Fasken’s more than 900 lawyers, in ten offices across three continents, are always ready to navigate legal challenges and capitalize on business opportunities for our clients. As a leading international business law and litigation firm, we offer experience and expertise across a number of countries and across a wide range of industries and practice areas to suit the needs of organizations worldwide. Clients rely on us for practical, innovative and cost-effective legal services. We advise corporate clients, government agencies, regulatory authorities, non-profit bodies and individual clients. We solve the most complex business and litigation challenges, providing exceptional value and putting clients at the centre of all we do.
We pride ourselves on a collegial, respectful, team-oriented atmosphere, and recognize that who we work with is as important as what we do. The valued members of our firm share a commitment to serving clients, the profession, and the larger community.
Vancouver Student Program
At Fasken, we seek to attract and retain the best talent and legal minds. Our students and lawyers are supported by a team of equally talented and committed administrative staff who work in a high performing environment that emphasizes collaboration and an entrepreneurial spirit. Our firm culture supports and encourages diversity inclusion and equality, and a commitment to community. We invest in our people to provide a challenging and stimulating place to work and grow.
We are committed to our students and place considerable emphasis on our student program, recognizing that the best way to guarantee our continued success is to recruit, nurture, and provide opportunities for our young lawyers to learn and develop. Our student program provides a learning experience that will challenge you and help you develop skills to bridge the worlds of law school and legal practice. As part of our collaborative approach, we work with you to discuss your goals and objectives and offer the opportunity to gain experience in a variety of areas.
Mentorship is a pillar of our success. Each student is assigned a principal and a mentor to act as a support and resource for students as you become familiar with legal practice. Summer students are also provided with an articled student mentor “buddy” as an additional support to help you navigate the student experience. Our Student Committee, along with the Senior Director, Manager, and Advisor of Legal Talent, check in regularly to ensure that students are receiving interesting work, meaningful experience and valuable feedback.
Open House Firm Tour | Summer Program | Articling Program | Salary & Benefits | Evaluation & Feedback | Social Events | Diversity & Inclusion | How to Apply & What to Expect | Fasken's Approach to Student Recruitment | Student Committee | Testimonials
Open House Firm Tour
We invite students from all law schools who are participating in the upcoming Summer Student (2027) recruit to drop-in to our annual in-person open house event (PDF) on June 9, 2026. Come and meet our friendly lawyers and students, and discover what makes Fasken unique. You’ll have the opportunity to learn more about our student program, key practice areas, and our commitment to EDI and our community. We look forward to seeing you!
Please note, we do not currently have any vacancies for articled students, therefore we will prioritize registering incoming 2L students who have not previously attended a firm tour. Spots are limited so register early here.
Summer Program
Following your second year of law school, our summer program will offer you a learning experience that adds context and practical experience to what you learned in law school. The absence of formal rotations during the summer allows our students to gain experience in a variety of areas, with flexibility to focus on work in a particular area of interest. Summer students are assigned one or two major projects during the summer. You will also have the option to participate in a 3-4 week secondment with a client or at one of our other Fasken offices. Our summer student cohort typically includes 8-10 students.
Articling Program
Our goal is to ensure that your articles provide you with the requisite experience and training to ensure your future success as a lawyer. During your articling term, you will become an integral part of our legal team and work on major projects in various areas of law. We meet regularly with individual students to ensure you obtain an experience that matches your career objectives. Our articling program includes four rotations: business; litigation; labour, employment & human rights; and junioring. These rotations are designed to provide you with an opportunity to build core legal skills and gain experience in a variety of areas as you assess your areas of focus for your future career in law.
As an articled student at Fasken, you can expect to:
- receive comprehensive training and support towards your professional development and success;
- work directly with clients;
- gain hands on experience by running small claims files;
- draft court documents, including pleadings, motion materials and factums;
- attend motions, examinations for discovery and mediations; and
- be integrated into files as a valued member of the Fasken legal team.
Our articled student cohort usually includes 8-12 students. Articled student positions are typically filled by returning summer students; however, from time to time, the firm hires additional articled students.
Salary & Benefits
Our students are remunerated at a competitive level in the downtown Vancouver legal market. We pay the Law Society of British Columbia enrolment fees (including the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED) bar admission training program/Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP)). Our articled students receive extended health benefits, and our summer students who return to article with us receive a third-year tuition bonus.Evaluation & Feedback
Performance evaluations are an important part of ensuring that our students become excellent lawyers. Formal evaluations are completed once during the summer and twice during articles and are designed to give you feedback to help you learn where you are excelling and what areas of your work need improvement. We also help you create a plan for developing your skills in any area that needs additional resources and learning.
