Articling Student 2023-2024 - Common Law - National Capital Region

Important messages

We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you need to be accommodated during any phase of the evaluation process, please use the Contact information below to request specialized accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Assessment accommodation

On October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada announced details of its plans to require vaccination across the federal public service. 

As per the new Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration Including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, federal public servants in the Core Public Administration and members of the RCMP must attest to their vaccination status. The requirement for employees to be fully vaccinated applies whether they are teleworking, working remotely or working on-site.  This is a condition of employment and it applies to indeterminate (permanent), determinate (term), casual, and student hiring. Should you reach the point in the selection process where it is necessary to verify terms and conditions of employment then the hiring manager or a human resources representative will contact you in order to complete an attestation.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

We are seeking high-quality candidates who are excited about the practice of law in the government sector and who are committed to public service, including respect for public service values and ethics.

In order to qualify in this process, candidates must meet the essential qualifications. To identify candidates who will be invited to participate in the next assessment steps, we will first be looking for an overall combination of factors, which may include:

• Demonstrated interest in the public law and public service
• Combination of relevant education, work, training or other experience (e.g. volunteer, etc)
• Good academic results, with a particular attention to results in law school
• Good letters of reference

PROCESS STEPS

Step 1: TELL US ABOUT YOU!

For the PRE-SELECTION, you MUST apply online via GC Jobs (www.canada.ca/government-jobs). Answer the screening questions and save your answers by no later than May 31, 2022, 23:59, Pacific Time.

Additionally, in order to be considered for the PRE-SELECTION, you must provide the following documents by email at :

1. Cover letter (to the attention of Legal Excellence Program)
2. Résumé
3. Copy of your most recent law school transcript
4. Two (2) signed reference letters (to the attention «To whom it may concern»)

All of the above must be submitted at the latest May 31, 2022 23:59 Pacific Time.

Submissions that do not contain a GC Jobs application and ALL of the above-mentioned documents (five documents in total) will be considered incomplete. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

COVER LETTER INSTRUCTIONS

We are eager to learn more about you! In your cover letter you should introduce yourself, demonstrate your interest in the public law and public service and explain why you would be an ideal candidate for an articling position within the Department of Justice. Your cover letter will need to be written using a 12-point font. The maximum length of this letter should not exceed 2 pages in total (with standard spacing and headings). The cover letter will serve as a tool to assess the following ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATION: Ability to communicate effectively in writing.

NOTE: In order to identify which candidates will be selected for an interview, candidates will be assessed globally based on their ability to communicate effectively in writing, cumulative grade point average in the courses pursued for their law degree in addition to a combination of education, training, internship and any other pertinent experience.

Step 2: MEET WITH US!

Candidates who were successful at the pre-selection may be invited to an interview.

Invitations to INTERVIEWS will be sent from June 8, 2022 and INTERVIEWS will take place via videoconference from June 13, 2022 to June 22, 2022. At the interview, you must bring:

1. Proof of Canadian Citizenship (passport, birth or citizenship certificate) or Permanent residence.

Duties

Articling in the Legal Excellence Program will offer you diverse and challenging work assignments throughout three rotations, where you will gain experience in litigation, legal policy development and the provision of both legal advisory services to client departments and specialized legal advice. Students benefit from the experience and expertise of assigned mentors who provide them with professional guidance and support in each of the three rotations. Collegiality, a wide array of legal work and a dynamic work environment are just a few of the benefits offered by the Legal Excellence Program for Articling Students. Throughout your articles, you will develop the essential knowledge, skills and experience for practicing law in the public sector.

Work environment

Why you should join the Justice team?

The Department of Justice Canada can offer you a rewarding career, where you are part of a team working to ensure that Canada has an accessible, efficient and fair system of justice.

The Department of Justice Canada supports the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada in virtually every area of law, from the development of policy to the drafting of legislation, and from litigation to the provision of legal advice to other federal departments and agencies. The issues Justice lawyers deal with on a daily basis are often on the cutting edge of legal trends and have significant impacts on Canadian society.

The tradition of excellence at the Department of Justice Canada is embodied in its culture, which values inclusiveness, fairness and respect for Canada's legal system.

A career with the Department of Justice Canada offers such benefits as practical courtroom experience, interaction with the legislative process, training and professional development, and access to an extensive network of legal resources. Working in a collegial and supportive setting, Justice lawyers may specialize in a particular area of law or may rotate through a diverse range of legal settings in the course of their careers. More information on our areas of practice is available on our website: http://www.justice.gc.ca/careers.

