"Prior to starting my articles with Field, I worked in 2006 and 2007 as a summer student at the firm. I enjoyed my student experience at Field for many reasons. The lawyers at the firm are good about getting you involved in files, and students at Field are exposed to many different areas of law. There are many opportunities to learn from observing, and there are also lots of chances to get hands-on experience. I feel lucky to have been able to summer and article at Field."
Q:
How do I apply for a summer student position?
A: We expect to hire one summer student for our Calgary office and two for our Edmonton office. Covering letters should indicate whether the application is for Calgary or Edmonton and complete application packages should be sent to the attention of the respective Primary Contact for the Student Committee in Edmonton or Calgary. For 2011 summer positions in our Calgary Office, resumes should be submitted by January 13, 2011. For 2011 summer positions in our Edmonton Office, the application deadline is TBA .
Q:
What benefits will I receive?
A: You will receive extended health and dental care, disability insurance, life insurance, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance. Our firm also has a maternity, parental leave and adoption leave policy.
Q:
How will I be evaluated?
A: Student evaluations are based upon an assessment of a variety of
attributes - quality of legal work, integrity, people skills, analytical and organizational abilities, work ethic, and co-operative effort.
Q:
What feedback is provided during articles?
A: Feedback is provided to our students at four levels - the lawyer
supervising the file, the principal responsible for the student, the
Students Committee responsible for the articling program, and the partners and associates through a more formal process.
Q:
What does the firm expect while I'm at CPLED?
A: Since it was instituted in place of the Bar Admission Course, the CPLED (Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education) program has consisted of classroom components and correspondence components. While attending a classroom component of the CPLED, we do not expect the student to be working on firm projects. Correspondence components of the CPLED are to be completed while the student continues working on firm projects. While you are at the CPLED, the firm pays you your regular salary as well as the course fees.
Q:
What is the time commitment expected of students?
A: Our firm sees no advantage to placing unreasonable work loads on our students such that they are not able to lead a balanced life. We encourage all members of our firm to maintain a lifestyle away from the office. We accommodate part-time and special arrangements to meet the family and personal concerns of our lawyers and staff.
Q:
What is your view on students clerking at the courts?
A: We support students who are invited to clerk at the courts, and believe this to be an invaluable experience. Several of our current students, associates, and partners have served clerkships. Our articling program accommodates both the early admission to the Bar of court students as well as a complete articling experience.
Q:
What will my billable hours expectation be?
A: Our firm does not have billable hour targets for our articling students. We are more concerned with the effort exhibited by the student, the quality of the work that is being produced, and the education that is being received. For associates, the billable hour target is 1500 hours per year.
Q:
How many women practice at your firm?
A: Our firm includes many women as partners, associates and students. The first woman to practice at our firm articled in 1943-1944. Women comprise approximately one third of the partnership and approximately half of our associates.
Q:
What kind of firm resources will be available to me?
A: Our students have access to the best legal resources available. We have excellent libraries and electronic on-line resources, including a comprehensive database of research memos. Our Edmonton and Calgary offices have a librarian on staff to assist our lawyers and students with research questions and other issues. Of course, all students are provided with an assistant. However, the most important resources available to students at Field LLP are the lawyers who work here. We have an "open-door" policy in our firm, and encourage our students to ask questions of our practitioners.
Q:
Do you offer associate positions to many of your students
A: We offer permanent jobs to the majority, if not all, of the articling students in any given year. We hire our students in the hope that they will become associates and partners in our firm, and because the firm's practice is always changing and expanding, this translates into high retention rates for students.
Q:
How does your articling program work?
A: We have a rotation system that is designed with a view to exposing our articling students to a broad range of work and clients and enhancing their learning experience. Our structured articling program provides the students with opportunities to learn, proper supervision, mentoring, flexibility, diversity and real opportunities to learn.
Q:
How many students do you generally hire?
A: Firm-wide we typically hire between 6 and 8 articling students and 3 to 4 summer students in total for all three offices. These numbers vary depending on the suitability of candidates, changes in the anticipated needs within our individual offices, special articling arrangements between our firm and clients with in-house positions (arranged from time to time), and the hiring of students who split their articles between our firm and court clerkships.
Q:
How many lawyers do you have at the firm?
A: We have approximately 55 in Edmonton, 40 in Calgary and 2 in Yellowknife.
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