Students - Sherrard Kuzz

Students

Where you begin your legal career is an important decision. There are many options to consider including area of practice, private or public, full service or boutique, big or small, downtown or uptown, and so on. The information on our website is designed to introduce you to our firm and the practice of management-side labour, employment and human resources law. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to call.

Check out this video to get a sneak peek into what it’s like to be a member of our team!

Why specialize in employment and labour law?
The practice of employment and labour law, management-side, combines advocacy and business in ways no other practice areas can or do.

Advocacy

If you are fascinated and excited with the prospect of being an advocate – as many law students are – labour, employment and administrative law offer opportunities to get “on your feet” more consistently than almost any other practice area including traditional civil litigation. Employment and labour lawyers are often in hearings several days a month, cross-examining witnesses, leading evidence and making legal argument. There are also fewer procedural requirements in labour law allowing cases to unfold much more quickly than in civil litigation. All of our lawyers are advocates with experience preparing for and arguing cases before a wide range of courts and administrative tribunals, including:
- The Ontario Labour Relations Board
- The Canada Industrial Relations Board
- Human Rights Tribunals
- The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and Appeals Tribunal
- Ontario Courts
- Federal Courts
We work hard to ensure all lawyers regardless of their year of Call regularly receive hearing experience, a feature seldom found in other law firms.

Business

Business is an essential component of our employment and labour law practice. In fact, most aspects of employment and labour law require a sophisticated understanding of how our clients do business. For example, our practice impacts whether and how to structure a merger, sale or acquisition, the terms of employment contracts and collective agreements, tax issues, pensions, benefits, workplace policies and practices (such as employment equity, workplace safety, health and safety, mandatory vaccination, etc.), and human rights, to name a few.

So, you see, there is a lot more to employment and labour law than you might have initially thought. To learn more about our practice areas, visit Our Practice.
Why management/employer-side rather than employee/union side?

For many, the choice to practice management/employer-side or employee/union-side is personal based on individual, closely held views.

For others, there are practical advantages to a management-side practice. Employers have greater opportunity than employees to proactively design the workplace environment. While there are always exceptions to the rule, generally management makes these important workplace decisions whereas employees tend to react. As management-advisers we are often asked to participate in making these workplace decisions.

The second advantage is that management lawyers are more likely to be asked by clients to represent them at hearings and in collective bargaining negotiations. Generally it is rare for union-side lawyers to take on negotiation responsibilities because often the union itself will send its own representative.
Our commitment to students

Each of us at Sherrard Kuzz LLP is dedicated to and enjoys the process of mentoring and providing to law students and young lawyers opportunities to learn and develop.

More than half of our lawyers started with us as a summer student! Indeed, our students are a vital part of our continuing growth and success, and we routinely hire law students in the first, second and articling years and have made this an integral component of our firm culture.

Several of our lawyers have taught or guest lectured at a variety of law schools and we are proud to have established at a number of Canada’s law schools the Sherrard Kuzz LLP Prize in labour, employment and administrative law.

Whether at law school or as a member of our professional team, our goal is to help our students develop the disciplined analytical, technical and practical skills they need to be successful lawyers and members of the community. We consider this our responsibility and one of our greatest accomplishments.
Our support of U Sports

Gaining a competitive edge: Sherrard Kuzz LLP values student-athlete success.
Our student program

The articling and summer student program at Sherrard Kuzz LLP is intense but fulfilling. Students participate in a dynamic firm in which outstanding work, client service and a rewarding collegial environment are paramount.

Research and writing is fundamental to the learning process. However, our students do not spend all or even most of their time researching. Instead, they get out with our lawyers regularly so they can learn how to assist clients with real issues. We introduce our students to all aspects of the practice of law and invite them to join us at client meetings, hearings, negotiations, lectures, continuing legal education seminars, networking dinners and regular firm management meetings.

We also offer our students the opportunity to write articles for our newsletter, Management Counsel, and to help prepare, attend and speak at the numerous seminars we present to clients.

In our experience, this approach accelerates the learning process, and helps students build professional skills, industry experience, confidence, and their own professional style.

Training and Professional Development

We place a premium on the training and guidance of all members of our team. To help identify strengths and improve skills, students receive on-going formal and informal reviews. We also conduct regular in-house seminars and training to ensure our entire team is up to speed on important and topical issues related to our broad practice of law.

Orientation

Week-one is orientation, designed to introduce our new colleagues to our firm’s principal areas of practice, our resources and support services and some of the practical skills required to be a successful student and lawyer. This includes tips on the transition from law school to practice, time management, writing for clarity, and the basics of employment and labour law.

Secondments – Ontario Labour Relations Board & Clients

Each year, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) offers to select articling students the opportunity to be seconded for a period of six to eight weeks during the articling term. At Sherrard Kuzz LLP we think this opportunity is invaluable. For a student aspiring to practice employment and labour law, a secondment with the OLRB is akin to a clerkship at the Court of Appeal.

Our team is also fortunate to serve and work with a range of outstanding clients some of which provide challenging and unique secondment opportunities to our students, allowing them to experience ‘the client perspective’.

These partnerships with the OLRB and clients are just another way in which we demonstrate our unparalleled dedication on our students and their learning process.

Compensation

Summer and articling student compensation is competitive with that at other leading firms in Toronto ($1,900/week). In addition to salary, articling compensation includes Bar Admission Course tuition, and extended health benefits.

Summering at Sherrard Kuzz LLP

The experience of our summer students is no different than that of our articling students although limited to the short summer season.

Social Activities

Given the size of our firm and focused nature of our practice, we work together every day. However, we also like to get together outside business hours, so we organize several firm-wide events throughout the year almost always including our entire staff and significant others.
Visiting Sherrard Kuzz LLP

Each year we host groups of students interested to learn about employment and labour law. If your law school has an employment and labour club (or equivalent), and you’d like to organize a visit with our firm, please contact our Managing Director, Rhonda Cohen, at rcohen@sherrardkuzz.com or 416.603.6243.

We look forward to meeting you!
How to Apply
We hope this information has helped you to decide whether Sherrard Kuzz LLP is the firm with which you might like to begin and grow your legal career. If so, your application should include the following:
- Cover letter
- Resume
- Post-secondary transcripts (Please note: “official” transcripts will be required if an offer of employment is made and accepted)
- A list of upper year courses you intend to take (where applicable)
- References (recommended)
Applications may be delivered in paper or electronic format, or through ViDesktop, but not by fax.

They should be addressed to:

Rhonda Cohen
Managing Director
Sherrard Kuzz LLP
Employment and Labour Lawyers
250 Yonge Street, Suite 3300
Toronto, Ontario M5B 2L7

416.603.0700 Main
416.603.6243 Direct
rcohen@sherrardkuzz.com

Visiting Sherrard Kuzz LLP

Each year we host law students students interested to learn about the practice of employment and labour law. If your law school has an employment and labour law club (or equivalent) and you’d like to organize a visit, contact our Managing Director, Rhonda Cohen, at rcohen@sherrardkuzz.com or 416.603.6243. We look forward to meeting you!

First Year Summer Law Positions – 2025

As we do every year, we plan to hire 5-6 fantastic 1L students interested in employment and labour law, and advocacy, representing employers. To learn about the application deadline, please check with your law school’s career development office or the Law Society of Ontario.

SECOND Year Summer Law Positions – 2025

Thank you for your interest in Sherrard Kuzz LLP. Please note ~ our 2025 2L summer positions will be filled by our current 1L students. Please check back with us for future opportunities.

ARTICLING – 2025-2026

Thank you for your interest in Sherrard Kuzz LLP. Please note ~ our 2025-2026 articling positions will be filled by our current 2L students. Please check back with us for future opportunities.

VACCINATION POLICY

Subject to the firm’s duty to accommodate under the Human Rights Code (Ontario), any offer of employment is conditional upon the candidate being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to commencing employment, defined as having received a primary set of vaccinations and at least one (1) subsequent booster dose. Further, should the Firm mandate additional booster doses as a condition of continued employment, each firm member shall receive such boosters and provide proof of same. For more information, contact Rhonda Cohen at rcohen@sherrardkuzz.com.