Articling Student
Position: Articling student for 2025-2026
Parkdale Community Legal Services is both a teaching clinic for Osgoode Hall Law School and a community legal clinic in downtown Toronto. We serve low income clients in a diverse community on the west side, particularly in the areas of landlord/tenant law, migrant rights and immigration law, workers’ rights and employment law, and social assistance law, in conjunction with community development work to address systemic issues of poverty and social exclusion.
PCLS is seeking an articling student for the 2025-2026 Articling Term. This is a twelve-month position, including ten-months of articles and two months of further employment as a lawyer. The Articling Student will be supervised by the Director of Legal Services, and work with lawyers in all four divisions to carry a varied caseload, and participate in community development work, such as law reform, community organizing and public legal education.
Salary and Benefits
Salary and benefits are set by the organization’s collective agreement. For the 2025-2026 term the salary will likely be $71,991 plus defined pension, health benefits, 10 paid days off during the articling period and one and two-thirds days’ vacation for each month thereafter, 18 paid sick days and paid time off from December 25 – January 1.
Skills and Qualifications
Applicants should have a demonstrated interest in social justice and working for positive social change, and an appreciation of a community lawyering approach. Some experience in poverty law issues is required as well as excellent writing and communication skills, including being comfortable having difficult conversations with people experiencing challenging or traumatic situations.
Please apply with a cover letter, resume and law school transcripts in a single pdf file. In your cover letter, please include:
- Experience in a legal clinic and/or experience with one or more areas of law the clinic practices
- Ability to work in a fast-paced setting with multiple responsibilities
- Experience practicing within a trauma-informed, anti-racist and anti-oppression framework
- Ability to do emotionally-challenging work
- Organizing skills/experiences
We only require employment and academic references for candidates selected for interviews. We will only consider applicants with credentials from an international university who have already received their NCA certificate from the Federation of Law Societies – this should be included in your application.
The application deadline is June 28, 2024 at 5 p.m. Those selected for an interview will be contacted on July 19, 2024. Interviews will be held August 12 through August 14, 2024. Please note this is an open competition — enrolment in or completion of the Intensive Program in Poverty Law of Osgoode Hall Law School is a significant asset but not a requirement.
an employer, PCLS is dedicated to building an organization that reflects the diversity of our clients and the communities we serve. This includes diversity in languages spoken, culture, race, sexual orientation and gender identity. We encourage applications from individuals from diverse, marginalized and racialized communities and backgrounds. PCLS promotes the principles of anti-oppression and adheres to the tenets of Ontario’s Human Rights Code. Please advise if you have any accommodation needs regarding the submission of your application.
Please make your application by email, in one pdf with “Articling Application” in the subject line, to John No at john.no@pcls.clcj.ca.