FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Students
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• Getting Started - Applying at Ogilvie
• FAQ

• •   What are the components of the Ogilvie LLP Articling Program?
• •   What type of work will I do?
• •   What is in it for me?
• •   What is Ogilvie LLP looking for in a student?
• •   How do you become a partner?
• •   Will I have to keep time and work a minimum number of billable hours?
• •   Do students get vacations?
• •   What will my office be like?
• •   Does Ogilvie LLP have a Parental Leave Policy?
• •   How many lawyers and staff work at Ogilvie LLP?
• •   Who can I speak to if I have further questions?
• •   How do I apply for an articling position with Ogilvie LLP?

The Ogilvie LLP articling program involves three rotations of approximately three months each in the areas of:

• Business Law
  • Corporate
  • Commercial Transactions
• Real Estate
  • Wills and Estates
• Litigation
  • Administrative Law

The balance of the articling year is consumed with an orientation week, CPLED courses and holidays. In addition to your principal, who will supervise one rotation, you will be assigned a mentor in each of the other rotations to supervise and work with you.
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What type of work will I do?

In the Litigation and Administrative Law rotation, you will have an opportunity to do legal research, prepare pleadings, speak to trial and appeal lists, attend client interviews, examinations for discovery, hearings and trials. You will make appearances in provincial court and chambers. You may have the opportunity to attend and assist your supervisor at a trial or hearing. As the litigation process is lengthy, you will, if you remain with the firm and have an interest in litigation, have the opportunity to work on a file to its conclusion.

In the Business Law rotation, you will assist in the preparation of documentation, perform various searches and familiarize yourself with checklists, closing agendas, governmental requirements, etc. You will assist in the documentation of the purchase or sale of a business, preparation or review of commercial leases and the incorporation and organization of an Alberta Business Corporation.

The Real Estate rotation allows you to have conduct of files and meet clients more often than in the other two rotations. You will be responsible for the preparation of documents pertaining to the purchase and sale of residential real estate as well as attending on clients to execute documents. You will also prepare wills and related documents and assist in the administration of an estate.
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What is in it for me?

• • We offer an annually reviewed salary that is competitive with others in downtown Edmonton
  • We offer a competitive benefit plan
  • We cover all costs associated with CPLED courses and Law Society memberships.
  • You are encouraged to participate in the Canadian Bar Association and, if so, your membership fees and section fees will be paid

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What is Ogilvie LLP looking for in a student?

The short answer is a future partner. We have always hired students with the anticipation that they would be retained as associates and eventually become partners in the firm.
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How do you become a partner?

Generally after six years of successful practice, associates are considered for partnership. A partner is expected to have developed a sufficient book of work to support a practice. We have associates who choose not to assume the risks and responsibilities of partnership and continue as senior associates. At Ogilvie LLP, we pride ourselves on our flexibility to accommodate variations in the way a partner or an associate wishes to practice.
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Will I have to keep time and work a minimum number of billable hours?

As an articling student, you will not be required to bill a minimum number of hours. You will be required to record your time, both billable and non-billable. Once you become an associate, time recording is a mandatory process. Associates have a target of 1,500 billed hours and 1300 receipted. Associates who exceed that target or develop business will be considered for performance bonuses. To be a successful lawyer in private practice, it is necessary as a student, an associate and a partner to put a substantial number of hours into all aspects of the practice.
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Do students get vacations?

An articling student may take two weeks' vacation during the articling year or upon its conclusion. Most often students take a week during the year and a vacation after being admitted. Associates and partners take vacations at their discretion. Lawyers are encouraged to lead a balanced life but we recognize that different individuals have different work habits and different holiday preferences.
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What will my office be like?

Ogilvie LLP's newly renovated offices occupy two floors of the Canadian Western Bank building located in the heart of downtown Edmonton. Each student will have a fully furnished and equipped office with Internet access as well as access to our electronic library, which includes Quick Law and Westlaw. You will have the support of the legal assistant of your principal or mentor during the rotation.
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Does Ogilvie LLP have a Parental Leave Policy?

Yes. Ogilvie LLP has an Associate Lawyer Maternity Leave and Parental Leave Policy that sets forth the firm's commitment to financial benefits and the terms on which those benefits will be paid to eligible associate lawyers during maternity leave. The Policy supports the firm's commitment to support its associate lawyers both in their decisions to become parents and in their work as lawyers.
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How many lawyers and staff work at Ogilvie LLP?

Counsel   -   1
Partners   -   15
Associates   -   17
Students   -   2
Support Staff   -   56
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Who can I speak to if I have further questions?

Feel free to contact our current articling students at the numbers below. They would be more than pleased to answer any questions you may have about articling at Ogilvie LLP.

Current Articling Students

Graham A. Barr
Phone: (780) 429-6298
Email: GBarr@ogilvielaw.com

Tyson A. Wagner
Phone: (780) 429-6219
Email: TWagner@ogilvielaw.com

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How do I apply for an articling position with Ogilvie LLP?

Candidates for articling positions should forward their applications, including resume, covering letter, transcripts of undergraduate and law school grades, and letters of reference, to:

Rod J. Wasylyshyn
Ogilvie LLP
1400 Canadian Western Bank Place
10303 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton AB T5J 3N6
E-mail: rwasylyshyn@ogilvielaw.com

Interviews will be conducted in June 2012. We thank you for your interest in Ogilvie LLP and look forward to speaking with you about the articling opportunities at our firm.
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