Student Programme
Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish offers a distinctive articling
experience. Our focus is on justice in the workplace, which we pursue in a
multitude of forums and jurisdictions. We are a union-side labour law
firm, with additional expertise in a number of other related areas of the law.
Our practice reaches across a broad spectrum of employment and social justice
contexts. In addition to our trade union clients, we also act for
professional associations of all sizes, non-unionized employees, individuals and
organizations. Among those we represent are teachers, nurses and other
health professionals, postal workers, communications workers, university faculty
and staff, machinists, retail sales workers, public service employees, airline
workers, lawyers and engineers. Our clients include individuals and
organizations seeking justice in the workplace and in other areas of law.
We represent clients in both public and private sectors and provincial and
federal jurisdictions.
In providing a broad range of services to our clients we work in a substantial
number of areas of law including:
In addition to a traditional labour law practice, our articling students
therefore gain experience in litigation and related legal work in a wide variety
of practice areas and in a wide range of circumstances.
Our Lawyers
Our lawyers include the some of the top practitioners in labour, equity, human
rights, professional discipline and Constitutional law (see
Our Overview
: lawyer profiles can be found at
Our Directory
). Our size means that students will experience a wide range of accomplished
practice styles.
Our Unique Workplace
The firm is located in a beautifully renovated warehouse at Bathurst and College
in downtown Toronto. The space is airy and open, with exposed brick walls,
hardwood floors, a rooftop garden, and windows which actually open. Toronto's
Little Italy and Kensington Market are nearby. This workspace is part of the
collegial working environment that articling students will experience.
The Structure of the Articling Programme
Students move through two rotations during their articles here. Our
rotation system is not based on practice areas, but rather is designed to give
students the opportunity to work with all of the lawyers at the firm, regardless
of their area of practice.
We offer in-house education and training workshops to students throughout the
articling period on a wide variety of topics, including both substantive law and
practical issues related to the practice of law.
The articling programme is administered by a Student Committee consisting of
three of the firm’s lawyers. The Committee has a number of important functions
including:
- ensuring that the students’ work load is manageable
- ensuring that students are exposed to all of the firm’s lawyers and a broad
cross-section of the firm’s work
- administering informal and formal evaluations and monitoring progress
- coordinating education / training workshops
- providing on-going and accessible support for students throughout the articling
year
- coordinating informal meetings of the articling students to discuss issues of
interest or concern to them
- coordinating social events
Articling Student Duties
Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish is committed to providing clients
with results-based practical legal services, and the articling year provides
students with a substantial grounding in this objective. Immediately upon
starting articles, students are involved in client meetings and all aspects of
case preparation including:
- direct client contact
- preparation of witnesses for hearings
- attendance at hearings with the lawyer who is conducting the case
- drafting correspondence, pleadings, and legal submissions
- performing research, frequently on novel points of law
- contact with opposing counsel
Students are frequently involved in a case from beginning to end and often
become integrated into the case from top to bottom. Students do not merely
shadow the lawyer on cases but take on their own responsibilities for file work.
We are of the view that attending hearings with lawyers provides an important
learning experience and direct exposure to lawyers’ styles and methods of
practice. Students are encouraged to attend hearings where they have performed
work on the matter and experience the satisfaction that comes with obtaining
positive results. Occasionally opportunities arise for students to conduct parts
of, or entire, hearings.
Performance Evaluations
Articling students are directly supervised in their work by the lawyer who has
made the assignment and students can expect to receive feedback on their
progress and the quality of their work from assigning lawyers.
We augment the direct feedback that students may receive from the lawyers with
whom they are working at any given time with a formal system of performance
evaluations. Students who have completed articles at the firm have repeatedly
credited the formal evaluations for identifying their strong skills as well as
areas in which they need further development. With the assistance of the Student
Committee, students are able to direct their articling experience so that they
get the most out of this singular period of supportive supervision.
Articling is challenging and, for many people, a new and sometimes intimidating
experience. Articling students are given a less formal initial evaluation
approximately two to three months into their articles. The purpose of this brief
evaluation is to reassure students that they are on track with the development
of their skills and to provide the early identification of areas in which
students feel they require more support. The Committee can then bring the firm’s
resources to the assistance of students.
There is a formal performance evaluation during each of the two rotations.
