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- Student Recruitment
Please Note: Internationally trained lawyers who have completed their Certificate of Qualification from the National Committee on Accreditation are not subject to the recruitment rules listed below and can be recruited at any time.
Student recruitment is subject to Rules 49.1 – 49.3 of the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta.
Summer Student Recruitment Dates
The 2025 first year summer student recruitment period will be Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, to Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. No offer of employment shall be made before 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. Such offers must remain open for acceptance for a minimum of 24 hours. An offer of employment may be made at any time after the recruitment period and shall be left open for a reasonable period of time. Please note the recruitment rules do not apply to employers located outside of Calgary and Edmonton. For further information, please refer to Rules 49.1 and 49.3.
Articling Student Recruitment Dates
The 2025 articling student recruitment period will be from Monday, June 2, 2025, to Monday, June 16, 2025. Employers may only make offers of employment after 8 a.m. on the second Tuesday of the recruitment period (June 10, 2025). These offers must remain open for acceptance for 24 hours.
The articling student recruitment rules do not apply to the following:
- Employers with previous summer students who make offers of articling employment to those students, if recruitment activity is completed and offers of employment are made prior to the start of the 2025 articling recruitment period.
- Employers located outside Calgary or Edmonton.
- Third year law students.
- NCA students.
For more information, please refer to Rules 49.1 and 49.2.
Interpretation from the Rules
In Rule 49.2 and 49.3,
(a) “articling recruitment period” means the annual period specifically selected by the Executive Director with respect to the recruitment of articling students prior to which recruitment activity may not be conducted;
(b) “employer” means an employer of a student-at-law and includes a firm as defined in rule 2(1), a corporation and a government, but does not include a court;
(c) “first year student” means a student enrolled in first year of a law school or in a second year of a combined program, who reasonably expects and is scheduled to commence articling two years hence or later;
(d) “first year summer student recruitment period” means the annual period specifically selected by the Credentials & Education Committee with respect to the recruitment of first year students prior to which recruitment activity may not be conducted;
(e) “recruiting year” means any year in which students are recruited by employers;
(f) “recruitment activity” means any activity, the primary objective of which is to place a particular student with an employer, and includes the conduct of interviews, the offer or provision of gifts, meals or entertainment on an exclusive or selective basis, and the making or solicitation of offers of employment; but does not include the scheduling of interviews or the participation in scholarship and prize programs, career fairs, seminars hosted by law schools or similar activities where the primary intent is not to recruit a particular student or students;
(g) “student” means a prospective student-at-law.
A reference to the location of an employer means the location at which a student-at-law would be employed by that employer.
49.2 (1) This rule does not apply to:
(a) an employer located outside Calgary or Edmonton;
(b) recruitment activity concerning a second-year law student who has been employed by the offering employer between that student’s first and second years of law school, or between second and third years of law school; and
(c) recruitment activity concerning third year law students.
(2) Recruitment activity with respect to a particular student
(a) must not be conducted unless the student has completed second year law school;
(b) must not commence prior to the recruitment period; and
(c) must conform in all respects with this rule.
(3) No offer of employment by an employer to a student may be made before 8:00 a.m. on the second Tuesday of the recruitment period.
(4) An offer of employment by an employer to a student must be left open for acceptance for 24 hours.
49.3 (1) This Rule does not apply to:
(a) an employer located outside Calgary or Edmonton;
(b) recruitment activity concerning a first year law student who has been employed by the offering employer; and
(c) recruitment activity concerning a second-year or third-year law student.
(2) Recruitment activity with respect to a particular student for first year summer employment
(a) must not be conducted unless the student is a first year student;
(b) must not commence prior to the first year summer student recruitment period; and
(c) must conform in all respects with this Rule.
(3) No offer of employment by an employer to a first year student may be made before 5:00 p.m. on the Friday of the first year summer student recruitment period.
(4) An offer of employment by an employer to a first year student shall be left open for acceptance for a minimum of 24 hours.