Manager, Student and Associate Programs- Toronto (Hybrid)

Description

With offices in Toronto, London, Strathroy, and Kitchener, Lerners LLP provides a full range of legal services throughout Ontario. Lerners maintains an attractive work environment with excellent support services and state-of-the-art technology. Lerners’ employees enjoy a fast-paced work environment and a supportive, collegial culture. Our positions are best suited to individuals who take pride in their work and understand the importance of exceptional client service.

Lerners is seeking a Manager, Student and Associate Programs to join the Professional Resources team. The successful candidate will report to the Director, Professional Resources and will be responsible for managing and supporting various aspects of the Legal Talent and Development function as it relates to the student program, associate programs, and broader professional development programs.

Primary Responsibilities:

The Manager, Student and Associate Programs will be responsible for managing the Student Program, the Associate Program, and Knowledge Management. This person will take on the below duties and also will assist with associated administrative and managerial tasks.

Student Program

• Managing and leading the firm’s student recruitment efforts, including promotion and outreach with law schools and management of all formalized student recruitment efforts including resume review and interviewing
• Managing and supporting summer and articling students to support their experience at the firm including on-boarding, orientation, training, mentorship, social events, work allocation, performance evaluation, coaching and career development guidance
• Overseeing the management of sponsorships and internships and the development of increased firm profile and engagement at the law school level
• Managing job postings and processing all applications
• Responding to email inquiries from students regarding summer and articling student recruitment
• Developing and maintaining relationships with universities, law schools, and other career development programs to further support the Firm’s student recruitment and training programs
• Coordinating orientation programs for articling and summer students which includes creating schedules and subsequent materials and assigning both junior and senior mentors
• Drafting offer letters/memos and creating and updating articling and summer students’ employment files
• Filing student documentation with the Law Society of Ontario
• Administrating performance evaluation processes for articling students and summer students using viEval, including but not limited to tracking completion of matter assignments and performance reviews and following up on outstanding feedback
• Coordinating events for the firm’s prospective students and associates (open houses, dinners) and current students and associates
• Organizing periodic social events and retreats
• Implementing events, communicating, developing invitation lists, distributing invitations, and tracking responses and to developing collateral and materials as needed
• Liaising with law schools regarding events, sponsorship opportunities, advertising, and career fairs
• Managing the budget for the students which includes student recruitment, tuition, and membership fees and seminars
• Performing other related duties as assigned

Junior Associate Program

• Supporting the Director, Professional Resources with lateral recruitment efforts including resume screening, interviews, and candidate outreach
• Managing and supporting our junior associates, including on-boarding, orientation, mentorship programs, social events, work allocation, engagement and retention, performance evaluation/management and coaching/development, counselling/mental health resources
• Drafting offer letters and memos and creating and updating associate employment files
• Initiating and set goals for associate and student programs according to the strategic objectives of the firm
• Coordinating the Associate Mentoring Programs (Peer and Partner), including maintaining a master list of all relationships, assisting in identifying possible peer and lateral mentor pairings, and conducting associate satisfaction survey
• Maintaining and updating the professional development components and associate policies on the Intranet
• Tracking internal and external continuing legal education attended by all lawyers

Knowledge Management:

• Assisting with program development for internal education programming
• Supporting the development of best-in-class curriculum for students, associates, and Non-Equity Partners
• Working to develop a roster of internal and externals speakers
• Working to develop a precedent database
• Work with the Director, Professional Resources, to obtain the firm’s LSO Accredited Provider Professionalism content status.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Law
• At least two (2) years of experience as a lawyer in a law firm
• Post-secondary education in Human Resources would be an asset
• A desire to build a career in legal talent management with demonstrated interest in, or previous experience supporting recruitment and professional development
• A minimum of 2 years of professional development experience would be an asset
• Strong people management and communication skills and a demonstrated ability to coach, counsel, train, and develop students
• Relationship building and leadership skills with an ability to motivate others and work collaboratively
• Developed project management and time management skills with an ability to prioritize, plan, and implement numerous projects, programs and special events
• A sense of ownership and accountability for projects and tasks
• Ability to handle sensitive enquiries with tact and maintain confidentiality
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy of work
• Strong analytical skills with proven problem solving capabilities
• Ability to work in a high-volume and deadline-driven environment
• Excellent administrative and organizational skills
• Flexibility to work overtime if requested

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should submit an application including an updated resume and cover letter to our career portal , or by e-mail to Lindsay Traves (ltraves@lerners.ca) by March 10, 2023. Successful candidates can expect a response by March 20, 2023. Due to the volume of applications, only successful candidates will be contacted.

All Lerners employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Benefits of Working at Lerners:

Working at Lerners is both challenging and rewarding.

Our skilled Learning and Development team provides training and continued support to all firm members. Lerners is proud to offer a competitive salary and benefits package:

Salary:

Commensurate with skill level and years of experience.

Benefits:

• Health, Extended Health, Dental and Vision care
• LTD insurance
• Life insurance
• Parking/Transit reimbursement
• RRSP matching program
• Paid Volunteer Time
• Referral Bonus
• Employee Assistance Program