Articling program in Vancouver
The Vancouver office is home to many seasoned professionals, and is structured around three general practice areas, Business Law, Intellectual Property, and Advocacy/Litigation. The culture is best described as team-based, collegial, democratic and informal.
550 Burrard Street, Suite 2300, Bentall 5,
Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6C 2B5
Please note this office is an English work environment, where all applications must be in English.
The Vancouver office is focused on three broad practice areas, each of which is comprised of a number of specialty groups, Business Law, Advocacy and Intellectual Property. With a broad clientele of regional, national and multinational organizations, Gowling WLG provides students with exposure to a wide variety of industries including Financial Services, Mining, Manufacturing, Technology and Life Sciences. We also have a strong focus on international practices including our China and U.S. initiatives.
The Business Law rotation will include exposure to most, but perhaps not all, areas of business law, which includes:
Similarly, in our Litigation rotation you will gain experience in most areas of our litigation practice, such as:
And finally, our Intellectual Property practice covers areas such as:
Gowling WLG Vancouver recruits according to the Vancouver Bar Association guidelines.
We are 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.
Law student interested in Gowling WLG Vancouver articling program are encouraged to submit their application package through the VIPortal. The Vancouver Bar Association sets the deadlines for articling student applications.
While we do not set a target number of hours for our students, they are generally expected to carry a workload similar to that of our associates. The annual budget for associates is 1750 docketed hours, which means approximately 35 docketed hours per week.
Gowling WLG provides a rewarding and educational articling experience. We actively develop our articling students through educational programs that provide insight, evaluation and experience with various areas of the law. Our comprehensive seminar program includes a wide variety of practice areas and topics. Our mentoring program provide students with opportunities to work with – and learn from – our diverse and experienced professionals. Our articling students are also encouraged to define their own development, and to seek out and experience the work in which they are most interested.
Each of our students and associates is assigned to a senior lawyer who acts as Principal and is responsible for the personal and professional welfare of the individual. Principals ensure that students are provided appropriate projects and, of equal importance, that they receive constructive feedback on their performance. Each articling student is also designated a senior associate as a mentor, to help guide them through their articling year.
Students undergo an objective written evaluation during the articling year, and are provided an opportunity for feedback. In addition, throughout the year, each principal provides informal assessments on the performance of his or her student.
The Firm also pays the fees for the Professional Legal Training Course ("PLTC") as well as call fees. Students receive their salary while attending PLTC. Our students are encouraged to attend continuing legal education courses and other legal seminars at the firm's expense.
Our commitment to our students includes a competitive salary, plus vacation pay. Gowling WLG also established a guideline for agile working. The goal is to ensure a balance between working in the office and working remotely. Moreover, articling students receive medical and dental benefits. In addition, we pay the PLTC tuition fees for articling students, as well as their salary during PLTC.
University of British Columbia
Meagan Auger
Nicole Sapieha
Tyler Severson
Wynona Klemt
University of Alberta
Emily Fuller
University of Windsor
John Perianayagam
University of British Columbia
Rikki Logan
Lynn Momprevil
Tyler Severson
Cole Wilde
University of Ottawa
Kirsten McCann
Social programs
We recognize that the demands of the practice should be balanced with a lawyer's need for satisfaction and fulfillment in other areas. Associate and student activities are organized by an associate's social committee. Past events have included baseball games, beach days, pitch and putt and other casual get togethers.