Intent of the process

A pool of fully qualified candidates will be created to staff articling positions primarily at the Department of Justice Canada in the National Capital region (Ottawa/Gatineau).

Appointments resulting from this process will be made under the Justice Canada LP-01 Training and Development Program. This program provides for the progression of participants from LP-00 (articling student) to LP-02 (counsel) over approximately 5 years. As such, it is expected that an initial appointment to this program would ultimately result in an indeterminate non-advertised LP-02 appointment (subject to meeting all program requirements).

Once initial appointments are made, the pool of qualified candidates could be made available for articling positions with other federal government organizations, departments, agencies, Crown corporations, Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada and various tribunals under the umbrella of the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada, etc.

Positions to be filled: 15

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATION (Mandatory) - Education

OCCUPATIONAL CERTIFICATION AND EDUCATION
At the time of appointment, candidates must be eligible for articles pursuant to the rules of the law society of one of the provinces or territories of Canada and must have a law degree from a Canadian university.

The candidate may have a law degree from a university outside of Canada (please note the additional requirements found in the "Degree equivalency" link below) but must also obtain a Certificate of Qualification issued by the National Committee on Accreditation (see https://nca.legal/).

Note: For articling students (not yet eligible for membership in the Bar of one of the provinces or territories of Canada), the minimum standard is a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B), Juris Doctor (J.D.).

Degree equivalency

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

Various language requirements
ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS (Mandatory)
English or French Essential, Bilingual Imperative, depending on the position to be staffed.

Information on language requirements

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS (Mandatory) - Abilities and Core Competencies

ABILITIES:
Ability to analyze legal problems
Ability to communicate effectively orally
Ability to communicate effectively in writing

CORE COMPETENCIES:
Demonstrating integrity and respect
Thinking things through
Working effectively with others
Showing initiative and being action-oriented

The following may be applied / assessed at a later date (may be needed for the job)

ASSET QUALIFICATION (Optional) -
Experience working in a legal environment at Justice Canada or in one of the departmental legal services units.

Knowledge of the Department of Justice Canada and its mandate.

ORGANISATIONAL NEEDS

The Department of Justice Canada believes that to be able to effectively serve the public, its workforce needs to reflect the diversity of the Canadian population. Diversity is a great source of strength in driving Canada’s Legal Team in ensuring that Canada’s justice system is as fair, accessible and efficient as possible. The Department is committed to a representative workforce that represents the Canadian public we serve. If you are an Indigenous person, a person with a disability, a member of a racialized group* and/or a woman and are interested in bringing in different perspectives and insights we encourage you to self-declare in this staffing process. This self-declaration information can be factored into departmental strategies and selection decisions to address our commitment to eliminate gaps for these groups.

* Please note that this group is currently designated as members of visible minorities in the Employment Equity Act and the self-declaration form.

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENT

Candidates may be required to travel occasionally depending on the position to be staffed.

Conditions of employment

Secret security clearance - At the time of appointment, candidates must meet this condition of employment and maintain this condition throughout their employment.

All employees of the core public administration are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and attest to their vaccination status unless accommodated based on a medical contraindication, religion, or another prohibited ground for discrimination as defined under the Canadian Human Rights Act. 

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the designated groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

EMAIL – IMPORTANT NOTE:
For this selection process, email is the most effective way to communicate with you and for you to be invited for evaluations. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure accurate contact information is provided and updated as required. Candidates who apply to selection processes should include an email address that accepts email from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email). Therefore, it is your responsibility to verify your email and/or GC Jobs account on a regular basis for new communication regarding this selection process.

Acknowledgment of receipt of applications will not be sent; we will contact the selected candidates once the preselection is completed.

ASSESSMENT INFORMATION:

An interview will be part of the assessment process.

Any information obtained throughout the selection process, from the time of application to close of process, may be used to evaluate the candidates.

Due to the number of applicants and the strict deadlines, it may be necessary to impose a limit on the number of applicants to be interviewed and proceed to the next step in the selection process (top down selection).

Candidates may be required to meet the asset qualifications or the organizational needs, depending on the requirements of the specific position being staffed.

Other qualifications may be used at the selection decision stage.

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language of their choice.

The Department of Justice Canada encourages persons with priority entitlements to self-refer to our selection process in circumstances where they believe to meet the essential qualifications of the advertised position.

By applying to this process, you consent to your application and assessment-related information being shared with other federal organisations in the event that they should ask for it, in order to consider your application to staff a similar position within their organization.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans first and then to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, with the exception of a job located in Nunavut, where Nunavut Inuit will be appointed first.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.