Join our team of legal professionals, including over 160 lawyers, and experience the breadth and variety of practice of a full-service firm working in the public interest. The City is committed to an inclusive workplace culture supporting a public service that is reflective of the diverse population it serves.

The Legal Services Division of the City of Toronto is seeking 3 to 6 second year law students for 2025 summer contract positions, beginning mid-May and concluding mid-August. Students will be supporting lawyers within our division with key City initiatives such as the following examples from 2024:

  • Research and document preparation relating to the City’s affordable housing plan, which seeks to introduce 65,000 rent-controlled homes by 2030
  • Updating the City’s Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario remedies chart, reference guide and related research
  • Drafting revisions to the Municipal Code provisions dealing with recyclable materials, to align with new Provincial requirements
  • Review and updating the governing by-laws of the City of Toronto’s Municipal Code, in collaboration with the City Clerk’s office
  • Itemizing provisions of the City’s collective agreements with Local 79 and Local 416, in preparation for collective bargaining.

See below for descriptions of each practice group that support these City initiatives.

If you will be a second-year law student in 2024/25 and are interested in a 2025 summer position at the City of Toronto, please submit an application consisting of:

  • a cover letter;
  • resume;
  • undergraduate, graduate, and law school transcripts; and
  • one letter of reference

through viLawPortal beginning Monday, June 3, 2024 and by no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, July 22, 2024.

Applicants may submit copies of official transcripts or unofficial transcripts generated by the issuing university. The City reserves the right to request further information from applicants or the issuing university if necessary. Nothing other than the specified application materials will be reviewed or evaluated and failure to submit any of the required documents may result in the application being deemed incomplete and not reviewed. You must be legally entitled to work in Canada and have a valid Social Insurance Number to qualify for these positions.

To the extent possible, resumes should clearly distinguish between (i) formal paid employment, (ii) extra-curricular or volunteer activities and (iii) course-based responsibilities and should provide clear start and end dates. If there are exceptional circumstances that have significantly impacted your academic performance as it appears on your transcript(s) please address same in your cover letter.

The City is an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to creating a workplace culture of inclusiveness that reflects the diverse residents that we serve. The City is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Should you require Code-protected accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please make them known when contacted and we will work with you to meet your needs.

We thank all applicants for their interest. Only individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.

The City of Toronto is looking to hire individuals who demonstrate strong academic credentials, relevant experience and a desire to build a career in the public sector. This can be conveyed through your cover letter, resume, law school experience and extra-curricular interests.

Candidates selected for interviews will be contacted by telephone on Tuesday, October 22, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. to arrange an interview.

All interviews will take place between Monday, November 4, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. and Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.

Offers will be extended beginning on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. in accordance with the Law Society of Ontario process and guidelines.

Working with the City offers aspiring legal professionals the unique opportunity to thrive in a cordial work culture. Here are some insights our lawyers shared regarding their articling experience with the City:

I found the articling program to be well-structured, especially compared to other programs in the public sector. The program helped me explore my interests and public service, and helped me discover how the government tackles difficult challenges. The lawyers are helpful and welcoming, and the students are exposed to meaningful work. Overall, it was a great experience.

Frank Weng, Solicitor
Articling Student 2021-2022

 

I knew I wanted to contribute to my home community as a future law practitioner, and so the City’s Articling Program was at the top of my application list. The program rotations gave me a chance to explore different practice areas and allowed me to envision myself in a variety of roles. As I explored my career opportunities, the people in Legal Services took a genuine interest in my learning and development. Not only did I grow professionally, but the supportive environment allowed me to nurture my personal life and interests even during stressful periods. To top it all off, the environment fostered our articling cohort to build a close-knit community, which I still cherish.

Michelle LaFortune, Solicitor
Articling Student, 2021-2022

 

I enjoyed the City of Toronto’s articling program starting from the interviewing experience to the end of my rotations. The work environment is supportive and collegial. Articling with the City provided me the opportunity to experience legal practice in a large variety of areas. I would highly recommend applying to the program to explore your full potential as a future legal practitioner.

Isan Bloom, Solicitor
Articling Student, 2020-2021

Compensation will be based on an annual salary pro-rated for the summer term. This equates to a bi-weekly salary of approximately $2,800 for the duration of the 13-week contract. Successful candidates will also be considered for Articling opportunities at the City of Toronto for the 2026/27 term based on summer performance.

The City of Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We are committed to providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), the Ontario Human Rights Code and the City of Toronto’s Accommodation Policy.

