Click here to view our 2018 Recruitment Special.
Shortly after in-firm week in November, Ultra Vires gathered survey responses from U of T Law students who were eligible to participate in this year’s Toronto OCI process. Ultra Vires conducts a survey of this nature every year in an effort to promote transparency around the hiring process and to gain valuable insight into the 2L class.
The questions covered a range of topics, from basic demographics, to the outcome of the recruit, to whether or not Trump was discussed during interviews (he was, 41% of the time). All information contained in this report is based on the answers to those questions.
As noted in our November preview, the hiring numbers proved more heartening than in recent years. The majority of Canadian law schools for which we collected data experienced an increase in the number of students hired on Bay Street. (For comparison, see previous Ultra Vires articles “Bay Street Hiring a Bloodbath This Year,” from 2013, or last year’s “Recruitment Special Feature: Bay Street Hiring is Down. Like, Way Down.”)
While the quantitative data is indicative of a relatively prosperous year, the qualitative data provided an earnest check on optimism. This was not surprising, given the rigours of the process and the fact that the survey responses were submitted immediately after arguably the most intense seventy-two hours of law school. For the sake of nuance, we’ve included two more personal accounts written by students reflecting back on the recruit experience.
We hope that current and future students will find this information useful. This comes with an important caveat: this report is not meant to provide any indication of what grades students should or should not aim to have going into the recruit. A stellar transcript is not your ticket to Bay Street; it is neither necessary nor sufficient. Just so we’re perfectly clear, yes, you absolutely can get a job through this recruit with all Ps. As you head into your next exam season, remember that the most important part of your résumé is you. Take care of yourself, first and foremost.
Thank you again to all who took the time to complete our survey!
This recruitment special was produced by Kyle Jackson (2L, JD/MBA), Chloe Magee (2L) & Honghu Wang (1L). They would like to note that they do not necessarily endorse the views expressed by students in this feature.
