What ARe your firm’s core practice areas?

Advocacy, including: Administrative; Appellant; Class Actions; Commercial; Construction; Employment & Labour; Municipal, Planning & Environmental; and Securities Litigation

Business Law, including: Aboriginal; Cannabis; Competition; Emerging Companies & Technology; Energy; Franchise; Intellectual Property & Entertainment; Mergers & Acquisitions; Mining; Oil & Gas and Utilities; Securities; and Taxation

Financial Services, including: Insurance; Lending & Finance; Real Estate & Development; and Restructuring & Insolvency

How would you describe your firm’s culture in 3 words?

Entrepreneurial, practical, and genuine. 

What is one question you think candidates should be prepared to answer in an interview?

Why are you interested in practicing business law at Cassels (i.e. a large national business law firm)?

Does your firm offer a rotation? If so, what does it look like for summer students and articling students?

Our summer students don’t have rotations. We encourage them to explore all practice areas we offer and to work with a broad range of lawyers so that they can confirm their areas of interest and/or develop new ones. That way, they know which area(s) they want to pursue during their articling period.

Articling students in our Vancouver and Calgary offices are free to take work from any lawyer, without a formal rotation structure. The articling experience in our Toronto office is divided into three rotations, but is highly customizable. Working on various files with different lawyers, articling students can choose any one or more of the following three broad practice groups for their three rotations: Advocacy, Business Law, and Financial Services.

What is one piece of advice you would give a law student about choosing a practice area?

Lawyers help clients solve all sorts of legal problems. We encourage you to seek out and accept work opportunities in as many areas as possible so that you can start to narrow down on what interests you the most. Look for a workplace that gives you meaningful work and real responsibility from day one, and where you will be encouraged to take on work that is outside your comfort zone and that challenges you, while providing you with the support and feedback you need to be successful.