So what’s it really like at LRMM? We’ve asked the firm’s articling students and recruitment committee to give you an idea. Our articling program offers flexibility, without the rigidity of a rotation system. Although all of our articling students are called upon in turn to plead before the courts, they have the latitude to build their knowledge in the fields of practice that interest them and suit their ambitions.

How do you go from student to articling student?

“Going from being a student to an articling student generally happens naturally, as the great majority of students have already spent some time at the office before their articling. Personally, I continued to work on a few student projects during my articling, and I was happy to be able to follow files over the long term. Responsibilities increase progressively as the articling students get more comfortable at the firm and as their relationships with the attorneys develop.
The main difference with the beginning of articling is the obligation to spend a number of weeks in court. I was a little stressed about this but, in the beginning, I went to observe another articling student. When my turn came to make representations, I was accompanied too, so everything worked out well!” – Testimonial of an articling student from our 2017 cohort

Want to know what a summer student does at LRMM? Check out this article: Getting started: Student summer jobs at LRMM.

What happened in your first week of articling at LRMM? Did you have an integration schedule?

“I had a first meeting with my articling supervisor to complete the Bar paperwork and discuss what awaited me. Then we had a meeting with all the articling students where they explained what was expected of us during the articling and how the court calendar worked. Finally, I was contacted by the administration for formalities for things like cellphone and insurance. Everything went really smoothly.” – Testimonial of an articling student from our 2017 cohort

How does mentoring work?

“My articling supervisor met with me several times during my articling to discuss my development and for the two Bar assessments. He was always available and often came to see me to check that everything was going smoothly. I also developed informal mentoring relationships with the attorneys in my department, who I often had discussions with over lunch or coffee. Finally, a couple of events were organized throughout the year so that we could chat with everybody at the firm.” – Testimonial of an articling student from our 2017 cohort

What kind of mandates are given to articling students?

A wide variety of mandates are given to articling students: research and analysis, drafting of procedures, preparation of and participation in examinations, due diligence, drafting of contracts, taking part in negotiations and closing sessions, preparation of conferences and so on.

The level of complexity and responsibility of mandates we give our students and articling students increase progressively. We offer them practical experience in all our fields of expertise by inviting them to negotiations and closings of commercial transactions, by familiarizing them with the legal process and court procedures and by giving them the opportunity to play a proactive role in our files. Moreover, we don’t hesitate to encourage direct interactions with our clients.

“I continued to work on certain mandates that I had as a student while progressively taking on growing responsibilities. I carried out research, drafted memos and transaction documents, took part in meetings and made representations in court. I particularly liked having more direct contact with the clients, because it’s an important part of our profession that university doesn’t really prepare us for. I was also able to follow several transactions from beginning to end, which is a really intense experience!

Even if I was drawn to commercial law, I went to court on several occasions as determined by our internal court calendar. I think that it’s important as an attorney to have some experience in this area, and the articling gave me diverse experience while confirming my interest in commercial law.” – Testimonial of an articling student from our 2017 cohort

How are the mandates given out?

We have no “dispatcher” to pass out the mandates. We believe that our recruits should act proactively in their search for mandates, as this is an integral part of learning. Finding mandates, fitting into the work team and managing time and demand, are all important elements of learning that are part of the daily lives of attorneys.

“The attribution of mandates is quite flexible: sometimes an attorney comes into my office specifically to ask me something, and sometimes emails are sent to all the articling students to find out who is available. We had great collaboration between all the articling students to ensure that nobody was either too overloaded or had nothing to do. LRMM strongly encourages initiative: I went to speak to attorneys whose practice I found interesting, and they all found a way to integrate me into their files.” – Testimonial of an articling student from our 2017 cohort

May I contact the firm’s other attorneys?

Of course! You’ll work closely with our attorneys and partners, which will give you the opportunity to learn directly from them. A good number of our students and articling students develop great relationships with the firm’s attorneys. You’ll find that our team is very approachable!

“We often worked as a team with the firm’s attorneys, and the partners too, and I think this is really one of the strengths of the office. In no time, I felt that I was part of a team.” – Testimonial of an articling student from our 2017 cohort

Find out more about the LRMM philosophy

What will my work conditions be?

Finally, we offer our students and articling students competitive remuneration. We reimburse our articling students for their education expenses and the necessary exams for Bar school. Our articling students can also take advantage of our collective insurance policy, plus they get one week of paid vacation.

Articling is an important time in your career as an attorney. That’s why at LRMM, we give our all so that our articling students can blossom at our firm.

Read more confessions from articling students on our website.