Who We Are
At Cassels, we believe it’s important not only for us to get to know you, but for you to get to know us. It’s our people and supportive culture that really make Cassels a special place to build your legal career.
Summer Students
The summer student program at Cassels is designed to meet each student’s personal learning objectives. Our summer students don’t have rotations. We encourage them to explore all practice areas we offer and to work with a broad range of lawyers so that they can confirm their areas of interest and/or develop new ones. That way, they know which area(s) they want to pursue during their articling period.
Summer Student Mentorship
Each summer student is assigned two mentors – a member of the Student Committee and an associate. Generally, the two mentors are from different practice groups. These mentors introduce the students to the demands and busy pace of a downtown Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary law office. Our mentors ensure that our students receive interesting and stimulating work. They also help our summer students get to know a broader network at the firm and navigate any challenging situation that may arise.
Summer students and their mentors meet regularly for coffee or lunch, and their mentors attend many of the social events that take place throughout the summer. Student Committee mentors participate in all summer student evaluation and feedback sessions and ensure that their student mentees get all the support that they need to be successful.
Articling Students
Toronto Office
The articling experience in our Toronto office is divided into five rotations but is highly customizable. Working on various files with different lawyers, articling students can choose any one or more of the following five broad practice groups for their five rotations:
- Litigation & Dispute Resolution: including Administrative; Class Actions; Commercial; Construction; Employment & Labour; Municipal, Planning & Environmental; and Securities Litigation
- Business Advisory: including Cannabis; Competition; Franchise; Intellectual Property & Entertainment; Mining; and Tax & Trusts
- Capital Markets: including IPOs; Reorganizations; Securities; and Financings
- Corporate Commercial: including Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions
- Financial Services: including Insurance; Lending & Finance; Real Estate & Development; and Restructuring & Insolvency
Vancouver Office
Articling students in our Vancouver office are free to take work from any lawyer, without a formal rotation structure. Our Vancouver office specializes in:
- Litigation & Dispute Resolution: including Commercial; Employment; and Securities Litigation
- Business Advisory: including Aboriginal; Cannabis; and Mining
- Capital Markets: including IPOS; Reorganizations; Securities; and Financings
- Corporate Commercial: including Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions
- Financial Services: including Lending & Finance; Real Estate & Development; and Restructuring & Insolvency
Calgary Office
Likewise, articling students in our Calgary office are free to take work from any lawyer, without a formal rotation structure. Our Calgary office specializes in:
- Litigation & Dispute Resolution: including Administrative; Appellant; Commercial; and Employment & Labour
- Business Advisory: including Aboriginal; Emerging Companies & Technology; Energy: Oil & Gas and Utilities; Energy: Renewable & Clean Technology; and Tax & Trusts
- Capital Markets: including IPOs; Reorganizations; Securities; and Financings
- Corporate Commercial: including Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions
- Financial Services: including Banking; Lending & Finance; Regulatory; and Restructuring & Insolvency
Articling Student Mentorship
Articling students in all offices are assigned a principal and a Student Committee mentor. As with our summer student mentorship program, articling student mentors are generally from different practice groups. Articling students are generally assigned different mentors from when they were summer students. This is to help students build their networks broadly across the firm. Old mentors and mentees will often continue their relationships in an unofficial (but very important) capacity for years!
Articling student mentors and principals attend many of the social events that take place throughout the articling year, and articling principals participate in all articling student feedback sessions.
Evaluation & Feedback
Regular feedback sessions are critical to ensuring that our summer and articling students become excellent lawyers. Feedback is provided on a regular basis so that students are aware of their strengths and get additional support where needed.
Summer students receive two formal feedback sessions; one at the mid-way point and another at the end of the summer. Articling students receive formal feedback sessions every three months (or after the completion of each rotation in Toronto). Feedback is solicited from every lawyer each student has worked with.
Lawyers are asked to comment on the students’ abilities in each of the following four key areas.
Technical
Shows attention to detail, possesses strong research and writing skills, and is proficient in the use of precedents and firm resources
Practice Management
Responsive, asks appropriate questions and meets deadlines
Teamwork and Leadership
Works effectively on a team and responds positively to feedback
Business Development Skills
Instills confidence in lawyers and proactively seeks out work
FAQ
Kim Bonnar, Chief Professional Resources Officer, answers your frequently asked questions on the Cassels student programs:
What sets Cassels apart from other top-tier firms?
Hands down, it is our people who set us apart! We do serious work, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Our bright, talented, passionate people work really hard to provide the highest calibre of legal services. And, we work equally hard to foster an environment where people enjoy spending their time, and like the people they’re spending their time with.
What practice areas is Cassels strong in?
One of the best things about Cassels is that we have strengths across the board. Whether it’s litigation, mergers and acquisitions, or real estate, students are given top-level experiences. What helps to distinguish us from other to-tier firms is that we also have strong expertise in more specialty areas like IP, sports and entertainment, and municipal law. We are also quick to jump on emerging areas like cannabis, cryptocurrency and technology.
What kind of work do Cassels students get to do?
Everything! Our summer and articling students meet with clients, go to court, perform due diligence, do research and drafting – there isn’t anything we don’t want our students to get involved in.
If a student is interested in a certain area of law, how can that student make sure they get experience in that area?
Students with a keen interest in a particular area of law should tell me and their mentors, and go and introduce themselves to the lawyers in the applicable practice group to convey their interest. We make sure that our students get the exposure that they’re looking for.
How do students otherwise get work?
There are lots of different ways in which students get work at the firm. We have an online portal where students indicate how busy they are, and lawyers reach out to students with availability. We also have a ListServ where lawyers can send out projects to all of our students and see who replies, indicating their interest. Typically, students talk amongst themselves to see who has capacity for (and interest in) a particular project and then that student gets back to the lawyer.
As part of our entrepreneurial culture, students are encouraged to find lawyers who work in the areas they’re interested in, go and introduce themselves to those lawyers, and ask to get involved in their files. This is often how students will get their most exciting assignments!
How much responsibility are students given?
Our students are given a lot of responsibility – they are assigned work that our clients need done. We rely on them as an integral part of our team. Our client files are staffed leanly, so everyone – including our students – is given the opportunity to learn new things and grow their skill set.
Does Cassels have rotations for summer and articling students?
Our summer students don’t have rotations. We encourage them to explore all practice areas we offer so that they can confirm their interests and/or develop new ones. That way, they know which area(s) they want to pursue during their articling period.
The articling experience is highly customizable. Articling students in our Toronto office work on a rotation basis. Students can choose to do multiple rotations in one area, if they’re confident that they want to work in that particular area. Or they can rotate among the five chosen areas, trying out all five. There is no formal rotation structure for articling students in our Vancouver and Calgary offices. Those students may take work from any lawyer in their office.
When do students have to decide what area of law they want to practice?
Students have lots of time to try out different practice areas and find the right fit for them, through first-hand experience. We don’t ask students to declare a primary area of interest until the end of the articling term when they are being considered for associate positions. Even early in an associate’s career, their practice areas are often more general and subject to change.
How do students receive feedback on their work?
We have formal feedback sessions for both our summer and articling students. We collect feedback from all of the lawyers that the students have worked with and then provide that feedback to the students. During these sessions, we discuss any concerns that the students may have and provide any additional resources that would be helpful for them in their development.
While these sessions ensure that we are collecting comprehensive feedback, we encourage students to talk with the lawyers they’re working with to get immediate feedback on what they are doing well and where they could improve. Lawyers are invested in the growth and development of students and this remains the best way to get specific and timely feedback.