Law Clerk, Real Estate [Municipal Planning, Land Use and Development]

Dentons is designed to be different. Our Firm leads the way in a rapidly changing legal marketplace. We challenge the status quo and deliver consistent results as well as uncompromising quality and value to our clients. Our global presence is renowned as a firm with over 21,000 individuals in more than 200 offices serving clients across 80+ countries.

Dentons Canada is committed to its people and communities. We are consistently recognized as an employer of choice having received numerous awards including being selected as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2026), Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2025), and Canada's Best Diversity Employers (2025).

This role is an opportunity for you to join Canada's Global Law Firm, a firm that offers opportunities to build your career while growing your skills and deepening your expertise.

POSITION SUMMARY

Our Toronto office is currently seeking a Law Clerk to join our Municipal Planning, Land Use and Development Group. The role requires a confident, collaborative, reliable and self-motivated professional who can manage a high volume of fast-paced and complex assignments, with an ability to adopt to shifting priorities and produce high-quality work product to meet deliverables under condensed timelines. The successful candidate will bring municipal, land use and development experience and project management skills, and be able to provide exceptional service to our internal teams and our clients.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Legal drafting, review and analysis

• Draft and review a wide range of legal documents and correspondence, including agreements, and client communications, ensuring that compliance with regulatory and internal standards.
• Review and analyze multifaceted technical reports and municipal approvals to support negotiation and drafting of legal agreements and documents.
• Coordinate or conduct title reviews and resolve related issues.
• Prepare and manage filings with the Ontario Land Tribunal, courts, councils, committees, and administrative tribunals, applying strong attention to detail, procedure and documentation standards.
• Define and clarify scopes of retainer, including appeals, agreements, easements, opinions, and miscellaneous municipal legal matters.
• Support internal legal team with project meetings for clients, consultants and internal team.
• Identify and escalate legal or operational risks recommending corrective actions to support resolution that provides appropriate resolution.
• Manage a high volume of complex legal matters, with an ability to monitor and manage multiple projects simultaneously at varying stages.
• Provide training, coaching and mentorship on various matters including legal drafting, client communications, project workflows, and best practices for the team, as needed.
  
  

Reporting and project management

• Support the overall functioning of the team from a project management perspective by overseeing processes, documentation, legal technology/training, and by developing and refining internal workflows, templates and best practices to enhance operational efficiency and client service delivery.
• Oversee deliverables and deadlines by engaging with internal teams and external stakeholders at all project phases (e.g., project initiation, planning, execution, delivery, control and close-out activities) and providing proactive recommendations.
• Oversee reporting, identify potential risk or problem areas, recommending risk management strategies and/or corrective action as required and supporting their implementation to ensure continued alignment with team, project strategy and client expectations.
• Oversee comprehensive and timely reporting across the portfolio, monitoring progress and performance against work plans and objectives; compiling and organizing timely statistics for annual reports and project overviews with accuracy; and recommending improvements as needed.

Requirements

• Law Clerk diploma from an accredited university or college (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
• Formal project management qualification (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2, Six Sigma, Lean or Black Belt) or demonstrated experience with project management.
• A minimum of 7+ years of experience as a law clerk with strong project management skills, ideally within a municipal, land use and development-related practice.
• Understanding of municipal planning, land use, and development law practice and procedure.
• Familiarity with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Railway Association of Canada’s Guide for New Development in Proximity to Railway Operations, the Province of Ontario’s Land Use Compatibility Guidelines (D-series), title registration, the Land Registry Office, and other real estate/conveyancing matters would be an asset.
• Proven ability to manage deadlines, maintain accuracy, and pay meticulous attention to detail in a high-volume, dynamic work environment.
• Experience with HighQ or software to support project management would be an asset.
• Reliable and adaptable to changing priorities, including being resourceful and proactively overcoming challenges to achieve objectives.
• Demonstrated excellence in service to clients and other stakeholders (including lawyers, municipal officials and cross-functional teams), with an ability to engage courteously and effectively through exceptional written and verbal skills.
• Strong team collaboration and leadership skills.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team, exercising autonomy while always working within the boundaries of any required supervision.

We thank all applicants for their interest; only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

At Dentons we are committed to offering equitable and competitive pay, aligning internal salary ranges for specific roles to similar positions in the external market. In the normal course, our practice is to hire, transfer and promote employees within the entry part of our range, adjusting as needed based on prior experience, skills and competencies required for the role along with any market differentials.

Recognizing our exceptional talent means providing a comprehensive total rewards package beyond a competitive salary. We have curated our employee benefits portfolio to offer inclusive and comprehensive wellbeing and developmental programs for our people. With extended benefits and mental health plans, paid time off, savings plans, fitness subsidy, parental leave top up and more, our benefits are flexible, aligned to our core values and supports the various needs of our people. Additionally, our personal and professional development programs include people networks, mentorships, and leadership series programming to help people grow their career.

Note: Availability of the benefits and perks may be subject to your location and employment type and may have certain eligibility requirements. Dentons reserves the right to alter these programs and offerings in whole or in part at any time without advance notice.

Equal Opportunity Statement

At Dentons Canada, inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) are not just ancillary values, they are foundational to our business. We believe that IDEA is essential to the shared success of our team and our clients. Our forward-thinking and inclusive culture supports the professional development of all our people, enhances the leading services we offer to our clients, and informs our commitment to make a positive impact in the communities where we live and work. As a testament to our commitment to IDEA, we have been recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employer’s for 15 consecutive years (2011-2025), as well as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People (2025) for the eighth time.

Dentons Canada is an equal opportunity employer, and we welcome your application. All employment decisions, including hiring, will be made without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, colour, creed, disability, ethnic origin, family status, gender identity, marital status, place of origin, race, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable human rights legislation.

We are committed to providing you with an inclusive, barrier-free, and accessible workplace to support your success. Should you require accommodation during the recruitment process, for example as a result of a disability, please contact us at careers.canada@dentons.com.