The Legal Excellence Program - Toronto

The Department of Justice Canada, Toronto Law Student Program

Our Office

The Ontario Regional office attracts some of Canada’s best and brightest legal minds, and handles some of the most diverse, high profile and challenging files in the country. Located in the heart of Toronto’s Financial District, our team of over 550 employees – of which roughly half are lawyers – reflects the city’s remarkable diversity. The bulk of our practice is litigation-based, with counsel appearing in every level of court in the country, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

Areas of Practice

Justice lawyers in Toronto have the chance to litigate and provide legal advice to client departments and agencies in one or more of the following areas:

• Aboriginal
• Civil Litigation
• Constitutional/Charter of Rights
• Employment
• Extradition
• Human Rights
• Immigration
• National Security
• Regulatory
• Tax

Our Student Program

Articling and summer students are given the opportunity to work on high profile and precedent-setting litigation for an employer that supports their interests and professional development.

Legal Excellence Program (Articling)

Through this innovative program, we give articling students the chance to develop the essential knowledge, skills and experience for practicing law. Students rotate through a variety of civil practice areas and participate in trial advocacy and legal research programs. As an articling student, you will get practical courtroom experience while assisting counsel in all aspects of litigation, in addition to having carriage of your own files.

Articling student appointments will be made under the Justice Canada LP-01 Training and Development Program. This program provides for the progression of participants from LP-00 (articling student) to LP-02 (counsel) over approximately 5 years. As such, it is expected that an initial appointment to this program would ultimately result in an indeterminate non-advertised LP-02 appointment (subject to meeting all program requirements).

Summer Program

Students who have completed their second-year of law school are introduced to the practice of government litigation. They spend the summer assisting counsel in a variety of work on litigation files in one or more of our practice areas.

Additionally, summer students may have the opportunity to article with the Department of Justice if they meet all requirements.

Salary and Benefits

All students receive a competitive salary. Articling students receive:

• Payment of a salary during the articling period;
• Payment of a salary during the period of time required for the participant to take the licensing exams if the exams are written during the articling period;
• Payment of the initial licensing fees in order to participate in the articling student licensing process including,
  • the application/enrollment fees,
  • the licensing fees for exams and study materials,
  • the licensing fees to be an articling student and
  • the Call to the Bar fee (only if offered a position as Counsel (term or indeterminate) immediately following their Call to the Bar ceremony);
• 15 days vacation, pro-rated;
• 15 days paid sick leave, pro-rated;
• Medical and dental coverage;
• Pension plan.

How to Apply

The Department of Justice follows the Law Society’s procedures governing the recruitment of articling and summer students. Send your application, including cover letter, résumé, law school transcripts and anticipated upper year courses via the ViRecruit Portal prior to the deadline set by the Law Society.

We are committed to maintaining a representative workforce reflective of Canadian society. In support of achieving a diversified workforce and employment equity goals, qualified candidates who self-declare in a staffing process as members of Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, visible minorities and/or women may be selected for appointment to fulfill organizational needs. Preference will be given to veterans and to Canadian citizens, in that order.

Statement of Merit for summer student positions

Statement of Merit Criteria for Articling Student positions

Contact

Nancy Arnold and Scott Warwick
Department of Justice Canada
Ontario Regional Office
120 Adelaide Street West
Suite #400
Toronto, Ontario M5H 1T1
lep-pea.Ontario@justice.gc.ca