Articling Student Position

About this position

West Coast LEAF - Employment Opportunity

Articling Student Position
(Application deadline: Monday, February 8, 2021, 5pm Pacific)

Job Title:                   Articling Student

Compensation:        $46,000 salary plus benefits, professional dues and opportunities for continuing professional development

Start Date:                 Between May – Sept 2021 (in consultation with successful candidate)

Employment Type: Full-time; Term Position (12 months)

Are you passionate about using your law degree to create change? Do your values align with intersectional feminism? Are you seeking a unique articling experience with a dynamic and nationally recognized non-profit organization?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

West Coast LEAF is hiring an articling student to begin working with us between May 2021 and September 2021 (specific start date flexible; will be determined in consultation with successful candidate). This is a full-time position (37.5 hours / week) for a 12-month term.

Applications for this position will be accepted until 5 pm, Monday, February 8, 2021. 

About Us:

West Coast LEAF is a BC-based legal advocacy organization dedicated to using the law as a tool to secure an equal and just society for all women and people who experience gender-based discrimination. Using litigation, law reform and public legal education strategies informed by community outreach and engagement, we apply an intersectional and inclusive feminist lens to our work seeking to transform society across six issue areas: access to healthcare, access to justice, economic security, freedom from gender-based violence, justice for those who are criminalized, and the right to parent.

West Coast LEAF’s office is located on traditional, ancestral and unceded Coast Salish homelands, including the lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl ̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We recognize that we have an ongoing responsibility for learning and seeking long-term transformation in our relationships with Indigenous peoples and land across the province and Turtle Island.

We are a small, yet mighty, staff team. We aim to create an inclusive, welcoming, and supportive work environment. We value work-life balance.

About the position:

You will work closely with in-house and external counsel on systemic litigation, public legal education, and law reform work across our six issues areas. Under the supervision of your principal and working closely with all staff lawyers, you will assist with and conduct litigation primarily in the areas of constitutional law, family law, child protection law, and administrative law. You will also conduct legal research and prepare policy position statements, briefing notes, submissions and other materials to engage decision-makers and shape public understanding of gender justice, playing a key role in West Coast LEAF’s advocacy and education efforts outside the court process.

COVID-19:

West Coast LEAF is committed to the health and safety of our staff members and volunteers, as well as our community as a whole. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, staff members are currently working remotely. As circumstances evolve, we anticipate that the articling student will do a combination of remote-based and in-person work, subject to public health orders and guidance, West Coast LEAF’s own policies and protocols, and the articling student’s individual health needs. 

Selection Criteria:

When assessing applications, we strongly consider a demonstrated commitment to social change work, including through community involvement, work, and/or life experience.

West Coast LEAF is committed to making our work and our workplace more inclusive, equitable, and accessible. We especially encourage applications from members of communities who have traditionally been underrepresented in the legal profession, including Indigenous people; racialized people; trans, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people; Two-Spirit people; LGBQ+ people; and people with disabilities. We welcome applicants to self-identify in their cover letter to the extent of their comfort. All applications will be held in the strictest confidence, shared only with the hiring panel.

How to Apply:

Applications are due by 5 pm on Monday, February 8, 2021. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Please submit the following materials via email to careers@westcoastleaf.org with the subject line “Application for Articling Position 2021-2022”:

• Resume
• Cover letter (addressed to Kate Feeney (she/her/hers), Director of Litigation
• Law school transcripts (unofficial are fine)
• Legal writing sample of no more than 15 pages (excerpts are fine)
• Names and contact information for three references (please do not send reference letters)

While we appreciate all interest in the position, due the numbers of applications we receive, we will only be contacting short-listed candidates. We will conduct all interviews via videoconference.

Please contact careers@westcoastleaf.org if you have any questions about this position, including any requests to meet your accessibility needs in relation to the application process.

West Coast LEAF is grateful to the Law Foundation of British Columbia for their generous support in funding this opportunity.