Thank you for your interest in the summer program at Dentons Edmonton.
Our program
The summer program at Dentons Edmonton is designed to give law students the exposure to real work and real clients necessary to transitioning from student to practising lawyer. In addition to the rewarding experience of working in a dynamic legal environment, summering at our office increases your chances of securing an articling position with us following your graduation from law school.
We believe it is important that our summer students are part of the team from the start. Spending a summer working in the Edmonton office exposes a student to some of the province’s best lawyers and most complex legal work. From an integration perspective, summer students are part of the team and are of course invited to all Firm functions and social events. Each summer student is assigned a mentor for the summer and will also take part in our student orientation program.
Evaluation
Evaluations are fundamental to your summering experience. While you can expect to receive informal evaluations from the lawyers you will be working with daily, you will also be formally evaluated on your various assignments.
Interview
Before returning to school in the fall, students will receive individual feedback during a formal interview. This will provide an opportunity for you to share any comments and suggestions you might have.
What it’s like to summer at Dentons Edmonton
What our students say
Danielle Bailey-Heelan, Dalhousie University, 2022 1L Summer Law Student
Spending my summer with Dentons was an invaluable experience that provided me with the opportunity to learn more about how a full-service firm operates and exposed me to diverse areas of law and legal issues. From the beginning, I felt welcomed and comfortable at Dentons – all the staff, lawyers, and other students contributed to a professional and collegial environment that I enjoyed being a part of. Even as a student, Dentons treated me like a professional and gave me the freedom I needed to explore my different interests, be challenged, and grow immensely during my time here. Not only did I do interesting research, I was able to attend client meetings, observe questionings and court proceedings, and draft legal documents including a Statement of Defence. My mentor was an incredible support, who actively checked in with me to ensure I was having a great experience and encouraged me to engage in all the firm has to offer including attending events such as the EBA Golf Tournament. The whole summer student team collaborated well together, and we became a tight-knit group, frequently grabbing lunch and discussing the diverse files we were each working on.
I am incredibly grateful for the practical experience I gained and the skills I was able to develop during my summer. Moreover, I greatly value the friendships I made while at Dentons. I will look back fondly on the various firm events I was able to attend, and the social atmosphere that Dentons fosters. When choosing Dentons, I was attracted to their aim to harness each summer’ students individual ability, while also welcoming each person to the team, and I can confidently say that was exactly my experience. After my summer, I feel well-positioned and confident that I have the capacity, skills, and knowledge to begin a legal career.
Thomas Banks, University of Alberta, 2022 1L Summer Law Student
As the world’s largest global elite law firm, Dentons is different. I recommend Dentons as the firm of choice for law school students for three reasons based directly on my experience summering in 2022:
[1] Dentons is supportive. The Firm’s training is comprehensive and increased my confidence. Dentons lawyers provided clear instructions and were open-door to my questions. Dentons’ dedicated research support specialists and massive internal database aided my work and professional development.
[2] Dentons is connected. Internally, I connected with lawyers and clients while attending lunches, celebrations, weekly socials, practice group meetings, talks by distinguished guest speakers, and a golf tournament. Externally, I engaged in pro bono efforts assisting Edmontonians here at home and Afghan refugees abroad.
[3] Dentons is big law. The Firm is charged with premier work on international legal assessments, high-profile litigation, and sophisticated transactions. I can tell you that summering at Dentons means you receive great assignments and the opportunity to dive deep into law by working in a variety of practice areas.
I am overjoyed to return for articles in 2024.
Sarah Fong, University of Windsor, 2022 1L Summer Law Student
Summering at Dentons was a wonderful experience made even more special by the collegial atmosphere fostered at the Edmonton office. From the first day of work, the talent team was incredibly welcoming, ensuring students became familiar with the firm’s vast educational resources, and the office itself. All the lawyers I interacted with were open to answering my questions as I completed projects for their diverse areas of practice. My mentor was very supportive, encouraging, and a great source of insight on working as a lawyer. The paralegals and legal assistants also kindly gave guidance when I had questions while completing assignments. In addition to exploring topics spanning human rights cases, to artificial intelligence, I observed the client-facing side of legal practice. I shadowed lawyers on matters ranging from estate planning to pro bono advice, and assisted with drafting and research wherever possible. I also participated in many of the firm’s initiatives that made me feel part of a team – these included office-wide socials, cycling challenges, and lunch functions. Dentons provides a truly meaningful summer student experience. I am thrilled to be returning in 2024 for articling.
Dennis Kuckertz, University of Alberta, 2022 1L Summer Law Student
My experience as a summer student at Dentons Edmonton was excellent. I got experience in a variety of practice groups, from tax to litigation. The culture and atmosphere at Dentons Edmonton was extremely collegial with lawyers and staff always willing to help students, and students going on weekly Friday lunches. I look forward to returning to Dentons Edmonton as an articling student in 2024!
Rebecca Nokleby, University of Alberta, 2022 2L Summer Law Student
Summering with Dentons was a fantastic experience because of the immense amount of support provided to summer students by everyone at the firm. The talent team guided us through the first week of training, ensuring that our introduction to the firm went smoothly. Articling students immediately made us feel like part of the team, offering advice and inviting us to social events throughout the summer. Associates and partners assigned summer students a wide variety of work, offering ongoing mentorship and an open-door policy. Legal assistants and paralegals helped us navigate tasks assigned by lawyers, answering our questions patiently and kindly. Everyone at Dentons was eager to see us succeed, and this supportive environment resulted in collegiality and friendship among the summer students. Dentons showed further support by encouraging summer students to pursue work in practice areas of interest, and over the summer I wrote research memos, summarized case law, and observed client meetings with lawyers from a variety of practice groups. I am excited to return to Dentons to article in 2023.
Stephen Wynnyk, University of Alberta, 2022 2L Summer Law Student
The people at Dentons are their best asset. The lawyers, staff and articling students were all very welcoming and incredibly helpful. They always took the time to assist us newbies, even if they were busy meeting a looming deadline.
Dentons strikes the right balance between providing guidance and allowing their students to independently pursue their interests. There was no formal corporate or litigation rotation. Instead, to find assignments we were encouraged to contact any lawyer in the office whose work interested us. This allowed us to either “specialize” by returning to the same practice groups for work time after time, or to receive a more varied scope of work as I did. We were also each paired with a lawyer who would mentor us and who we could go to with any questions or concerns (and who would treat us to lunch from time to time).
Dentons offers a flexible and safe environment to work within. While students were encouraged to be in the office, we were able to work from home and did not have a set number of days that we had to be in the office. I felt much more at ease knowing that lawyers, students, and staff could work remotely when they were sick or when life otherwise intervened. Dentons provides their students with any equipment they might need to work from home.
Overall, my experience at Dentons was incredible and I am very excited to return to article next year!