Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
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LAW DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT By Daryl-Lynn Carlson Articling In-house opportunities can offer substantive experience. There are more students interested in articling at in-house legal depart- ments than there are positions. Over the past year, the lagging economy has seen those opportunities diminish even further. Organizations willing and able to take on articling students often offer significant exposure to a variety of work along with business insights into their respective industry. "I see a lot of interest amongst our students in pursuing in-house posi- tions," says Robyn Marttila, director of career and professional development at the University of Western Ontario's faculty of law. "If there were more com- panies that were prepared to take on students, they'd certainly find there are a lot of qualified candidates." She acknowledges available place- ments this year have been especially challenging. "There are a number of employers that used to offer articling positions in-house that aren't any more, at least for this year. That's probably a reflection of the economy." Yet more law firms have struck part- nerships with client companies that enable articling students to be second- ed for three months to work with an in-house legal department. The Royal Bank of Canada, for instance, offers a three-month rotation for students arti- cling at Ogilvy Renault LLP and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, and more recently on an ad hoc basis through Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP and Stikeman Elliott LLP. As many as 10 students per year can glean experi- ence working within RBC's Canadian banking team and in corporate services through the partnerships. "They are able to do a broad range of work," says Paul Rand, counsel with RBC's law group in Toronto. "The projects we work on here are dealt with on a fairly tight time frame," adding to the variety of work students can be involved in. Rand personally went through the articling experience although he then worked at a major law firm before returning to take the job as counsel for RBC. "So I can say I liked what I saw when I was younger." RBC does not hire back recent calls to the bar, rather, the company requires lawyers to have several years of experi- ence before joining the in-house team full time. That's not uncommon and is sometimes perceived as a drawback for students hoping to make an impression during their articling experience. INHOUSE OCTOBER 2009 • 37 with a difference