Articling Students

The deadline to apply for a 2024-25 Articling Law Student position has now passed.

We thank everyone who has applied – only those candidates who are selected for an interview, will be contacted.

TDS has 110+ lawyers and its head office is located in True North Square. We are a full-service law firm in Winnipeg with offices across Manitoba and in Saskatchewan. TDS has been ranked and recommended by Chambers Global and Benchmark Litigation and has been recognized as one of the top regional firms in the prairies by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. In addition, several of the firm’s lawyers are consistently recognized by Best Lawyers® in Canada and LEXPERT® as leaders in their respective practice areas.

We serve a variety of small and large, local, national and international clients. The practice of law at TDS is diverse, challenging and personally rewarding. Most of our lawyers restrict their practices to specific areas, while several carry on very broad practices. Further information on our 30+ areas of practice can be obtained from the Services section of our website.

Our Objective

Our objective in hiring students is to identify individuals who will join the firm, initially as Associates, and ultimately become our Partners. We hire students with the intention of developing them into excellent lawyers. The offers extended to students to stay on with the firm as Associates have historically reflected the firm’s objective to retain students who will carry on the firm’s tradition of excellence. Once kept on, our marketing group helps Associates to build their practice by offering a wide range of marketing and professional development support.

The Articling Year

We provide our students with extensive practical experience and regular exposure to clients and to other lawyers with the goal of developing strong legal and communication skills. Students are given the opportunity to work with lawyers in many different practice areas while, at the same time, the firm has the opportunity to assist the student in developing the foundational skills that are necessary to becoming a competent legal practitioner.

During the articling year, each student is assigned to a small group of lawyers who act as “principals.” Emphasis is placed on providing each student with principals who practice in the area(s) of law the student is most interested in along with a principal or two in different fields so as to allow for a diverse and varied learning experience. We believe that this is superior to a “rotation” system as it allows articling students the opportunity to maintain continuity with files and their mentors, while also fostering a collegial atmosphere among students.

Mentorship

Mentorship is a key value during the articling year and beyond. We give students an appropriate level of responsibility and ensure that they have the necessary assistance and support to be able to properly complete the work that they have been assigned. Regular meetings are held among our students and the firm’s Students Committee to provide feedback with respect to performance, in addition to the ongoing feedback received directly from principals. Our practice of open-door access to lawyers is just one feature of the firm’s collegial approach to the practice of law.

Salary and Compensation

Students usually commence their articles in mid-June. We pay our articling students a salary which is competitive with other large, downtown Winnipeg firms. The fees for PREP (the new bar admissions course) are paid by the Firm along with any Law Society practising fees and Call to the Bar fees for those students who are retained as Associates. Our Articling students are eligible to participate in the Firm’s group insurance benefits package, which includes health, dental and disability insurance coverage.

Ask Us

One of the primary purposes of the process upon which you are about to embark is to ensure that you receive complete and accurate information about the firms involved so that you can make an informed decision about where you would prefer to article.

For further information about articling with TDS, contact the Chair of the firm’s Students Committee, Stéphanie Tétreault, at 204.934.2342 or SMT@tdslaw.com. You can also visit our website.

One thing that distinguishes our Articling student program from other large Winnipeg firms is that we don’t do a rotation system. We have partners paired with students right from the outset and we feel as though that creates a better atmosphere for them to develop relationships with the senior people that they’re working with. There is no competition – you’re really just trying to do the best for yourself.

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Lisa Stiver, TDS Partner
Management Committee Chair and Business Law Practice Group Lead

TDS building patio

The Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP) by the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED)

We believe that it is important to both the student and the Firm that students devote the required time to PREP and the associated assignments. We consider attendance at the in-person segments to be compulsory and we make every effort to ensure that a student’s workload does not conflict with the requirements of the course. Many of the lawyers in our Firm have participated in the previous versions of the bar admissions course and recognize the demanding nature of PREP and its workload.

Professional Development Training

Along with frequent in-house seminars, TDS supports the attendance of students at outside CLE programs, including webinars and pays for their attendance at such programs.

Our Firm Culture

One of the advantages of working with a large firm such as TDS is that students benefit from having the opportunity to be involved with larger and more sophisticated clients. Some of our work transactions provide an opportunity to gain experience with matters involving other Canadian jurisdictions and our Manitoba-exclusive membership with Lex Mundi extends our reach internationally.

Certain myths exist among law students with respect to larger law firms, one being that larger firms are impersonal organizations. This misconception ignores the fact that law firms are comprised of individuals with differing interests and personalities. The lawyers in our firm strive to be approachable while making a conscious effort to provide any required assistance to students. At TDS, students have access to a broad base of experience and expertise.

Although we do not deny that we (together with all other firms) expect our students to work hard, we have many social, sporting and professional opportunities over the course of the articling year that facilitate relationship-building with our lawyers. Our firm has teams in the lawyers’ hockey, soccer and softball leagues. As well, a significant number of the lawyers in the firm participate in events such as the Manitoba Bar Association Golf Tournament, the Manitoba Marathon, and in cultural endeavours such as the Manitoba Bar Association/Manitoba Theatre Centre fundraising plays and musicals.

Our lawyers are active in the community as volunteers and board members of community organizations, such as: 

  • Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre
  • United Way
  • Humane Society
  • Dream Factory
  • Ronald McDonald House
  • Rainbow Stage
  • Family Centre of Winnipeg

Our firm also reflects the diversity of our larger community. We have lawyers who are active in the Portuguese, Italian, Jewish, Indigenous and Franco-Manitoban communities. Learn more about TDS’ community involvement.

When I was articling, people were very welcoming, and right from the get-go I felt like I was a part of the firm.

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Lewis Allen, TDS Partner
Former Articling Student 

Practice Building Support

During the first two years as Associates, focus is placed on the practice of law as well as on internal marketing with our Partners. After two years from the Call to the Bar, we encourage Associates to start thinking about practice building. At this time, Associates place a greater focus on external marketing and business development.

TDS has an extensive range of marketing and business development tools and resources. This support is available to all Associates and can be customized to each Associate’s needs. The goal is to provide all of the necessary tools, resources and support to our budding legal professionals.

Commitment to Diversity

One of our firm’s Core Values is that we value diversity and strive to reflect the communities we serve. In that regard, we encourage students who identify as an Indigenous person, a visible minority, a person with a disability, and/or a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community to apply. We also welcome students to self-identify their membership in these groups if they wish to do so.