is the time when long hours can be spent at the office and you can be immersed in helping out with a trial or challenging request.

Throughout your articling year, you will be invited to attend professional development seminars (one or two per month), client luncheons, meetings with your principal and other events. You can expect to attend at least three seminars, lunches or events per month, if not more.

Some of the work you can expect to do at Harper Grey:

• Attending at chambers, assessments, discoveries, and applications at various levels of Court and trials
  
• Managing small claims cases
• Assisting as a junior at trials and inquests
• Drafting pleadings, wills, and corporate documents, and transferring real estate
• Preparing opinions and legal memoranda
• Interviewing witnesses and meeting with clients
• Participating in business development activities
  

The ninth inning...

Both you and the firm will have a good idea as to whether Harper Grey is the right fit for you before the end of your articling year. You will continue to meet with your principal and it's possible that you may be called to the bar before you officially begin work at the firm as an associate.

Summer Student Program

Our summer student program emphasizes the depth of each project rather than breadth of practice areas.You will work on specific projects. If this is your first experience working in a law office, you'll also learn how the office environment functions.

We view the summer student program as a way to determine if there is a fit for you as an articling student. Offers will be vetted and made by the end of your summer term.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How and when should I apply?

• We respect the articling guidelines set out by the Vancouver Bar Association (VBA). Please see their website for application details.
• Generally, the deadline for articling applications is June 30, and for summer students, it's September 15
• We have hired our articling students for 2013-14
• We will hire two summer students for 2013, and participate in the application/interview process in September 2012 as per VBA guidelines.
  

Q. What should I include in the application?

• In your cover letter, please tell us about jobs, volunteer activities, travels, athletics and other experiences that you have found interesting. Tell us why you want to become a litigator and what it is about litigation that interests you.
  
• Please send a resume, transcript, undergraduate marks and a covering letter to:

  c/o Raj Samtani, Partner
  Harper Grey LLP
  3200 - 650 West Georgia Street
  Vancouver, BC V6B 4P7

Q. What will I earn?

• Articling students earn $50,000/year. Benefits include:
• Extended health, dental, disability and life insurance
• Fitness subsidy
• 10 days vacation (and you're encouraged to use it)
  
• Volunteer support for any pro-bono or charitable work you do
• Payment of all continuing education, bar admission course, Canadian Bar Association membership and call fees
  
• Summer students earn a gross monthly salary of $3,750, pro-rated for time actually spent with the firm. Benefits include:
• A portion of your third-year law school tuition, up to $5,000
• A $500 book allowance for your third year of law school

Q. Are there any other benefits?

• Inclusion in all in-house education programs such as lunch presentations
• In-house seminars focused specifically on student skills - working with staff, litigation, writing, research, etc.
  
• Invitations to firm social events such as softball games, a trip to see a baseball game in Seattle, hockey games, a ski-race in Whistler, client receptions, holiday receptions and golf tournaments
• A private office with a door. We will not make you work in a cubicle.
• Relative freedom to structure your day according to your work assignments. No one will question you if you need the occasional afternoon off for an appointment or take an extra-long lunch.

Q. How much time are students expected to spend in the office?

• Students spend as much time as time at the office as necessary to complete assignments. If they are involved in a trial or have a strict court-imposed deadline, this can include weekend and evening work.
• We encourage students to communicate what they need in terms of work-life balance. The articling year can be overwhelming - learning how to manage your workload to be productive in a team environment is essential for success. Demonstrating that you are proactive and conscious of doing the best job possible (not completing the most work possible) is part of what makes lawyers successful.

