A: BH&T has a commitment to excellence and we look for people who display a similar commitment in all that they do. In short, we look for smart, hardworking individuals with a personality that fits within our culture, a demonstrated professional manner, a passion and desire to practice law, and the drive to excel at what they do.
A: At every top Vancouver law firm, including BH&T, you will find great lawyers, significant clients, interesting work, and excellent training. Despite these many similarities, each firm has its own distinct workplace culture. As a student, you must determine which firm’s culture you believe will be the best match for your own personality and career objectives. You should choose BH&T if you find that our culture is the best fit for you as an individual.
A: Approximately 45 of our 100 lawyers are associates.
A: Approximately 35 of our 100 lawyers are women.
A: Absolutely. One of the best ways of determining whether BH&T is right for you is to talk to as many people from the firm as possible - including our current students - to get real information about life at BH&T. You can find bio information and e-mail links for each of our students here, or contact our main reception to speak by phone with any of them.
A: We do not maintain a quota, choosing instead to make offers to all candidates that we believe will be a fit with our firm. As a result the exact number of articling students we hire fluctuates from year to year. In 2009 we had 8 articling students and in 2010 we have 9.
A: As with articling students, we do not maintain a quota for summer students. In 2008 we had 3 summer students and in 2009 we had 7 and in 2010 we will have 4.
A: Articling students currently earn $45,000 per year.
A: Medical, extended health, dental, group life, short and long term disability.
A: CBA membership dues, CLE courses, quarterly lunches/dinners, subsidized fitness club membership, transit pass program.
A: Summer students receive the same rate of pay as regular articling students.
A: Yes, the firm contributes up to $5,000 to third year tuition for students who summer with us between second and third year and return as articling students.
A: Students are encouraged to participate in all firm social activities, which include a broad range of sporting, cultural, and other events. A few examples include rowing, baseball, softball, a 24-hour relay team, the firm's ski team in the annual B.C. Law Firm Ski Championships, and an informal Grouse Grind club during the summer months.
A: No. Whether you join us as a summer or articling student, your first week will be devoted to participating in our comprehensive orientation program.
A: Our five-day orientation program has been designed to familiarize you with your new working environment. The program includes a general firm orientation, computer and systems training, library and electronic resources training, corporate services orientation and Court House tour. During the year, students are encouraged to take part in the firm’s ongoing professional development program offered to lawyers. The program includes sessions presented twice a month on topics ranging from various areas of substantive law to practice tips and public speaking.
A: Yes, there is a full-time assistant (Lorraine Kwan-Lam) who has many years' of experience devoted exclusively to students. Additionally, in some cases you will be able to utilize the services of a lawyer’s own assistant on projects for that lawyer.
A: You receive work at BH&T in two ways. First, a lawyer needing assistance may contact you directly and request your assistance on a matter. Second, if you have an interest in a particular area or subject matter, you are encouraged to be proactive and contact a lawyer or lawyers in that area directly to express your interest and offer your services.
BH&T does not use a "central dispatch" system for allocating student work because such an approach does not reflect how you will receive work as a lawyer. We feel that obtaining work directly from lawyers in the firm and learning to manage your work load better prepares you for your career ahead.
A: Summer students are treated the same as articling students with respect to the type of work they receive. Our goal is to provide a blend of work experiences for you in order to give you broad exposure to different areas of law and practice styles during the early part of your career. Overall, we would expect that approximately 50% of your work would be with solicitors, and 50% with litigators.
We also recognize that while research plays an important role in the life of an articling student, practical training is essential. Therefore, we strive to ensure that students get an opportunity to have practical experience in the art of drafting, interviewing, negotiating, and attending in Court.
A: One of the objectives of articling is to gain broad exposure to many different types of law - some of which you likely won’t have encountered in law school. Many lawyers don’t determine until their second or third year of practice the area of law they ultimately focus upon. Don’t put undue pressure on yourself if you have not yet identified the right area of law for you at this very early stage of your career.
A: Your principal has a duty to ensure that you fulfill all the Law Society’s requirements for successful completion of your articles. Your principal is also a resource to provide mentorship, guidance and advice to you on all aspects of your articling year.
A: Two lawyers, in their first few years of call, will be assigned to advise and assist you on the day-today aspects of lawyering and will be actively involved in your development.
A: In addition to ongoing evaluation of your work, formal assessments are conducted twice during your articling year. The first assessment is conducted generally 3 months after the start of articles, while the last is conducted 3 months before completion. We seek the largest possible cross-section of input for your assessments from all lawyers in the firm who have interacted with you.
A: Yes. A formalized assessment and feedback system is in place which will enable you to gauge your progress and provide us with the opportunity to continue to fine tune both the organization and content of our articling program.
A: There is no billable hour quota or target for summer or articling students. All students are expected to track their time in order to begin developing this important practice skill.
A: We put considerable effort into our student recruitment process as we consider it a cornerstone of the long-term success of our firm. We hire students in the hope that they will continue with us beyond their articles, and in the majority of cases, they do.
Obviously we cannot guarantee that you will be offered an Associate position at the outset of your articles. However, our approach is to select candidates for summer and articling positions that we believe are likely to succeed in our environment in the longer term and then measure that expectation against their performance throughout their summer and/or articling year. The firm's hire-back record for the last five years is 65%.
A: You can find details on how to apply here.
A: You can find details on how to apply here.
A: Applications may be submitted by regular mail or by e-mail. Applications must be complete when sent (i.e. resume, transcripts and letters of reference, if you wish, must all be submitted at the same time). If applying by e-mail, please provide all of your documents in a single PDF attachment. Incomplete applications, and those submitted by e-mail in a form other than the one requested, will not be considered.
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