Written evaluations are obtained from the lawyers with whom students have worked
and the students then meet individually with the Student Committee to discuss
the results. Once again students are provided with a valuable assessment of
their areas of strength. Areas where students need more work are identified,
as are areas of practice where students simply have not been sufficiently
exposed. The Committee then works with students to ensure that, by the
completion of their term, they have achieved a well-rounded experience and have
also been exposed to work that interests them.
Firm Resources
Our firm has some of the top practitioners in their field in the country.
Students are encouraged to discuss assignments with any lawyer who may have
experience or expertise with the matter at hand. We work in a very collegial
environment and students typically find lawyers accessible and available. We
maintain a library of reporter series, journals, and current educational
publications that usually enable students to complete assignments on-site. The
University of Toronto’s law library and the Great Hall library at Osgoode Hall
are close and accessible when off-site resources are required. In addition each
student has a computer with direct access to Quick Law, Lexis-Nexis, the
internet and external e-mail. Our local area network, with its office
applications, assists in scheduling and internal communications.
The firm has a group of lawyers specializing in research and written advocacy
which provides the firm, including the articling students, with access to
unparalleled research expertise. The presence of a top quality research
department within the firm means that students are assured of access to research
expertise resulting in a more positive working experience and honing of their
own research skills.
The lawyers in the firm's research group work closely with the students as
mentors. The research lawyers conduct seminars on general research
methods, and provide regular one-on-one guidance and instruction to students on
research and litigation support assignments.
The firm has an excellent group of support staff as well as two full-time law
clerks who are also available to provide support for articling students.
Remuneration
Our student compensation package is very competitive with similarly situated
firms. While articling at the firm students are covered by a collective
agreement with the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Tuition for the LSUC
Licensing Process is paid subject to a cap and enrollment during the period of
employment. In addition, students are part of an excellent benefits package.
Hire Back
Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish is committed, where possible, to
growth from within. It is the nature of a firm of our size and degree of
specialization that employment opportunities with the firm cannot be guaranteed.
A significant number of our more than thirty lawyers articled with the firm.
In addition to our solid record of growth from within, the firm has extensive
connections in the community in which it practices. A review of current location
of lawyers who articled with the firm in recent years reveals that they have
obtained interesting and challenging employment, often with assistance from the
firm. Examples include employment:
- at other law firms with practices similar to ours
- as in-house counsel to trade unions or professional organizations some of which
are clients of the firm
- as counsel at the Human Rights Commission
- with university law faculties
- in policy positions with government or institutions
- with international NGOs -
This Year's Articling Students
2011 - 2012 ARTICLING STUDENT BIOGRAPHIES
Odelia Bay earned her J.D. at the University of Ottawa. While there, she interned with the Canadian Human Rights Commission and did a placement at South Ottawa Community Legal Services assisting clients with Ontario Disability Support Program appeals. Odelia co-founded the campus chapter of the Law Union and served as a Senior Editor with the faculty*s Ottawa Law Review. She graduated with the Catherine Helen MacLean Prize in labour law and was recognized as a Dean*s Research and Writing Fellow. Before returning to school for her law degree, Odelia completed a B.Jour. (Honours) at Ryerson University and went on to work in radio and television. As a broadcast producer, her experience ranged from community current affairs to parliamentary news and everything in between. Odelia also has a background in student and community organizing and was involved in the creation of the first Working Students* Centre in Canada. An enthusiastic writer, Odelia anticipates the publication of a paper in the journal of Critical Disability Discourse this fall.
Lwam Ghebrehariat received his J.D. from the University of Toronto in 2011, where he was elected Valedictorian. During law school he worked and volunteered at Downtown Legal Services and the African Canadian Legal Clinic, in the areas of criminal, academic affairs, and human rights law. He competed in moot competitions, winning Second Place Oralist in the Cassels Brock moot in his first year and winning First Place Team, along with his excellent team members and coaches, in the national 2011 Wilson Moot. Prior to law school Lwam graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada (Acting, 2003) and obtained a B.A. (Honours) in Philosophy from the University of Alberta (2007). While at the University of Alberta, he created an online database of Eritrean and Ethiopian literature and culture. As an actor he most recently appeared in “Homegrown” (2010, Cate Frid, Aluna Theatre), a play which received national media attention and for which he received a mention for Outstanding Performance in NOW Magazine. During law school he helped to conduct theatre workshops for high school students on the topics of global citizenship and labour law.
