We consider Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP to be an ideal learning environment for new lawyers. We are a regionally-based firm with local, national and international clients. We are a multi-service firm rather than a boutique. We are of moderate size, allowing our lawyers to gain a greater degree of diversity in their practice and the firm to maintain a more congenial environment. All of these things come to bear on our student programs.
Our student programs are premised upon the idea that experience is the best teacher in the practice of law. We also recognize the value of learning in a supportive environment.
Articling Program
We have filled all our Articling positions for the 2024/2025 year.
We generally hire eight articling students each year for our 12-month articling rotation, including returning summer students. We will be hiring for the 2024/2025 articling period. We recruit students according to the interview guidelines established by the Vancouver Bar Association.
We strive to give our students meaningful legal work that develops their skills and knowledge, and furthers their education. Types of work include: research; drafting pleadings, agreements and other documents; preparing for and attending chambers, trials, hearings, examinations for discovery and meetings; interviewing witnesses; reviewing documents; and preparing seminar papers and other presentations on various legal issues.
To understand more about a typical day in the life of an articling student, see stage 6 of our “Student Life” series.
We have a flexible rotational structure for our articling students.
In our experience, most young lawyers are not entirely sure where their practice preferences lie until they have had an opportunity to experience life practicing in different areas of the law. Upon joining our firm as a student, you will be placed in a flexible rotational system to maximize your exposure to a diverse range of legal areas. In each rotation, we actively encourage our students to seek out work in their areas of interest and assume as much responsibility as possible under the guidance of senior lawyers.
Although we recognize that good research skills are essential to your development as a lawyer, we do our best to ensure that the articling experience is much broader than research.
During our litigation rotation, we expect that our students will:
- Prepare pleadings
- Accompany counsel on examinations for discovery, trials, hearings and mediations
- Prepare legal memoranda
- Attend meetings with clients and experts
- Regularly appear in chambers
- Have conduct of their own small claims files and occasionally run small claims trials
Students will also meet with our litigation lawyers to develop strategy in pending cases and prepare matters for trial.
During the rotation in our business law practice, students will likely be engaged in drafting:
- Commercial contracts
- Wills and trusts
- Shareholder agreements
- Franchise agreements
- Licensing agreements
- Distribution agreements
- Development and management agreements
Students will also research and prepare legal memoranda, meet with clients, and prepare documents such as materials relating to residential and commercial real estate transactions and the purchase and sale of corporations through share or asset sales. Students may also assist in private and public financings.
Our students are well supported
Christine York, our Director of Associate + Student Programs, is a Partner of the firm who devotes all of her time to supporting and developing our junior legal talent. Students are assigned a senior mentor, junior mentor, and a very junior mentor called an advisor. Students are also provided with their own offices, legal administration services, access to a legal librarian and research lawyer, and office services support.
Our firm has made fostering legal talent a priority.
As part of our ASCEND ™ training program, our articling program includes an intensive orientation and a “Student Boot Camp” series of in-house seminars, designed to ensure that our students’ hands-on education is supplemented with more formal training. We also offer our students bi-weekly seminars on practical subjects, designed specifically for the student experience. Students are also welcome to attend a myriad of other in-house seminars offered regularly.
We include our articled students in all firm functions throughout the year.
This gives students an opportunity to meet with lawyers and staff on a social basis. We also sponsor functions for students alone, to build camaraderie within our student group. It is our intention that, at the end of the articling experience, our students will not only have had a thorough professional experience, but will also have established friendships which will last throughout the balance of their professional careers.
Our articling students are paid an annual salary of $80,000.
We also cover all of the typical lawyer membership expenses for our students, including the British Columbia Law Society and PLTC enrolment fees, as well as the Call and Admission fee. We also pay the cost of Canadian Bar Association and Vancouver Bar Association memberships for our students.
Many of our students clerk with the courts prior to commencing articles.
We provide clerks with the usual 12-month articling program, including the Professional Legal Training Course (“PLTC”), even though they can usually be called after PLTC and four months of articles. Clerks will be paid as first year Associates after their call, even when they continue in their student rotations.
Summering Program
We seek to fill at least six to eight summer student positions each year. These positions are available for second-year law students.
We guarantee articles at our firm for all of our summer students and as such are highly selective in the students we consider.
We contribute to law school tuition for returning summer students.
On completion of their summer articles, students who commit to returning to the firm for their articling year are provided with a $6,000 contribution toward their third-year tuition and receive a $500 book allowance.
Our summer student program mirrors that of our articling student program.
The only significant difference is that summer students do not have a formal rotation. In our opinion, the summer period is too short a time frame to make rotations a meaningful experience. Instead, our Director of Student and Associate Programs works directly with each of our summer students to set and achieve specific personal goals over the summer. Those goals may include obtaining a certain type of procedural experience working in a specific area of interest, or working with particular lawyers or clients.
Applying for Summering
We hire at least six summer students every year. We will hire our 2023 summer students in accordance with the Vancouver Bar Association Guidelines.
To apply for our summer student program, please send your cover letter, resume, a copy of your law school transcript and your undergraduate marks to the attention of Christine York, Director of Associate and Student Programs. You may also include reference letters, and a list of law courses you intend to take, although these are not required.
Applications can be submitted through the online portal, vilawportal.com, or by mail or e-mail.
How We Hire
We place a great deal of emphasis on finding the right people, and our hope is that the students we hire will ultimately join our firm for substantial portions of their career. We think successful Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP students will be:
- Capable, with a high academic standing
- Supportive, who care significantly about their clients, colleagues, and community
- Team players, who are open-minded and able to get along well with others
- Entrepreneurial, who are self-motivated, show initiative and enjoy challenging and stimulating opportunities
- Communicative, with strong written and oral communication skills
- Active, with diverse interests in the community or other non-legal activities
- Hard working and dedicated, with a strong work ethic and an interest in the law shown by past and current participation in activities relating to the practice of law
Our emphasis is not simply on grades, but also on life skills that demonstrate the ability to learn, grow and contribute. That focus on continual growth is a backbone of our firm – one that is reinforced by our comprehensive Ascend™ training program.
Student Recruitment Committee
The members of our Student Recruiting Committee vary during each recruiting session. We always let each candidate know who they will be interviewing with prior to their interview.
Our 2023 Summer Student Recruiting Committee is listed below. You can find out more about these people in our lawyer profiles section or by clicking the names below.
- Christine York, Director of Associate and Student Programs
- Patrick Cleary
- Sunjeet Deol
- Emma Ferguson
- Ryan Howe
- Kathryn McGoldrick
- Michael Nadeau
- Menka Sull
- Shannon Tseng
Questions?
Christine York
Director, Associate + Student Programs | 604 484 1735 | cyork@ahbl.ca
Ava Chung
Coordinator, Associate + Student Programs | 604 628 2755 | achung@ahbl.ca