Social Events
At Fasken, we have a number of opportunities for students to get to know each other and socialize with other members of the firm in a more casual setting. Our social activities are intended to assist students with their integration into the firm and to foster our open and supportive environment.
Social events have included activities such as kayaking, attending a Vancouver Canadian’s baseball game, a day at Playland, participation in the Hoop Law charity basketball tournament, participation in the VBA ski race in Whistler and the VBA softball league, as well as a student committee BBQ in the summer and New Year party, amongst other activities.
Diversity & Inclusion
Fasken is committed to diversity and inclusion in all that we do. A diverse workplace is comprised of individuals with unique backgrounds and identities. At Fasken, we continuously strive to create an equitable environment where individuals are respected and welcomed for who they are. Click here to find out how Fasken Vancouver is working to achieve these goals.
Members of Fasken’s Student Committee go through unconscious bias training annually, with the goal of attracting and hiring a diverse group of talented students. We incorporate set questions into our interview process, to ensure a fair and effective process for all candidates. We look for ways to connect with diverse students throughout the year and are always happy to connect with students that have an interest in our programs.
How to Apply & What to Expect
Fasken adheres to the recruitment guidelines put in place by the Vancouver Bar Association (“VBA”). We are committed to helping students choose whether articling with us is a good fit, without applying undue pressure on students during the student recruitment process. Our aim is to be as transparent as we can and provide students with ample opportunities to connect with members of our firm.
Please refer to the VBA website for application deadlines. For summer student positions, please note your law school will set additional internal deadlines for on-campus interviews.
We request that all applications be submitted through the viRecruit Portal. Applications should include a cover letter, resume, copies of official undergraduate and law school transcripts, as well as a GPA calculation. Upper year course lists and reference letters are optional. We do not require a writing sample.
Applications should be addressed to:
Fasken
Karen Jung, Legal Talent Manager
2900 - 550 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 0A3
Please review our resume and interview tips guide here(PDF).
Fasken’s Approach to Student Recruitment
At Fasken, we want you to feel comfortable in your decision to choose us. When we say we follow the VBA guidelines, we mean it. We will not pressure you and we will respect your time. This means, once we know we are not going to move forward with a candidate, we let them know as soon as possible. We believe all students deserve to have a positive recruitment experience and choose the best law firm for them.
We are committed to continually enhancing our recruitment process. The guidelines below give a general overview of the typical student recruitment process; however, the experience can vary from year to year.
- Fasken accepts student applications exclusively through the viLaw portal. We aim to have all applications acknowledged within two business days of receipt. If you need to amend your application after it has been submitted, or have questions regarding your application, please email our Legal Talent Advisor, Amber Dutt.
- Fasken sends Intention to Call Emails.
- For your first in-firm interview, please plan to be at the firm for one hour total. Each candidate will first meet with two of our lawyers for approximately 30 minutes. This is followed by an office tour with one of our articling students for approximately 15 minutes. For scheduling purposes, please note that we schedule our interviews on the half hour (e.g. 8:30am, 9:30am, etc)
- Our follow-up interviews may include a meeting in the office, at a downtown coffee shop, or over a meal. As candidate preferences and availability vary, we offer flexibility in our follow up meetings. For scheduling purposes, please note that our lunches start at noon, and dinners start at 6:30pm. Our goal is for our lunches and dinners to be comfortable and engaging. Since we are mindful in our pairings and lawyer availability may change, we will confirm with whom you will be dining on the day of your meal. We are also pleased to provide candidates with an Uber voucher for a ride home on us after any dinner. While we may pre-book some meals, we provide further meal invitations after first interviews have taken place.
- We encourage students to contact Karen Jung and Amber Dutt following their first interview if there is a specific lawyer they wish to meet, a specific practice group they wish to learn more about, or if they have any questions at all regarding where they stand in Fasken’s decision-making process.
- Throughout interview week, we are committed to being as transparent as the VBA guidelines allow. Prior to the designated offer call time set by the Law Society of British Columbia, we will not make advance offers or provide an indication that an offer will be made (except where permitted within the pilot program surrounding first choice declarations by students). We are committed to letting students know once they are no longer being considered for an offer.
Student Committee
Our Student Committee is comprised of lawyers across various practice groups. The student recruitment process is managed by our Legal Talent team, who are happy to discuss the student program with prospective applicants. Students can also reach out to any member of the Student Committee directly.