Should you require accommodation during the application submission and review stage of the recruitment process, please send an email to Ray Mickevicius at articling@toronto.ca to identify this need. Any applicant requiring accommodation during the interview stage of the recruitment process will be provided the opportunity to identify that need when offers for interviews are extended.

Municipal government impacts the daily lives of citizens more directly than any other level of government. Just think about roads, parks, community centres, public health services, affordable housing and social services, garbage collection, emergency services, public libraries, snow removal and the water supplied to your home. The City of Toronto provides these services and more to its residents.

As the largest city in Canada, the City of Toronto also faces many complex issues relating to, for example, freedom of information, municipal elections, corporate governance, and municipal procurement.

Our municipal lawyers help the City work by giving legal advice on these and many other matters to the City’s Agencies, Boards, Commissions, Divisions and Accountability Officers, Toronto City Council and its Committees and Sub-Committees. Municipal lawyers are often in the thick of high profile issues, such as:

  • Advising on the funding, construction and operation of major transit and infrastructure projects such as the rehabilitation of the Gardiner, Expressway and the Union Station Revitalization Project,
  • Navigating new technologies such as drones, autonomous vehicles and the sharing economy; the implementation of supervised injection services and the legalization of cannabis,
  • Environmental initiatives such as waste diversion, climate change adaptation and energy efficiency, and
  • New related Provincial legislation and regulations, including the adoption of governance structures following the reduction in City Councillors to 25 from 47 previously approved by City Council.

We see our students as an integral part of our legal team, and we give them a high level of responsibility. During your municipal rotation, you may be asked to draft reports and bylaws to present to City Council, opinion letters, negotiated agreements and general correspondence. You will also have the opportunity to attend Board/Committee or client meetings to better understand the “why” behind your assignments.

Some of the issues you may deal with during your municipal law rotation concern:

  • Powers and jurisdiction under the City of Toronto Act2006 and other municipal statutes
  • The City’s taxing powers and property tax issues
  • Charter, Constitutional and jurisdictional questions
  • Balancing public transparency with confidentiality and protection of privacy under MFIPPA
  • Information Technology and Telecommunications Matters
  • Affordable Housing and Social Services
  • Public Procurements such as RFPs, RFQs, Tenders and Public Private Partnerships
  • Contract Interpretation
  • Construction Agreements, Liens and Statutory Holdbacks
  • Public Health Issues
  • Intellectual Property Issues

 

Did you know?

City lawyers:

  1. Provided advise on the City’s recently adopted Reconciliation Action Plan.
  2. Worked with other City staff on the City’s ward boundary review and implementation.
  3. Provided advice to City Council on the Province of Ontario’s Better Local Government Act, 2018 and the reduction of the number of Toronto’s municipal wards and Councillors.
  4. Assisted staff in the enforcement of zoning bylaws against illegal marijuana dispensaries and preparation for the legalization of cannabis.
  5. Negotiated and drafted licensing and stadium expansion agreements that brought the Toronto Argonauts and the Grey Cup to Exhibition Place.
  6. Advised on civil liberties and other issues relating to the use of public space.
  7. Negotiate with production companies for the use of City property and facilities in movies and television.

The Prosecutions section is responsible for prosecuting a variety of matters falling under Part I and Part III of the Provincial Offences Act, including:

  • Fire Code and Building Code violations;
  • Traffic offences under the Highway Traffic Act
  • Cannabis offences
  • Smoking and vaping offences;
  • Dog bites and other dog-related offences;
  • Offences falling under various City of Toronto bylaws including zoning violations, water pollution offences, noise violations as well as offences under the City’s Licensing bylaws.

The Prosecutions section fields a variety of legal issues on a daily basis, including constitutional and Charter challenges. Prosecutions are conducted across the city at the historic Old City Hall courthouse, the former York Civic Centre (2700 Eglington Avenue West) and the Toronto East Court Office (1530 Markham Road).

The Prosecutions team also administers the parking violation dispute process through its Administrative Penalty System at three locations across the city, including two in person offices located at Metro Hall and North York Civic Centre.

The Prosecutions rotation provides a unique hands-on legal experience. Each of the City’s articling students will participate in a multi-day rotation in the Prosecutions section. Students will have the opportunity to observe and then conduct a variety of prosecutions, initially under the guidance of prosecutors and subsequently on their own.

Did You Know?

  • In 2019, the City’s Administrative Monetary Penalty System for parking violations was awarded the Canadian Lawyer InHouse Innovation of the Year Award.
  • The City of Toronto receives approximately 150 constitutional and Charter challenges a year.
  • The Prosecutions unit processes approximately 60,000 disclosure requests a year.

