Court of Justice / Information For... / Law Students

ALBERTA COURT OF JUSTICE ARTICLING PROGRAM

Each year, the Alberta Court of Justice offers articles of clerkship in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Grande Prairie. The Court of Justice’s articling program offers a unique and valuable opportunity for students-at-law to observe and participate in the administration of justice from the perspective of the judiciary.

Students will work with a variety of Justices and see the law in operation on the “front lines”. Students will gain insight into the judicial decision-making process, acquire experience in a range of areas of law, observe proceedings at all levels of Court, and hone their research, analytical, and writing skills.

ARTICLING PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Each student-at-law is assigned to an individual Justice, who is the student’s Principal (the students in some jurisdictions have two co-Principals). However, students are encouraged to work with members of the Court in all three of the Court’s divisions: Civil, Family/Youth, and Criminal.

Students will work closely with the Court’s Legal Counsel, along with their Principal(s), to ensure they enjoy a varied and balanced workload. Legal Counsel will assist with reviewing and editing students’ work and improving their legal research and writing skills. The work assigned to students will include research and writing legal memoranda, observation of court proceedings, file and evidence organization, review and analysis of materials submitted by counsel, draft judgment review, assistance with presentations, and meeting with Justices to analyze and discuss specific cases and issues.

Students articling with the Court of Justice participate in a number of educational seminars, tours, and discussions on topics of interest to prospective lawyers. Arrangements are made to ensure that articling students attend in the Court of Justice, Court of King’s Bench, and Court of Appeal, and are exposed to a range of areas of law and types of proceedings, such as trials, docket court, preliminary inquiries, chambers, bail hearings, JDRs, and appeals. Students will also gain exposure to the Court of Justice’s specialized Courts, including Indigenous Courts, Drug Treatment Court, and Mental Health Court. Students are encouraged to visit and observe proceedings at a variety of Alberta Court locations.

Students are provided with the orientation and training necessary to complete their assignments and to effectively employ research resources, including by working with the Court’s judicial librarians. Articling students will find the Court of Justice atmosphere to be collegial, team orientated, and supportive.

The Court of Justice is committed to working to provide a culturally relevant, restorative, and holistic system of justice for Indigenous peoples. Students working at the Court of Justice will learn about the Court’s Indigenous Justice Strategy and the various Indigenous Courts.

NUMBER & LOCATION OF STUDENTS

The Court of Justice will be hiring ten (10) articling students for the 2028/29 year: four (4) in Calgary, three (3) in Edmonton and one in each of Lethbridge, Grande Prairie, and Red Deer.

TERM OF ARTICLE & START DATES

Under the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta, a clerkship student must article for 15 months. It is expected that students will article for 10 months with the Court, followed by five months with an Alberta lawyer (at a private firm or in government).

If you are law student in their third year of law school who anticipates you will complete your firm articles prior to joining the Court, you are still invited to apply. Any necessary accommodations to the articling term will be discussed if you are selected for an interview.

Generally, students commence their employment at the Court of Justice at the beginning of June.

SALARY & BENEFITS

The salary for students is anticipated to be $3,187.13 biweekly.

Students are entitled to 8.33 days of vacation over the course of the 10-month article, as well as additional days off with pay for illness. Students are also eligible to participate in the Alberta government employee benefits program, which includes group life insurance, medical and dental benefits, and a health spending account.

Each articling student has an office in their respective courthouse.

The Government of Alberta pays for the Law Society of Alberta application and admission fee, and all PREP registration fees.

QUALIFICATIONS & APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Students who will qualify under Alberta’s Legal Profession Act, RSA 2000, c L-8 to be admitted to the Law Society of Alberta as a student-at-law may apply for these positions.

The Court of Justice seeks well-rounded students who are passionate about the work the Court of Justice engages in. Students should have strong legal research, analysis and writing skills, and be able to produce high-quality work under strict deadlines. The Court looks for students who are capable of working well in a cooperative and collaborative team environment.

Your application must include:

a cover letter;
all post-secondary transcripts (copies are acceptable);
a curriculum vitae;
one academic reference letter which comments on your legal research and writing skills;
The names of, and contact information for, two additional referees;
An unmarked sample of your legal writing (approximately five to 15 pages in length)

Offers of employment are conditional on the student passing a security screening.

HOW TO APPLY

The Court is now accepting applications for articling positions in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie and Red Deer for the 2028/29 year.

The Court must receive complete applications on or before the application deadline of December 1^st, 2026 at noon.

To apply, please click on the following link: COJ Articling Application Intake Form

You will be directed to fill out an intake form. Please ensure all the information is correct, paying careful attention to which Court locations you wish to be considered for.

Once you have submitted the online form, you will receive an email with further directions on how to submit your application. Please pay careful attention to the required naming conventions.

Once you have submitted your required documents, you will receive another email confirming that your application has been received. Only individuals selected for interviews will be contacted further.

Interviews are anticipated to take place in late January 2027.

NOTE: If you wish to be considered for more than one Court location, you have the option of submitting multiple cover letters, directed at each Court. However, you are not required to submit more than one cover letter if you are applying to multiple locations.

Applications can be addressed to the following Justices:

Calgary

The Honourable Justice A.A. Fradsham
Justice of the Alberta Court of Justice
Calgary Courts Centre
Suite 1903 – S
601 – 5th Street S.W.
Calgary, AB T2P 5P7

Edmonton

The Honourable Justice K. Palichuk
Justice of the Alberta Court of Justice
Law Courts Building
#1A Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB T5J 0R2

Red Deer

The Honourable Justice R.A. Snider
4810 48th Ave.
Red Deer, AB
T4N 1T8

Lethbridge

The Honourable Justice E. Olsen
Court House
320 4^th St., S.
Lethbridge, AB
T1J 1Z8

Grande Prairie

The Honourable Assistant Chief Justice R.B. Marceau
Justice of the Alberta Court of Justice
Peace River Courthouse
9905 97 Ave
Peace River, AB
T8S 1T4

FUTHER INFORMATION

For further information about the Court of Justice’s articling program, please contact Legal Counsel Nicole Rodych at nicole.rodych@albertacourt.ca; or Judicial Paralegals Tricia VanDyke at tricia.vandyke@albertacourts.ca or Deena D’Souza at deena.dsouza@albertacourts.ca

In addition, the following current students-at-law are available to answer your questions:

Other Useful Links:

ALBERTA COURT OF JUSTICE ARTICLING PROGRAM

ARTICLING PROGRAM OVERVIEW

NUMBER & LOCATION OF STUDENTS

TERM OF ARTICLE & START DATES

SALARY & BENEFITS

QUALIFICATIONS & APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

HOW TO APPLY

Calgary

Edmonton

Red Deer

Lethbridge

Grande Prairie

FUTHER INFORMATION

Calgary

Edmonton

Red Deer

Lethbridge

Grande Prairie

Alberta Court of Justice

Other Useful Links: