Application process

Gowling WLG Toronto primarily hires its students through the 2L recruit governed by the Law Society of Ontario. The same group of summer law students typically return to article at Gowling WLG Toronto, participating in either an intensive rotation or a balanced rotation (described below). 

We encourage law students interested in Gowling WLG's Summer Program to submit their completed application package, including cover letter, résumé and both law school and undergraduate transcripts to Elissa Ferrari, Assistant Director, Student programs, in accordance with the requirements of the Law Society of Ontario's Procedures Governing the Recruitment of Students. Reference letters may be submitted, but are not required. We will accept applications through the VI Portal. Please note that should you submit your application by email, we will request that you re-submit it through the VI Portal. Following a review of applications, selected candidates are interviewed in accordance with the LSO’s Recruitment Procedures. Please visit the Law Society's website for further information on these procedures.

Gowling WLG Toronto is an equal opportunity employer. That said, our firm is dedicated to providing equitable opportunities for employment and advancement, and to creating a more inclusive workplace for all our people, as we believe that diverse professional and administrative teams make better decisions. Applicants who are Indigenous, racialized BIPOC, members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and persons with a disability are encouraged to self-identify.

Articling Student Program

Our articling program is designed to equip law graduates with practical legal experience and professional skills through two distinct pathways – the balanced program or intensive program. The balanced program allows students to split their articling term equally and rotate between Business Law and Advocacy whereas the intensive program allows students to focus 7 months of their term in either Business or Advocacy and complete a short, 3 month off-rotation in the other department. The students hired into IP will complete an intensive rotation in for 7 months in IP and 3 months in either Business Law or Advocacy.  

External rotations and secondments

To provide articling students with valuable hands-on experience, we offer a number of external rotations where students are immersed within the legal department of some of Canada's leading organizations. In previous years, students were seconded to The Royal Bank of Canada, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Alectra Energy and the Ontario Power Generation.