Legal Services’ Employment Law Section consists of 16 lawyers who offer a full range of employment and management-side labour law services to the City regarding its role as an employer to approximately 37,000 full and part-time employees.

Our lawyers deal with issues arising from collective agreements between the City of Toronto and major unions including: TCEU, Local 416 and CUPE, Local 79, which is the largest municipal local in Canada. We also provide legal advice to the Toronto Zoo, the Board of Governors of Exhibition Place, TO Live and the Toronto Police Services Board.

In addition to our diverse labour practice, our lawyers represent and provide legal advice to the City in matters involving non-unionized employees.

While articling at the City, Students can expect to assist in a wide variety of matters, including:

  • Labour arbitrations
  • Ontario Labour Relations Board proceedings
  • Workers’ compensation files (including carriage of Workplace Safety and Insurance Act Appeals)
  • Employment contract drafting
  • Human rights and equity issues
  • Collective bargaining
  • Employment and labour law opinions
  • Wrongful dismissal civil claims
  • Judicial reviews
  • Occupational Health and Safety issues
  • The delivery of legal education seminars to client groups

With the supervision and guidance of our lawyers, Students take an active role in all aspects of case preparation. Students may be asked to conduct client and witness interviews, research legal issues, draft opinion letters and draft pleadings or facta. Students are also assigned carriage of their own files pertaining to appeals under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.

Did You Know?

City lawyers:

  • Advised Council and City staff regarding employment elements of the first municipal public service bylaw in Canada.
  • Played key roles in the negotiation and arbitration of the collective agreements between the City and its unions.
  • Attend hundreds of hearing dates annually before labour arbitrators, the Human Rights Tribunal, The Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal, and the courts.
  • Advise City staff in relation to employment issues that arise in relation to a diverse range of City initiatives.
  • Provided and continue to provide advice on a myriad of employment issues relating to COVID-19, including advice with all aspects of the City’s mandatory vaccine policy for employees.

Land use planning in Ontario is largely delegated to municipalities.  Development applications reviewed by the City range from small additions to residential homes up to the construction of condominium and office towers.

The Planning and Administrative Tribunal Law group (or “Planning Law”) is a team of 30 lawyers whose practice focuses on the administration of the municipal planning process. The lawyers in Planning Law engage with a number of provincial and municipal planning instruments, including the Planning Act, provincial plans and policy statements, the Toronto Official Plan, and municipal zoning bylaws. The Planning Law section is regularly tasked with drafting zoning bylaws, negotiating and drafting agreements between the City and developers, and conducting hearings before the Toronto Local Appeal Body, the Ontario Land Tribunal and appeals to the Divisional Court.  In their role, planning lawyers frequently provide legal advice to other City departments, including City Planning, and engage with both City Councillors and the public on matters of planning policy and development approvals.

In addition to the Toronto Local Appeal Body and the Ontario Land Tribunal, Planning Law also represents the City in a wide variety of other administrative tribunals regulating the use of private land, including the Ontario Alcohol and Gaming Commission and the Licence Appeal Tribunal.

As a student in the Planning Law section, your work will include:

  • Attending hearings, pre-hearings, mediations, and meetings with senior lawyers
  • Drafting agreements securing parkland, public art, and other public benefits for the City while setting out the developer’s obligations with regard to a particular development proposal
  • Preparing and reviewing municipal bylaws and bills, including bylaws for re-zoning and official plan amendment applications
  • Researching and drafting legal opinions
  • Attending Community Council meetings

The Planning Law team is dedicated to ensuring that students learn the “nuts and bolts” of this unique area of law. We understand that students may not have been exposed to planning law issues prior to working at the City. In addition to discovering a new subject area, during this rotation students will develop and improve upon practical legal skills including oral and written advocacy, researching, and drafting.

Did You Know?

City lawyers:

  • Facilitate community revitalization programs throughout the City, such as Regent Park and Lawrence Heights.
  • Work with City Planning to develop its “Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods” program to facilitate additional low rise and “missing middle” housing within the City’s neighbourhoods.
  • Promote City Council’s position with respect to prominent and controversial development proposals such as the Frank Gehry designed towers in the theatre district, the evolving plans for a potential “Rail Desk Park”, and the Honest Ed’s redevelopment.
  • Assist Heritage Planning in drafting and defending Cultural Heritage Districts identified under the Ontario Heritage Act, including the Garden District, Historic Yonge St., and the St. Lawrence area.

