In recent years there has been a striking decline in the number of U of T students who recruit at New York law firms. The decline is baffling because New York has something for literally everyone: whether you want to build a career, experience (and become used to the smell of) the city, or whether you just want to skip articling.
This list isn’t just for 1Ls either. This fall, two 3Ls – both of whom had spent their 2L summers in Toronto – applied directly and were offered associate positions at Top 10 New York law firms.
10. The starting first year salary is US $160,000. Compare at CAD$75-87,000 articling in Toronto.
9. While on the subject, there’s no articling! Think it’s ridiculous to get stuck doing a first year’s work while being paid only $1450 a week? Yeah, me too. So why not choose that New York first year weekly rate of $3000? You get to call yourself an “attorney-at-law” immediately instead of spending 2 of 3 articling rotations in some practice area you aren’t actually interested in.
8. The best part about skipping articling is that you will have avoided it for good. As long as you work 10 months in New York after passing the bar exam there, you can get your articling requirement waived upon your return to Ontario. Contrary to popular belief, the NY bar isn’t even that tough – and many students write both the Ontario and NY exams during 3L summer.
7. Since the Americans and Brits are inevitably going to take over all of our law firms, you might as well join a prestigious US White Shoe firm in advance. Much better than being blindsided as a 2nd year Toronto associate when your firm rebrands as 6000-lawyer “international” firm that no one has ever heard of.
6. Associate lunches. As the name implies, associates take summer students out to lunch. These have several implications. First, as a summer you may get anywhere from two to an unlimited number of these per week. Most firms have a budget of $50 per person. Second, as an associate, for 10 weeks every year, you get to take out summers for lunch and be fully reimbursed by the firm. As a result, if the associate mentions that she will pay and her air miles in the same sentence, then she is hinting that everyone should try to reach the $50 per person budget. With associate lunches usually consisting of 4-6 people, the air miles can add up quickly over 10 weeks.
5. Although arguably harder to make partner in the US, those who do will be rewarded handsomely. One New York-based U of T alum had an easy explanation for why his firm does not have a Toronto office: “because it wouldn’t be profitable enough.” Several firms that interview our students have average yearly profit of over $3 million a year.
4. By the end of law school, you’ll have spent 3 years building a network in the Toronto legal community, so why not branch out and build a network in New York? Though you might not stick around New York long enough to make partner, eventually your colleagues there will. When they need Canadian legal counsel, they’ll know who to call.
3. Rumors fly that NY hours are unbearable. In reality, however, this isn’t 2007. The corporate legal market is not as hot as it used to be, and as a result those soul crushing hours are gone too. While it would be a mistake to assume that the hours are equivalent, the reality is that certain Canadian firms work juniors just as hard. And unlike in Toronto, when you get off work at 11 pm, the entire city is still hopping.
2. All of the New York firms that interview U of T students have major international footprints. If you are looking to work in a different country, this is your chance. If you had been counting on the international presence touted by each of the Seven Sisters, you haven’t been doing your due diligence (lawyer fail). Those firms’ international offices practice mainly local law, which means that as a Canadian lawyer, you are useless. There just isn’t sufficient demand in places like London (UK) or Hong Kong for Canadian firms to have a full group of Canadian lawyers. New York-based firms, however, staff TONS of New York-qualified lawyers in their international offices.
1. Alcohol is cheaper, which means that if you ever have free time you can bathe yourself, Chris Bosh style, in Veuve Clicquot.
