The Legal Excellence Program - Halifax
Articling Opportunities Across Canada
Atlantic Regional Office (ARO)
The ARO is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We have a compliment of 124 employees, which includes 65 lawyers 6 of whom work in the Veterans Affairs Departmental Legal Services Unit in Charlottetown, PEI.
Our in-house lawyers and a variety of strategically appointed agents, offer our clients a wide range of expertise in litigation and advisory services. Our lawyers are connected to a national network of over 2,000 lawyers in the National Capital Region and other regional offices, ensuring that our clients benefit from the broad, “whole-of-government” perspective we bring to their legal issues.
Our lawyers appear before the four provincial superior courts in the Atlantic Provinces, the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court, the Federal Court of Appeal, and various tribunals.
General Articling Information
The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (the “Society”) regulates the practice of law in Nova Scotia. Articled Clerks must work in the office of a qualified principal for 12 months, which includes the time you attend the Bar Admission Course.
Articles in the Atlantic Regional Office usually commence on June 1 but requests for a different date may be considered subject to the approval of the Society.
Articles are supervised by the Society’s Executive Director and Credentials Committee in accordance with the requirements of the Society. The Legal Profession Act, Regulations, and the Articling and Admission Guidelines, can be found on the Society’s website.
Articled clerks employed with the ARO will work on some of the most significant and interesting cases and legal issues in the Atlantic Provinces. Articled clerks are based in the Halifax office, but may travel throughout the region in order to fulfill their work requirements.
In addition, the ARO currently has an arrangement with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Atlantic Region) to include a secondment of the Articled clerk to that department for approximately three (3) months.
An Articled clerk is required to complete a rotation with each of the Civil Litigation and Advisory Section, the Tax Law Services Section, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. In addition, the Articled clerk may also be required to complete a short rotation with the Veterans Affairs Legal Service Unit.
Within each rotation, work is assigned to the Articled clerk under the supervision of a lawyer who serves as a mentor. When the Articled clerk is working on a file in conjunction with another lawyer, direction and assistance will also be provided by that lawyer.
Professional Development
Articled clerks are required to take the mandatory government orientation training through the Canada School of Public Service.
In addition, Articled Clerks receive an orientation to the office that includes the following:
- Orientation to the office generally, including pay and benefits and general organization of the office;
- Training in iCase and timekeeping;
- Orientation to the in-house library;
- Office policies as set out in the ARO Regional Web site;
- Discussion on confidentiality;
- Review of Justice Web site, including the orientation site;
- Review of hours of work;
- Explanation of PREA process;
- Introduction to the Regional Management Committee.
Articled clerks may take courses from Campus Direct – the e-learning portal from the Canada School of Public Service. On-line courses are offered on many topics including, Leadership and Management, Personal and Interpersonal Effectiveness, Technology, and the Organizational Environment.
If an in-house training session is offered, the Articled clerk is encouraged to attend.
All courses are subject to approval, operational requirements and the relevance of the course to the Articled clerk’s current rotation.
Articled clerks are also encouraged to take full advantage of the Departments National Mentoring Program.
Salary and Benefits
Current salary for Articled clerks in Halifax is $39,380 per annum.
Articled clerks are hired for a term of 1 year in the Atlantic Regional Office, and as a result they are entitled to:
- 15 days vacation (or the pro-rated equivalent for the length of the term);
- 15 days paid sick leave, (or the pro-rated equivalent for the length of the term);
- Medical and dental coverage;
- Articling period is counted as Pensionable service.
The ARO covers the cost of enrolment as an articled clerk ($225 + HST) and the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society’s bar admission course fee ($3500 + HST). In addition, the Articled clerk receives full salary while attending the Bar Admission Course.
How to Apply
The deadline for receipt of applications for 2014-2015 positions is Friday, December 7, 2012. (Deadlines for applications are subject to subsequent direction from the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society.)
This posting is open to persons residing in Canada and Canadian citizens residing abroad.
Applicants must include:
- A cover letter;
- A resume;
- Law School transcript;
- The names and contact information of three references.
You will be required to bring an Official Transcript to your interview.
Applicants must demonstrate in their application that they meet the qualifications set out in the Statement of Merit Criteria to be retained for further consideration.
Practice Areas in the Atlantic Regional Office
The Civil Litigation and Advisory Section, composed of approximately 33 lawyers, 6 paralegals, and 12 support staff, assumes conduct of a wide variety of civil litigation involving the federal government in the Atlantic Provinces and provides legal advisory services to specific client departments.
Lawyers in the section appear before the provincial courts and superior courts of all four Atlantic Provinces, the Federal Court of Canada, the Umpire pursuant to the Employment Insurance Act and various administrative tribunals. Specific litigation matters include matters in relation to contract disputes, personal injury, defamation, wrongful dismissal and immigration, as well as appeals and judicial review applications from various administrative tribunals.
Advisory services include: federal real property issues, commercial agreements. numerous legal issues arising under the Indian Act, the Constitution, the common law and the provincial law of the four Atlantic Provinces.
The Tax Law Services Section is comprised of approximately 24 lawyers, two paralegals, and 9 support staff. The lawyers in this section represent the Canada Revenue Agency in all civil disputes in which the Agency is a party, including: tax appeals in the Tax Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal, judicial reviews in the Federal Court, and bankruptcy and collection matters in the provincial superior courts of the Atlantic Provinces. These disputes involve matters arising under the Income Tax Act the Excise Tax Act, the Employment Insurance Act, the Canada Pension Plan and other related statutes. This section also provides legal advisory services to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on a variety of matters including the collection of taxes, bankruptcy and insolvency, human resource issues and objections to tax assessments.
Contact Information
Contact Person:
Andrea Bennett
Human Resources Advisor
Telephone: 902-426-8054
Facsimile: 902-426-0004
E-mail Address: andrea.bennett@justice.gc.ca
Suite 1400, Duke Tower
5251 Duke Street
Halifax, NS B3J 1P3
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