Karen Jung, Legal Talent Manager
[email protected]
604-631-3529
Pamela Cyr, Senior Director, Legal Talent
[email protected]
604-631-2744
Amber Dutt, Legal Talent Advisor
[email protected]
604-631-4886
Tariq Ahmed, Chair, Student Committee
[email protected]
604-631-4983
- Matthew Allard
- Kristian Arciaga
- Sarah Batut
- Tara Bishop
- Shelby Boehm
- Lars Brusven
- Jessica Campbell
- Katie Chandler
- Annie Chen
- Roy Cotton-O’Brien
- Hardeep Gill
- Danika Kotylak
- Jonathan Lim
- Kaleigh Milinazzo
- Paige Mueller
- Jennifer Nguyen
- Geoff Pedlow
- Mark Pontin
- Niall Rand
- Elizabeth Reid
- Zach Romano
- Adrian Wan
- Mary Wallace
Testimonials - Hear from our Current and Former Students
“My summer and articling experience at Fasken was enriching. I had the chance to work on diverse and challenging files, from attending court proceedings to engaging in complex transactions, all while receiving guidance from experienced lawyers. The firm's commitment to diversity and inclusion has been evident throughout my time here, with initiatives like the Empower Network, an affinity group for racialized lawyers at Fasken. The collaborative environment, coupled with the opportunity to learn from a talented team, has been instrumental in shaping my legal career. I am grateful for the mentorship and look forward to continuing to build my career as an associate at Fasken.” ~Kulshan Mahal
“My summer at Fasken was an incredibly rewarding experience. I had the opportunity to work with lawyers across a range of practice groups, including litigation, natural resources, securities, and technology, which gave me valuable hands-on exposure and helped me see how different areas of law intersect in practice. From legal research to contributing to major transactions, I was consistently given engaging work that developed my skills. A highlight of my summer was a secondment with Canucks Sports and Entertainment, where I gained invaluable insight into the role of in-house counsel and the unique legal issues involved in supporting a major sports organization. Throughout the summer, I felt supported by the lawyers, staff, and fellow students, whose mentorship and collegiality made the experience truly meaningful. I look forward to returning to continue learning and growing with the team.”
~Jay Joshi
“My summer articling experience at Fasken allowed me to engage in interesting work, collaborate with supportive lawyers and staff, and learn more about a diverse range of practice areas. From attending chambers applications and examinations for discovery to contributing to complex corporate transactions, I was given multiple opportunities to gain hands-on experience. I also had the opportunity to complete a client secondment, where I learned about the unique issues a leading social media company faces and gained insight into the role of corporate counsel in solving them. I look forward to returning for articles and continuing to learn from the team.” ~Brittany Betts
“I am fortunate to have spent my summer at Fasken where I had the opportunity to work on exciting files which involved attending court proceedings, mediation, and client meetings. The mentorship I received from lawyers was invaluable, as was the support and guidance provided by Fasken’s highly skilled team of librarians and staff. Sharing this experience with a warm and collegial student cohort made for an exceptional summer. I am so thankful for this opportunity and look forward to returning to complete my articles.” ~Zoe Capps
“From my first day as a summer articling student, the lawyers and staff at Fasken demonstrated their commitment to helping everyone succeed. I was given the opportunity to participate in interesting and challenging tasks while being treated like a colleague at every step of the way. Fasken also offers secondment opportunities to summer articling students, which allowed me to gain invaluable experience and engage with some of the firm’s clients. I look forward to returning to complete my articles and continuing to develop my legal career at Fasken.” ~Michelle Paguia
“At Fasken, students are given the opportunity to work on a wide range of exciting files while being challenged and supported in equal measure. The lawyers are talented and dedicated to educating students. The staff are approachable and incredibly helpful. It is a firm that rightfully takes pride in the quality of its people and work. I feel fortunate to have begun my legal career at Fasken.” ~Will Andrews
“I had a tremendous summer at Fasken. With its abundance of resources and helpful lawyers, I found the firm to be an excellent place to begin my legal career. I had the chance to do a variety of research and writing assignments for associates working on interesting and complex litigation files. The opportunity to work at a large private firm provided me with context and experiences that equipped me for a successful third-year of law school. Fasken is a social and vibrant place, too. I learned a lot during social events and one-on-one meetings over coffee. I’m grateful for the mentorship and support provided to me by Fasken’s lawyers, librarians, and professional development team.” ~Pardeep Birak
“During my summer articles at Fasken, one theme that I noticed is the Firm’s commitment to supporting students. The Firm consistently sought feedback from the students about our experiences throughout the summer, and actively supported each student to make sure that we were all getting the most out of our summer. Mentoring is also a huge deal at Fasken. Whether it is through the official mentoring program or receiving guidance from the many lawyers who will happily spend time with students, it is very apparent that Fasken is truly committed to mentorship. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from great mentors and fellow students and I have no doubt that my summer experience provided a solid foundation for the start of my legal career.” ~Peter Cheng
