Vancouver Summer Program

Program Description

Every year, we hire outstanding second-year law students to experience a summer with our Vancouver office.

Our summer program is intended to serve as an introduction to the practice of law. Most of our summer students have little, if any, previous experience in a law firm, and our summer program is designed as the first step in the transition from the academic study of law to the practice of law.

We arrange temporary articles for our summer students to enable them to experience life as an articled student. Summer students receive the same range of work as our articled students, but do not participate in a formal rotation; we encourage our summer students to take advantage of the program's flexibility and to explore specific areas of interest - to see whether a particular type of law is as interesting in practice as in the classroom. Summer students are, of course, also encouraged to participate in the firm's various social activities.

Each summer student receives guidance and support from the student's principal, and from our Director of Student Programs.  We present a series of weekly seminars, specifically for our summer students, to discuss practice-related topics such as conflicts of interest, the business of law, professional civility and courtesy, risk management, and effective client communication. Our students are also encouraged to attend other firm-wide in-house professional development seminars.

We hope that, when they return for their final year of law school, our summer students take with them a fundamental understanding of the practice of law, and keen anticipation for the articling experience to come.

Compensation and Benefits

Our summer students' salaries and benefits are competitive with those of other major Vancouver firms. The salary for summer students is currently $4,166.67 per month. In addition, a tuition allowance of $6,000 is paid to our summer students returning to the firm to article.

Offices and Administrative Support

Our summer students are provided with their own offices, and receive support from an experienced legal administrative assistant. All of the firm's other administrative resources are also available to our summer students as required.

Hireback Ratios

In recent years, virtually all of our students have returned to article with the firm.

How to Apply

We have hired eight summer students for 2013.  We do not intend to hire any additional summer students for 2013.  We expect to hire summer students for 2014 in the fall of 2013.

We prefer to receive applications for summer student positions by email. Your application should include, in a single PDF attachment, a cover letter, résumé, and transcripts (both undergraduate and first and second years of law school). You may include reference letters and a list of your third year law school courses. It is not necessary to include writing samples.

Please email your application to Mr. Kerry Sheppard, our Director of Student Programs, at ksheppard@davis.ca.