Articling at Tierney Stauffer LLP

Articling Student Program:

From the day our articling students join us, they are treated as part of our team. We view our articling students as potential future partners and invest a considerable amount of time and resources in our articling program. Our program is designed to ensure that our articling students receive the best legal training and hands-on experience in as many practice areas as possible, while encouraging them to discover and develop their individual strengths and interests. We believe that at the end of the articling term, students should be fully prepared for the challenges associated with the practice of law.

Getting a Well-Rounded Experience:

We do not provide a formal rotation. As a mid-size firm, we are able to offer our students a balanced workload while providing them with exposure to all areas of practice within our firm throughout the articling term.  A significant portion of the work our students will be exposed to comes from our Civil Litigation Practice Group. Students interested in “rolling up their sleeves” and obtaining true hands-on litigation experience will be well-suited for our firm. We provide our students with the opportunity to gain practical legal skills from the day they join our firm.

Working with Your Mentor:

For the past 20 years, our Partner, Ian Stauffer, has acted as the articling students Mentor. He works with the articling students to ensure that they receive a well-rounded articling experience and have satisfied all the necessary requirements. Ian, along with all of our lawyers, has an “open door” policy to assist our articling students with any difficulties, concerns, or general inquiries they may have during their articling term.

In addition to a Mentor, we have a Manager for our Articling Program. One of our Partners, Susan Mitchell, meets with our articling students on a weekly basis and is our “go to” person for all of their needs.  We see this as a “value-added” service for our students to ensure that they have as much support as they need throughout their articling term.

Professional Development:

Our articling students are given a great deal of responsibility for the files they work on and the opportunity to be exposed or be involved in all stages of client work, including meeting with clients. Our lawyers run in-house seminars on different legal and practice management topics to complete the articling students’ professional development and to give them insight to the practical realities of the profession. We also highly encourage our articling students to attend continuing legal education seminars and to accompany lawyers to social and charitable events that will assist them in developing valuable contacts in the Ottawa and legal communities.

Student Reviews:

Our articling students receive ongoing feedback and evaluations from their Mentor, the Manager of the Articling Program, as well as the individual lawyers who provide them with work. More formal reviews are given twice during the students’ articling term.

Firm Life:

Our students are encouraged to take part in the social life of the firm, including lawyer luncheons and dinners, the Annual Partnership Meeting dinner, firm summer and Christmas parties, client Christmas party, team-building events and firm outings such as attendance in a Box Suite at Scotiabank Place to attend a Senators Hockey Game, the firm’s annual charity golf tournament, fundraising and client events.

Compensation and Benefits:

Tierney Stauffer LLP offers a competitive salary to its articling students comparable to those paid by other similar-sized firms in the Ottawa region; a comprehensive benefits package; and financial support for professional development activities.

Articling students are entitled to two weeks paid vacation, which is included in the 10 month articling term. The firm will pay for one-half of the Licensing Program tuition for each of its students. In addition, the firm pays the Licensing Process fees and the students’ membership fees for the Law Society of Upper Canada and the County of Carleton Law Association.

Applying to Tierney Stauffer LLP:

Tierney Stauffer LLP hires two articling students each year and strictly adheres to The Law Society of Upper Canada’s Articling Recruitment Procedures.  Applications for our 2010 - 2011 articling positions will be accepted until Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

We generally contact 20 applicants for a first interview, and ask about half that number of applicants back for a second interview.

If you are interested in applying to our firm for an articling position, we require a cover letter enclosing one copy of an up-to-date resume and one copy of your undergraduate and law school transcripts. Official copies of transcripts are not required. If you do have letters of reference, we encourage you to send them in your application, but they are optional.

 

Written applications should be sent to:

 

Susan Mitchell

Tierney Stauffer LLP
510-1600 Carling Avenue
Ottawa, ON
K1Z 0A1

If you would like to learn more about us, or the articling student program,
please call (613) 728-8057 and ask to speak with Susan Mitchell.