Forge Recruitment launched an exclusive training partnership with Intellek on May 1st, giving the Toronto firm something most competitors lack: the ability to certify candidates in legal software before submitting them for interviews.
The deal covers Ontario and British Columbia. It’s exclusive to Forge in those regions.
What changes is this: instead of sending law firms a CV and hoping the candidate knows NetDocs or iManage, Forge can now train them first, issue certificates, and submit proof alongside the application. The firm is essentially pre-skilling its talent pipeline using Intellek’s SkillsHub platform, which has served the legal industry since 1989.
“Clients are no longer just hiring resumes, they’re hiring outcomes,” said Joncarlo Bairos, President and CEO of Forge Recruitment. “This partnership allows us to stand behind every candidate we present with a higher level of confidence.”
Most recruitment firms identify talent and pass it along. Forge is now validating it before the first interview happens. The model addresses a persistent friction point in legal hiring: candidates who look strong on paper but require weeks of onboarding to become productive. Law firms lose billable time training new hires on document management systems, matter management software, and firm-specific workflows. Forge’s pitch is that they’ll deliver people who already know the tools.
The mechanics work like this. Candidates gain access to Intellek’s training library, which includes role-specific development pathways and certificated programmes covering Microsoft Office Suite, document management systems such as NetDocs and iManage, and legal technology applications including Litera, Lexis Nexis, and Clio. Forge identifies skill gaps during the screening process, directs candidates to relevant modules, and issues certificates tied to specific roles once training is complete.
For law firms, that translates to faster onboarding and reduced risk. For candidates, it creates differentiation in a competitive market—validated skills rather than self-reported proficiency.
Daryl Fitzpatrick, Chief Revenue Officer at Intellek, framed the partnership as something beyond revenue generation. “Intellek have been serving the legal industry for over thirty years and we’re continuing to find ways to serve this industry better,” he said. “I’m extremely pleased to announce this partnership with Forge Recruitment, because it’s not a partnership that simply looks to build our bottom line. It’s a partnership designed to improve technology competence within our shared industry, benefitting applicants at Forge, and the legal industry as a whole. As a big believer in social mobility, I’m proud that we’ve found a way to provide education to those who will benefit most.”
Intellek has operated as a global provider of legal learning technology since 1989, offering cloud-based and in-workflow training platforms to law firms and corporate legal departments. The partnership with Forge marks a shift toward embedding training directly into the recruitment process rather than leaving it to employers post-hire.
The arrangement gives Forge regional exclusivity across two of Canada’s largest legal markets. Ontario alone houses Toronto’s Bay Street firms and a sprawling network of mid-sized practices. British Columbia adds Vancouver’s commercial legal sector. Between them, the provinces represent the majority of Canada’s legal hiring activity.
What remains unclear is how quickly law firms will adapt to the model. Traditional recruitment still dominates the Canadian legal market, where hiring decisions rest heavily on credentials, references, and interview performance. Technology competence is assumed or tested informally. Forge is betting that verified, certificated skills will become a differentiator—proof that a candidate won’t need hand-holding through basic systems.
The timing matters. Legal technology adoption accelerated sharply during the pandemic, and firms that shifted to remote work discovered how many staff struggled with tools they’d previously learned through osmosis in the office. The gap between assumed competence and actual capability became expensive. If Forge can close that gap before placement, they reduce a significant source of post-hire friction.
For candidates, the access matters as much as the certificates. SkillsHub’s training library isn’t cheap if purchased individually, and many job seekers lack the resources to skill up independently. By embedding it into the recruitment process, Forge removes a barrier to entry—particularly for career changers or those re-entering the workforce after time away.
The model also shifts accountability. Traditionally, recruiters source and introduce; employers train and validate. Forge is now taking responsibility for the readiness piece, which raises the stakes. If certificated candidates still underperform, the firm owns part of that failure. If they excel, Forge gains leverage in a crowded market.
Whether the approach scales depends on uptake. Law firms will need to value the certificates enough to prioritise Forge’s candidates over others. Candidates will need to complete the training, which requires time and motivation before any job offer materialises. Both sides have to believe the investment pays off.
Forge Recruitment specialises in legal and accounting and finance placements across Canada, partnering with law firms and organisations seeking high-impact talent solutions. The firm operates from Toronto, where it competes with established recruiters who’ve dominated the legal hiring space for years. The Intellek partnership represents a clear attempt to differentiate through capability rather than relationships alone.
What’s certain is this: the line between recruitment and training just blurred. By the time Forge submits a candidate, the person won’t just claim to know Clio or Lexis Nexis—they’ll arrive with proof. Whether that proof translates to faster placements and longer tenures will determine if other recruiters follow the same path.
