In Their Own Words

"The highlight of my student experience at Aird & Berlis was our student group. Aird & Berlis has a way of pulling together students with diverse backgrounds, perspectives and talents, to create a really cohesive student group. Over my two summers and articling term with Aird & Berlis, I developed strong working relationships and enduring friendships with my peers. The team ethic among the students each year is reflective of Aird & Berlis' broader firm culture. As a first year student, I was immersed in transactions and worked directly with associates and partners as a true member of the team. While the partners and associates I worked with gave me a lot of responsibility, I knew I could always reach out and ask questions. The student program at Aird & Berlis gave me the skills and confidence that I needed to transition into my role as an associate."

"Aird & Berlis provides an ideal environment for law students who are eager to learn and start their careers. When people talk about firm culture, it isn't always clear how this really translates to day-to-day life. However, the firm culture at Aird & Berlis not only met but actually surpassed my expectations. The lawyers at the firm, whether they are senior partners or junior associates, truly want students to succeed. As a student, I found that lawyers were always more than willing to go above and beyond to offer advice and support. I always felt welcome to stop by just about anyone's office. My mentors did an incredible job of guiding me through my first summer, and I was able to really build lasting professional relationships that will continue throughout my career. There is a uniquely welcoming, positive, and laid-back attitude that prevails throughout Aird & Berlis. This not only made my experience at the firm incredibly valuable, but also enjoyable."

Summering at a law firm with multiple and diverse practice areas was much like going to a buffet – you want to try everything. Fortunately, I was able to do just that. My assignments varied from day-to-day and by practice group. I conducted legal research, drafted legal opinions, memoranda and pleadings, attended pre-trial conferences, discoveries and motions, and helped write an article that was widely distributed to clients. One task that I particularly enjoyed was taking carriage of a small claims file and attending the settlement conference with just the client and opposing counsel. Being able to experience all of this during the summer will without a doubt allow me to set higher goals and engage in even more challenging work as an articling student. Although the transition from law school can sometimes be overwhelming, Aird & Berlis encourages students to learn by doing which makes the transition much more enjoyable. 

“My summer at Aird & Berlis was more fulfilling than I anything could have imagined. From day 1, I felt like a part of the team and the transition from an inexperienced law student to a summer student at a law firm was extremely smooth. The support the firm provided students, particularly in the first few weeks, in terms of training and assistance was superb. Lawyers were always available to answer questions and Ari couldn’t have been better at helping students navigate the occasionally intimidating world of Bay Street. Students were given their choice of which practice groups they wanted to get the most exposure to and provided encouraging and engaged mentors to help us along the way. Due to the lack of a formal rotation, I was able to get a broad range of experience in different practice groups and given an array of different work opportunities, some of the highlights included: drafting articles for the corporate finance practice’s emerging “Start-Up” group, writing a variety of legal research memos for various groups, attending court on several occasions, and getting valuable experience working with senior lawyers in the firm’s “Gaming” group (which is as interesting as it sounds). I couldn’t be happier with my decision to spend the summer at Aird & Berlis and can’t wait to see what new opportunities articling will hold.”

“From my very first interview at Aird & Berlis during OCIs, I knew that there was something special about the firm. Having worked previously at smaller firms in an administrative capacity I immediately felt comfortable at Aird & Berlis, which has the warm and open atmosphere of a small firm but with the incredible resources and variety of practice areas of a large firm. My experience as a summer student at the firm did not disappoint. Having no formal rotation allowed me to take on work in the many different practice areas that I was interested in. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of independence and responsibility I was given not only in searching out work in the practice areas that I found most interesting, but also in the work itself. My absolute favourite thing about Aird & Berlis is the people, who are friendly and supportive. I am very much looking forward to being back at Aird & Berlis for articling.” 

“In three months last summer I learned more about the law than I did in my first two years of law school. And just to be clear, it’s not that I wasn’t learning a lot at school. At Aird & Berlis I had the opportunity to engage with many different aspects of the law, and I did so with the guidance of great mentors who gave me a lot of responsibility over the work they assigned. These assignments ranged from attending court and different administrative tribunals to writing articles for publication, drafting legal research memos, and preparing for closings. Throughout the summer, I could tell that the partners and associates who I worked with cared about my development as a lawyer and made an effort to ensure that I had an understanding of how the work I had done fit into the bigger picture. When it was possible, I was able to continue to work on the same file as it progressed through its different stages over the course of the summer.” 

"Each day at Aird & Berlis brings a new and exciting experience. Due to the flexible rotation program and my interest in corporate law, I was able to obtain work assignments from both the corporate commercial and corporate finance groups. My favourite experiences included being heavily involved in a large corporate closing and drafting a number of securities related documents. I also enjoyed conducting research and preparing a memorandum on corporate governance issues. Aside from my broad corporate exposure, I thoroughly enjoyed working in the litigation and municipal practice areas. Working with these groups allowed me to attend discoveries, draft documents in preparation for trial, complete legal research memoranda, review new legislation, write articles to be published, and attend pre-trial conferences. What I enjoy most about the firm is that students are genuinely encouraged to branch out and work for each practice group. Not only does this allow for a better working knowledge and understanding of each group’s function within the firm, but it demonstrates Aird & Berlis truly cares about its students and wants them to be well-rounded, knowledgeable, and comfortable with their decision regarding their future practice area." 

"I chose Aird & Berlis primarily for its collegial and friendly work environment.  I had a very rewarding summer experience at the firm. The partners and associates were welcoming and approachable. My mentors oversaw my transition into the firm’s culture, providing me with the confidence to succeed in my work. My summer experience also benefited from the relationship that I enjoyed with my student colleagues. The students were encouraged to work as a team which allowed for collaboration. Finally, I was impressed by the flexibility of the firm’s student program. The structure of the program allows students to explore different areas of practice. I took advantage of this to gain a broad exposure to the diverse opportunities offered at Aird & Berlis, a fundamental first step in my legal career."