Mae J. Nam holds a B.A. Honours in English literature, an L.L.B. (Common Law) and a B.C.L. (Civil Law) from McGill University. Her interest in human rights and work-place justice stems from her experience as a founding member of the Philippine Women*s Centre of Quebec (PWCQ), an advocacy group for migrant domestic workers under the Live-In Caregiver Program. At the PWCQ, Mae provided legal support to clients and led workshops on human rights, family, immigration and employment law. She received the YWCA*s Young Woman of Distinction and the Forces AVENIR awards in recognition of her community work. While a student at McGill, Mae worked as a member organizer on the successful certification of both casual workers and research associates and assistants on campus. She interned at the Ateneo Human Rights Center in the Philippines where she prepared gender sensitivity training materials for the Philippine judiciary and conducted research on migrant workers' rights for an international human rights instrument in Southeast Asia. Mae was the recipient of several prizes in law school including Dean*s Honours List, the Montreal Bar Moot Prize and the Quebec Bar Moot Prize. At graduation she received the Rosa B. Gualtieri Prize, an award recognizing academic achievement and personal character. Outside of law, Mae's hobbies include playing the piano, cooking for friends and going to plays.
Dan Rohde obtained his J.D. in 2011 from The University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Throughout law school, Dan worked as a caseworker at Downtown Legal Services -the University of Toronto’s primary student legal clinic. Working primarily in the area of Refugee and Immigration Law, he represented clients throughout the immigration process and on a large number of judicial reviews in Federal Court. During law school, he also had the opportunity to work with the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights (which intervened on the B.C. Polygamy Reference). Dan was awarded the prize for Top Oralist at the 2010 Wilson Moot Competition, and coached the winning team the following year. Prior to law school, Dan received an M.Ed. (Honours) from Brooklyn College, a B.A. (Honours) from The New School University, and worked as a public school teacher in Brooklyn, NY. He brings to Cavalluzzo Hayes a love of literature, a passion for cycling, and a deep commitment to social justice.
The Application Process
Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish is looking for students who show a strong interest in union-side labour and social justice practice issues. Our current practice is to hire four articling students per year. Although not essential to a successful articling application, most students who are offered articles with the firm have shown a demonstrated interest in our areas of practice and have highlighted that demonstrated interest in their application material.
Applications should include a résumé, the names of two to three references and/or reference letters, as well as information on how we can contact these references during late July and August, and should include transcripts from law school, undergraduate and graduate school (if applicable). We place considerable weight on applicants’ performance in personal interviews.
We follow the Law Society's procedures governing articling recruitment by firms located in Toronto, which may be obtained from the Law Society of Upper Canada website at http://www.lsuc.on.ca. Applications for the 2012-2013 Articling Term must be received by Friday, July 8, 2011. The firm will contact applicants to schedule interviews no earlier than 8:00 a.m. on Friday, July 22, 2011. Interviews will be held during the week of August 8, 2011.
Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from women, members of racial minorities, aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation.
We accept applications by mail or email. If applications are sent by email, we may request physical copies of transcripts. Please send in pdf or word/word perfect format; our system will not accept zip or other compressed files.
Applications should be sent to:
The Student Committee
Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish LLP
474 Bathurst Street, Suite 300
Toronto ON M5T 2S6
studentcommittee@cavalluzzo.com
Questions about the Articling Programme or the application process may be directed to James Robbins.
Summer Student Programme
The firm has a summer student programme. We hire students who have completed the second year of law school to conduct research and litigation support work that is similar to the work done by our articling students.
We do not participate in the on-campus interview process. We will accept applications received on or before January 31, 2012.
We accept applications by mail or email. If applications are sent by email, we may request physical copies of transcripts. Please send in pdf or word/word perfect format; our system will not accept zip or other compressed files.
Application packages should be directed to:
The Student Committee
Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish LLP
474 Bathurst Street, Suite 300
Toronto ON M5T 2S6
Application packages should include a covering letter, resume, undergraduate, graduate (if applicable) and law school transcripts, as well as reference letters and/or contacts for at least two references along with information about how we can contact your references in early February. If applications are submitted before your fall 2010 grades are available, please forward an updated transcript to us in January 2011 so that your application will be complete.
Any questions about the summer programme and the application process should be directed to
James Robbins.