The City of Toronto employs a team of about 35 civil and commercial litigators, who enjoy a dynamic and diverse practice. The City’s litigators are at the forefront of matters of public policy as they relate to a broad range of practice areas.  These include litigation matters related to:

  • Constitutional, Charter and other challenges to municipal bylaws
  • Human rights applications
  • Environmental law issues
  • Public Health law issues
  • Building Code Act regulation
  • Commercial law issues
  • Ontario Heritage Act issues
  • Personal injury claims
  • Construction law claims
  • Business Licensing issues
  • Policing issues
  • Land assessment and taxation issues
  • Municipal Elections issues

The City’s litigators appear at all levels of court, including the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Divisional Court, the Ontario Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. City litigators also appear before a variety of administrative tribunals including the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Environmental Review Tribunal, the Landlord and Tenant Board, the Toronto Licensing Tribunal, the Assessment Review Board as well as Coroner’s Inquests.

The articling student experience with the Litigation section is not limited to legal research. Students handle, with supervision, their own Small Claims Court files, which includes preparing pleadings, gathering evidence, arguing motions and conducting trials.  When working with other lawyers, students are exposed to every stage in the litigation process, including attending at examinations for discovery and mediations.

Did You Know?

City lawyers:

  • Challenged the constitutionality of Ontario’s Bill 5, which reducded the number of electoral wards in the City of Toronto from 47 to 25 mid-election in 2017, all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.
  • Defended challenges to City bylaws, including challenges to prohibitions against hookah smoking in cafes, the use of herbicides, the imposition of fees to reduce garbage, and taxation of advertising signs and billboards, including appearing before the Ontario Court of Appeal.
  • Represent the police in numerous types of proceedings, including human rights proceedings such as the treatment of transgendered persons during arrest, corner’s inquests, and in civil liberties litigation, including regarding the G-20 and the Occupy Toronto.
  • Intervened before the National Energy Board regarding public safety issues arising from the alteration of national oil pipelines.
  • Intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada three times in the last few years in cases involving the interaction between municipalities and federally regulated entities.
  • Defended major class-action claims, including claims arising from SARS, the Sunrise Propane explosion, and construction of the St Clair Streetcar Right of Way.
  • Enforce public health laws, including obtaining detention and treatment orders to stop the spread of serious communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV.

The Real Estate lawyers at the City of Toronto enjoy being part of a large and knowledgeable team dealing with diverse and sophisticated real estate transactions in a uniquely urban structure. We are continually building our City! Our work ranges from agreements with small landowners or tenants to highly complex transactions involving exceptionally valuable properties in the urban core and surrounding areas. It is not uncommon for our real estate lawyers to see their transactions trending on social media, in the daily newspapers or on the local news stations.

As valued members of the Real Estate Law team, students will work with lawyers in providing advice to City Councillors, City Council and the City’s Committees, Agencies, Boards, Commissions and Divisions. Students will gain valuable practical experience through exposure to some of the following:

  • Negotiating and preparing legal documents for purchase and sale, expropriation, tax sales, easements, leasing, licensing and other property transactions, while ensuring compliance with bylaw and statutory requirements
  • Preparing bylaws for presentation to City Council relating to real estate transactions
  • Providing ongoing interpretation and advice to protect the interests of the City under existing real estate documents
  • Providing advice to various client groups regarding reports to City Committees and Council
  • Researching and drafting legal issues relating to real property
  • Apprising City Council and its Agencies, Boards, Commissions and Divisions of relevant changes in real property law affecting the City’s interests
  • Participating in meetings with Councillors and client groups

Under the guidance of the conveyancing team, students will learn about real property searches and title reviews for real estate transactions, property standards, and release of construction holdbacks. Students will also learn how to register documents for all types of real estate transactions, Planning Act and Heritage Easement agreements, bylaws, discharges, and road closings.

Did You Know?

City lawyers:

  • Deal with sales and leases of property on behalf of the City, the largest single owner of real estate within the geographical boundaries of the City of Toronto.
  • Work to revitalize City-owned or City-managed cultural hot-spots, such as the Brick Works, St. Lawrence Market, BMO Field and the Bentway.
  • Acquire stratified property rights for projects that vary from water infrastructure tunnels buried 150 metres below ground to various at-grade and above-grade City uses as we layer multiple uses on one parcel of land.
  • Work closely with the Provincial and Federal governments on large-scale projects such as the creation of the Rouge National Urban Park, the first of its kind in Canada.
  • Work with TTC and Metrolinx in the acquisition of hundreds of property interests for its transportation expansion projects.
  • Provide legal support to CreateTO, a City Board, to pursue City-building initiatives, including the affordable housing programme Housing Now.