The Vancouver Bar Association (“VBA”) has established guidelines with respect to interviews for both regular and summer articles. Firms for which the Law Society Rules 2-31 and 2-42 apply, must abide by those rules (reproduced below for your convenience). While firms are not required to abide by the remaining guidelines, the VBA is of the view that adherence to the guidelines set out below by as many firms as possible will streamline the interview process and help to “level the playing field” to the extent reasonably possible. Firms agreeing to abide by the guidelines must conduct themselves according to both the letter and spirit of the guidelines.
The VBA Articling Interview Guidelines are as follows:
1. The VBA will set a week in August of each year for Vancouver firms to conduct interviews of students who have not yet begun their third year of studies for regular articling positions for the following year. The week will typically be set for the same week that those interviews take place in Toronto. The VBA will set a week (usually, in late October) each year for Vancouver firms to conduct interviews for summer articling positions.
2. The VBA will set an application deadline and interview call date (usually June 30 and July 15, respectively) each year for articling interviews and an application deadline and interview call date (usually September 15 and September 30, respectively) each year for summer student interviews. Firms may interview students that submit applications after the designated application deadline. No firm will call any student to arrange an interview prior to the designated interview call date set by the VBA.
3. Firms will only conduct interviews during the designated interview week, except in exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances will include a student being unable to be in Vancouver during the designated week because of legitimate study or work restrictions, or due to exceptional personal circumstances. A student’s absence from Vancouver during the designated week due to participation in another city’s interview week will not constitute an appropriate basis for the grant of an early interview.
- 3.1. Notwithstanding paragraph 3, firms are permitted to attend on-campus
interviews (“OCIs”) for the purpose of pre-screening students for invitations to
the articling interview week for summer articles in Vancouver. Those firms
attending OCIs agree that no offers will be made at the OCIs and that these
guidelines otherwise continue to apply.
- 3.2. Firms will not conduct interviews or hold any interview-like events, including cocktail receptions, dinners, or firm tours during the two-week period preceding the designated interview week (the “Two-week Period”). Firms may hold cocktail receptions, dinners, or firm tours for groups of students prior to the Two-week Period.
4. No firm will make an offer to a student prior to 8:00 a.m. (Pacific time) on the Thursday of the designated interview week (even in cases where legitimate early interviews have been held), unless the student has indicated that he or she will not be reachable (by telephone, fax, email or otherwise) during the designated interview week. Notwithstanding the foregoing, firms may make offers of articles to their own summer students and Co-op students in advance of the interview week.
5. In accordance with Law Society Rule 2-31, all offers of regular articles by lawyers practicing in a firm that maintains an office in downtown Vancouver (north of False Creek and west of Carrall Street) to students who have not yet begun their third year of studies must remain open at least until the offer date set by the Credentials Committee of the Law Society. This is a Law Society Rule and not a VBA guideline.
6. All offers of summer articles by a firm agreeing to abide by the guidelines must
remain open for at least 24 hours after the time and date made.
RELEVANT LAW SOCIETY RULES
Hiring articled students
2-31
(1) This Rule does not apply to temporary articles under Rule 2-42.
(2) This Rule applies to all lawyers practising in a firm that maintains an office in the city of Vancouver north of False Creek and west of Carrall Street.
(3) The Credentials Committee may designate an offer date in each calendar year.
(4) A lawyer must not offer articles to a student of any law school who has not begun the third year of studies unless the offer is to remain open at least until the offer date designated under subrule (3).
(5) As an exception to subrule (4), the Credentials Committee may allow a lawyer to
withdraw an offer of articles before the offer date designated under subrule (3).
Temporary articles
2-42
(1) A person may apply for enrolment in temporary articles by filing with the
Executive Director, not less than 30 days before the enrolment start date,
- (a) an application for enrolment in a form approved by the Credentials Committee, including a written consent for the release of relevant information to the Society,
- (b) an articling agreement in a form approved by the Credentials Committee, and
- (c) the fee for temporary articles specified in Schedule 1.
(2) The Executive Director may enrol the following in temporary articles:
- (a) a student at a common law faculty of law in a Canadian university;
- (b) a person whose application for enrolment as an articled student has been approved, but whose articling term has not yet begun;
- (c) a person who is qualified to practise law in a Commonwealth country and has actually practised law in that country for 2 years or more.
(3) Temporary articles granted under subrule (2)(a) are void if the student ceases to
be a student at a common law faculty of law in Canada.
(4) The Executive Director may only grant temporary articles under Subrule (2)(a)
that are subject to a definite termination date.
(5) The Executive Director must not grant temporary articles under subrule (2)(b)
effective more than 6 weeks before the beginning of the person’s articling term.
(6) The Executive Director may not grant temporary articles under subrule (2)(c) for
a period exceeding 3 months.
(7) Time spent in temporary articles is not part of the articling term.
(8) Except as otherwise specified in these Rules, a person enrolled in temporary
articles has the rights, privileges and responsibilities of an articled student.
(9) The Credentials Committee may revoke temporary articles at any time for any
reason without giving notice to the temporary articled student and without holding a
hearing.
[(2) amended 09/01; (3) amended 03/03]