What Surprised Me the Most as a Summer Student at Lerners

I, like many law students, entered law school with little (no) idea of where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do with my legal career. The one thing I was confident about was that I was not interested in working in a larger law firm. The stories I had heard about long hours, high stress, and unfulfilling student work had left an impression, and I didn’t think this was for me. However, as an avid mooter looking to pursue litigation and gain experience in as many areas of law as I could cram into my summer, it seemed like a traditional, larger law firm setting was the only way to achieve my goals.  

That was, until I saw a posting on Vilaw for a 2L summer student position at Lerners LLP. As I explored the firm, their own description stayed with me: “the excitement of a big Bay street firm (with) the comfort of close working relationships and the friendly atmosphere of a smaller workplace.”   

While I was still skeptical of this pitch, I was intrigued. Lerners also offered a non-rotational program in which students work on an assignment basis, allowing them to sample a much wider variety of work and rapidly develop their interests and skills. This seemed to align with my goals for a summer position. I applied, and over the past seven weeks, I have come to love the experience at a larger law firm. 

As a skeptic of the larger Toronto law firm environment, here are the things that surprised me most about working at Lerners this summer. 

Access to Resources 

In our first week of training, I was struck by the breadth of resources available to both students and lawyers at the firm. From extensive legal research tools to traditional materials such as physical texts and access to a dedicated law librarian, Lerners provides a well-rounded, highly supportive research environment. While relying on physical resources may seem foreign to law students of the digital age, I have found that working with law readers and building a strong relationship with the law librarian has been key to my success as a summer student at Lerners. Additionally, having access to document generation and a team to assist with document formatting has meant that legal drafting no longer includes the fumbling around with tables in Microsoft Word (as I am sure we all did while putting together our first back-page in law school). These resources not only help students be more efficient in their work but also help them quickly acclimate to the fast-paced environment of a large law firm. 

Access to People 

Another thing that has surprised me about working here this summer is how open associates and partners are to helping summer students develop their skills. Lerners’ summer student program has clearly been designed to develop summer students into lawyers who would thrive at their firm.  

The associates I have had the pleasure of working with remain in tune with the experience of being a summer student and are willing to walk you through the intricacies of tasks such as drafting pleadings, corresponding with opposing counsel, or anything else you need additional guidance on. Similarly, the partners I have worked with are willing to reciprocate students’ enthusiasm and effort by taking time to share lessons that can only be learned through years of experience. For example, in an arbitration I recently worked on, I witnessed the masterful examinations and cross-examinations by one of Lerners’ senior family law partners. Selecting evidence, framing questions, and timing objections are skills best developed by observing an experienced lawyer. They even took the extra step of explaining their strategies before and after the examination to support my learning.  

Additionally, the clerks and administrative staff are the unsung heroes of the summer student experience. The clerks I have worked with have not only been willing to share their experience and assist me with the tasks I have been assigned, but also to provide additional insights into how a lawyer may prefer something to be drafted or which filing rules a courthouse may be more inclined to enforce. Students can also rely on the administrative staff for assistance with navigating the firm's internal workings. 

Level of Responsibility and Variety of Tasks 

Finally, the thing that surprised me most about working at Lerners this summer has been the way students are integrated into the firm, and the level of responsibility they are entrusted with. Being a non-rotational program, you may find yourself working on a factum for a personal injury dispute one day and doing research on the impacts of AI on health law the next. This program allows you to develop your skills across different areas of law, while giving you opportunities to develop relationships with many lawyers at the firm. At Lerners, you do not feel like a student on a summer internship; you feel like part of the team. The level of responsibility students are given reflects this. 

For example, my involvement in the arbitration I mentioned above began as a research assignment I was given after I expressed interest in family law.  When I learned the research was for an arbitration, I was eager to get involved. One afternoon, I was plucked from my desk to help sort a load of evidence we had received shortly before the arbitration began, and before I could blink, I was embedded with the litigation team for the next three weeks. 

Admittedly, it was a lot. The hours were long, and the work was hard, but it was by far the most valuable learning experience I have had in my legal career so far. Getting to participate in an arbitration forced me to quickly familiarize myself with software and processes I might not have otherwise engaged with during my summer, learn to manage my time, and remain effective under the pressures of litigation. The payoff of seeing evidence briefs I had collected and assembled entered into evidence was enormous, and by the end of the three weeks, I felt like I was a far more capable advocate than when my summer began. 

Conclusion 

Coming into law school, I was apprehensive about working at a large law firm, and perhaps the most surprising thing to come from this experience was how misguided my apprehension was. The learning opportunities and variety of assignments I have had the chance to work on at Lerners have allowed me to develop my skills much more quickly than I could at another firm, and the guidance and mentorship I have received during my summer with Lerners have shaped me as an advocate in a way that I will carry for the rest of my career. 

Learn More 

Lerners will be participating in the 2027 Toronto 2L Summer Student Recruit. To learn more about the program, visit our website or connect with Tiffany Lau. We offer a personalized approach, with opportunities to meet one-on-one with students and lawyers to learn more about the firm.