Vancouver
Summer Student Programme
Hiring
For the summer programme, Miller Thomson's Vancouver office hires 3 students in their second year of law school.
Our objective is to hire students who have the qualities that enable them to become associates and, eventually, partners. We look for candidates who have achieved academic distinction, are committed to professional excellence and are willing to take an active role in business development, community activities and firm promotion.
Student Experience
The summer position allows students to experience the working environment at our firm before starting their articling year. There is no formal rotation over the summer. Students handle a variety of assignments, ranging from assisting with trials to helping with various corporate transactions. Summer students are always welcome to join our lawyers and observe proceedings. Since we do not have a formal work allocation system, summer students are encouraged to be entrepreneurial, and seek work and experiences of interest to them. In this way, our programme provides students with a greater insight into Miller Thomson, the overall practice of law and areas of law that may be of interest to them.
In the litigation department, our summer students are involved in conducting research, drafting pleadings, attending with lawyers at examinations for discovery and client meetings, among other activities.
In the solicitors’ department, summer students: prepare documents for buying, selling and financing business ventures; prepare wills; draft agreements and letters of intent for commercial contracts; help conduct due diligence for securities underwritings and other commercial transactions; and attend transaction closings.
Mentoring
As part of our student support structure, students are paired with a partner, who acts as their principal, and an associate who acts as a mentor. Both help the student acclimate to the firm environment and answer questions. Members of the Student Committee are also on hand to help students through their summer term.
Feedback
To ensure our summer students are progressing, we conduct an informal evaluation over the summer (usually in June). We also encourage students to take ownership of their work and seek feedback from lawyers they are working with on a continuing basis.
Professional Development
In addition to various work assignments students are engaged in, our office offers training in substantive law as well as other areas. Our students are invited and encouraged to attend all student, as well as firm-wide in-house continuing legal education seminars. Highlights of our student continuing legal education programming include seminars on Small Claims Court matters, drafting pleadings, research, legal memorandum writing, Chambers applications, Bills of Costs, witness preparation, corporate records overview, securities law introduction and corporate records review, conveyancing, estate planning, and ethical issues and undertakings.
Junior Associates Available for You to Contact
Miller Thomson has a number of former students who were called in 2011 and 2012 that were kept on as associates. They are available to answer any questions you may have about our articling programs. They are available to contact via the information below.
Joanna Dawson
604.643.1270
jdawson@millerthomson.com
604.643.1243
rtruman@millerthomson.com
Kelsey Thompson
604.643.1259
kthompson@millerthomson.com
Brendan Burns
604.643.1216
bburns@millerthomson.com
Victor Ing
604.643.1294
ving@millerthomson.com
Stephen Rukavina
604.643.1277
srukavina@millerthomson.com