Students
At Harris, our students work alongside leading lawyers to experience a challenging, friendly, and flexible learning environment.
Students
Student-centred approach
The majority of our associates and many of our partners originally joined the firm as students.
Build your own practice
Our program is diverse and flexible. Rather than being based on a set rotation, our students follow their interests. We expose our students to as much of our practice as possible, so that they experience the full range of opportunities within this area of law. It’s inspired by the model that exists for our lawyers, who define their practice according to their interests.
A day in the life
At Harris, you get a hands-on, immersive experience from the outset, and assume progressively more responsibility as your skills grow. In addition to finding solutions for clients through legal research and analysis, you’ll attend client meetings, and interview and prepare witnesses. You’ll regularly get out into the field to attend arbitrations, labour relations board hearings, Supreme Court trials, human rights hearings and examinations for discovery, so you can see how your research and support has influenced the case. And you’ll strengthen your presentation skills by speaking at seminars before clients and colleagues.
Lifestyle and culture
We understand that a student’s choice of firm is as much about the lifestyle and culture as the professional opportunities. Here, balance is built into our culture both formally and informally, and students get to learn from professionals who have a balanced work-life. At Harris, almost nothing is formulaic: we enable flexibility and balance because we know it makes people happier, healthier and more successful.
Who thrives here?
The people who succeed here are interested in human dynamics. They’re curious; they want to know how things work, and about different workplaces, industries and cultures. They want to resolve disputes in creative and innovative ways. They have a lifelong interest in ethics. They’re comfortable with ambiguity rather than black and white answers, and explore options to find the best solution. They’re more interested in being involved in important, engaging issues than just writing up a document. They can work with anybody and everybody, have close friends and families, and want to make a difference.
Compensation and benefits
Salary and benefits at Harris are competitive and reviewed annually. An articling student’s salary continues during PLTC, and we pay the PLTC registration fee. In addition, Harris pays our articling students’ tuition for third-year law school, up to $6,500.
Students
Current students
- Melanie Maracle, Queen’s Faculty of Law, Queen’s University, 2018
- Ellen Ferguson, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia, 2019
- Christine Maas, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia, 2019
- Madeline MacDonald, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia, 2019
- Leah Singer, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia, 2020
Current Harris lawyers who are past students
Students
Mentorship
You’ll be matched with a partner at the firm as your principal mentor. You’ll meet formally to discuss and evaluate progress, and also informally, to receive advice, guidance, and mentorship. You’ll also be matched with an associate mentor who’ll provide you with day-to-day help and advice so you have someone to go to with any question. You’ll work with members of the Student Committee who will oversee your entire program. You’ll also be part of a collegial and supportive group of associates.
