Training and Development

When you join BLG, your long-term skills development and continued education are our priority as you transition from student to associate and along your path to partnership. We know that your success requires coaching and mentoring, and we support you with solid programs, tools and resources. Our view is that BLG is the place to build a great career in your chosen profession, not just a place to spend the first two or three years of your career.

We encourage everyone to communicate their goals to us. That way, we can provide the building blocks for a focused and successful future. It is a two-way commitment, which we take very seriously. Regardless of your career path, we strive to provide challenging work opportunities, high level learning opportunities and exposure to a diverse range of practice areas.

At BLG, continued learning and education ensures all BLG Professionals are well prepared to provide the best legal counsel and service regardless of the client challenge or change that is faced in today’s business environment. It begins with national student training programs and continues through to a series of intensive programs designed to facilitate the path to partnership.

Our approach to continued learning and managing your professional development is multi-faceted. The comprehensive BLG Professional Excellence Program encompasses substantive knowledge, skills training, practice and client relationship management, including development of communication skills, and knowledge management.

Leading BLG’s professional development program are Norm Letalik, a partner and former law professor, and Greg McCashin, an experienced legal practitioner and former permanent faculty member of the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Bar Admission Course.

Orientation

Each BLG office provides a comprehensive orientation for summer and articling student upon arrival, including technology skills training, an introduction to basic firm policies and procedures and a broad range of substantive and practical sessions including legal research, memorandum writing and docketing.

Student Training

For students our program assists in navigating through the summer and articling year and serves as a foundation for subsequent training and development.

Throughout the year, students attend a series of seminars covering both substantive law and practice management. These seminars encourage and facilitate continued development of your legal expertise. Our goal is to help you develop professionally and in a manner consistent with the high standards of professional excellence expected of a BLG lawyer.

A selection of our student seminar topics include:

• Civil procedure
• Corporate practice and procedure
• Intellectual property
• Insolvency and corporate restructuring
• Wills and estates
• Foreclosures
• Legal research and writing
• Ethics and the practice of law
• Billing and time management
• Due diligence and minute book review
• Chambers practice
• Small Claims procedure
• Judgement enforcement
• Builders liens
• Communicating with clients and business development
• File and practice management
• Preparing for and arguing a motion