Structure of Programs
Articling Year
What drives the articling program at Harper Grey?
Articled students play a central role in our firm. We're firmly committed to assisting you to reach your potential and develop leadership qualities in the field of law.
To begin, our Director of Training & Development, Lori Williams, arranges a week of training and introduction to the firm. You'll also be paired with a senior lawyer, your principal, to guide you and provide feedback throughout your articling year. You'll also have a private office, a computer, and a supportive secretary to assist you.
Traits of our program
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 lawyers. True to our firm's nature, self-starters thrive in our student program, allowing them to explore and expand in directions that interest them.
Roselle Wu, Associate with Harper Grey, describes her articling year, "I had a lot of direct contact with many lawyers at the firm, and they were always very supportive with feedback and answering questions. The size of the firm is good too - lots of different lawyers, but still very personable."
Each side of the business
Our program provides hands-on experience through our practice groups - in both litigation and solicitor's rotations. We regard training for the varied and difficult facets of litigation as an absolutely necessary part of becoming a widely respected litigator. At the same time, we also provide students with a 9 week rotation in solicitor's practice.
If you already know which area of law you'd like to specialize in, such as environmental law, you are also free to explore that area in more depth.
Highly targeted training
During your articling year, you'll take a library and research seminar, as well as other seminars, such as marketing training for lawyers. We're also flexible with respect to start dates and scheduling of the Professional Legal Training Course. We will pay your PLTC tuition. For new associates, we also provide further professional development training.
Compensation for articling
We pay our students at a rate similar to other mid-sized law firms in Vancouver. Articling students receive a gross annual salary of $45,000. We also pay CBA membership fees, as well as CLE fees, PLTC, and call fees whether you join us as an associate or not.
Additional benefits include B.C. Medical, life insurance, short and long-term disability, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, extended health insurance and dental benefits. In short, everything that a lawyer in our firm begins with.
Summer Program
Summer students typically join us from May through to August. As the time with us is shorter than articling, the summer program emphasizes depth of each project rather than breadth of practice areas.
Compensation for summer students
Our summer students receive a gross monthly salary of $3,750, pro-rated for the time actually spent in the office with the firm. We also pay Law Society fees during summer articles. A portion of the student’s third year law school tuition, up to a maximum of $5,000, and a $500 book allowance for the third year of law school is also provided.
If you'd like to apply for an interview, we look forward to explaining our approach in more detail.