Q. Do you have a pro bono policy?

• We don't have a formal policy, but we do perform pro bono work on a case-by-case basis
• Students are encouraged to volunteer at pro bono clinics
• Many of our lawyers volunteer as supervising lawyers at pro bono clinics such as the Law Students Legal Advice Program
• We recognize that pro bono work is part of our professional responsibility to encourage access to the legal system for everyone
• The firm has a volunteer recognition program whereby we will donate money to organizations that staff and students spend more than 50 hours per year volunteering for
  

Q. Are you involved in the universities?

• Yes. The firm sponsors scholarships and bursaries in the faculties of law at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria
  
• Many of our lawyers are involved with the University of British Columbia
• Raj Samtani is an adjunct professor, teaching the Law in Medicine course
• Richard Bereti is an adjunct professor, teaching the third-year Environmental Law course
• Guy Brown, Cheryl Khanna and Terry Robertson have lectured at the third year appellate advocacy course
• Abigail Turner tutors students in the ethics at the Faculty of Medicine
• Kim Jakeman has lectured at the Faculty of Medicine Education Day
• Maureen Lundell has lectured as part of the Faculty of Arts Career Expo
• Bernie Buettner, Natasha Chetty and Lori Williams have presented a panel discussion "Law Firm 101: What to Expect When you Get to the Office" for the Faculty of Law
• Kat Kinch has coached the UBC Wilson Moot team, and is on the board of the UBC Law Alumni Association
  
• We also participate in the On Campus Interview (OCI) process, which precedes articling applications

Q. What are your hireback rates?

• Our hireback rates are comparable to most other downtown firms
• Offers depend on what the firm needs, and what our students want. For example, some of our students become interested in working on the other side of files, for the Crown or Department of Justice. Others decide to focus on an area of law that is not part of our primary service, or decide to work in-house at an organization such as the BC Securities Commission.
• In 2011 and 2010, we hired three out of five articling students. If a student decides not to stay with the firm, we will do everything in our power to connect him or her to a suitable employer before the end of the articling year.
  

Meet our Current Students

Articling Students, 2012-2013

Ms. Kimberly Fenwick
Law School: University of British Columbia
Undergrad: University of British Columbia, Political Science
Claim to fame: too many volunteer activities to list! On the UBC Wilson Moot team which won the "Top Factum" prize at the national competition in Toronto in 2010.
Email: kfenwick@harpergrey.com

Ms. Carlee Campbell
Law School: University of British Columbia
Undergrad: University of Calgary, Faculty of Commerce
Hometown: Calgary, AB
Claim to fame: worked as a volunteer in orphanages in Chiapas, Mexico and Thailand
Email: ccampbell@harpergrey.com

Ms. Devon Peck
Law School: University of Victoria
Undergrad: McGill University, English Literature and World Relations
Claim to fame: has volunteered for WISH (Women's International Safe House)
Hometown: West Vancouver, BC
Email: dpeck@harpergrey.com

Mr. Robin Bennett
Law School: University of Alberta
Undergrad: McGill University, Philosophy and American History
Hometown: North Vancouver, BC
Claim to fame: pro bono volunteer for the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry
Email: rbennett@harpergrey.com

Ms. Kara Hill
Law School: University of Manitoba
Undergrad: University of Victoria, B.A. (English)
Hometown: Kenora, ON
Claim to fame: Captain of the U of M basketball team at the Law Games
Email: khill@harpergrey.com

Summer Students, 2012

Ms. JoAnne Barnum
Law School: University of British Columbia
Undergrad: Simon Fraser University, Joint Honours Degree in Sociology and Anthropology
Claim to fame: also has a certificate in Innovative Leadership, has interned at the Legal Services Board of Nunavut in Rankin Inlet and worked as a research assistant at the Vancouver Native Health Society.
Returning for articles? Yes!

Mr. Nathaniel Turner
Law School: University of British Columbia
Undergrad: McMaster University, Combined Honours degree in Japanese Studies and Linguistics
Claim to fame: worked as a software administrator in Vancouver, a Trade Commissioner intern at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Tokyo and a crew member for Salmon's Transfer!
Returning for articles? Yes, but only after clerking at the Supreme Court of British Columbia for one year.
Email: nturner@harpergrey.com