Panelists give advice as LSO changes 2021 summer recruit timeline in response to COVID-19
On Tuesday, May 26, the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) released its new directive for the 2021 Toronto summer student recruit in response to the continuing effects of COVID-19. Here is a highlight of what incoming 2Ls can expect for the upcoming recruit:
- The recruit will be held during the Winter 2021 term.
- Schools will follow a staggered application process and will be divided into two groups (A and B) with different application deadlines. The University of Toronto Faculty of Law falls into Group B, along with Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Ottawa.
- The earliest application deadline for Group A schools is January 18, 2021. The earliest application deadline for Group B schools is January 25, 2021.
- On-campus interviews (OCIs) will be held between January 29, 2021 and February 22, 2021. All OCIs will be held remotely.
- Firms cannot contact applicants for in-firm interviews until 8:00 a.m. on February 22, 2021.
- In-firm interviews will take place the week of March 2, 2021.
On May 28, a panel of industry representatives and career experts organized by the Law Students’ Society of Ontario (LSSO) discussed the implications of these new procedures on the 2L summer recruit. The webinar panel comprised:
- Anna Decia-Guilatieri, Director of Career Services at the University of Windsor
- Chris McKenna, Manager, Student Recruitment & Programs at Bennett Jones LLP
- Angela Sordi, Director of Professional Recruiting at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)
Karen Mann, president of the LSSO, moderated the panel.
Here are the key points that were covered:
Grades
Multiple panel members underscored the fact that employers will continue to review applications holistically, and that in many ways 2L students will benefit from being able to submit their fall 2020 grades.
Sordi: Students should focus on the upside of being able to include their second-year grades. They can demonstrate to employers an upward grades trajectory, and they have the benefit of writing their 2020 fall exams with two seasons of exam-writing under their belts.
Decia-Guilatieri: If the recruit depended solely on grades, only the top 10–20% of the class would secure jobs — which is surely not the case. Now, more than ever, employers will be interested in adaptability, resilience, and emotional intelligence. Students are encouraged to use this time to fill in any gaps in their resume. Volunteering is a great way to show team building, character, and community outreach skills, which are just as important as academics.
What to Do This Summer
The consensus: not having a summer job is not the end of the world.
Sordi: Firstly, be kind to yourselves. Firms appreciate that for a lot of students, their summer has shaped up to look very different from what they originally imagined. Now is the time for students to demonstrate their ability to jump over obstacles and roll with the punches. Students can volunteer, take free courses online, and reach out to potential employers to see how they can be there for them. For students with summer jobs, employers will be looking for flexibility and patience as they have a first go at a virtual working platform. Lastly, remember that the conversation next year will be about what you did, not what you didn’t do.
Decia-Guilatieri: Everyone is going through the same pandemic. What differentiates you will be how you handle it.
Course Selection
Incoming 2Ls will be in the novel position of having completed one term of courses that they selected themselves by the time they submit their applications. Students should use this opportunity to demonstrate their interest in certain areas of law. Additionally, students should not let grade considerations dictate which courses they choose.
Sordi: Choose the courses you want to do, not the ones that look “good” on an application.
McKenna: That being said, firms may draw inferences based on course selection. For example, if a student applies to a boutique employment firm but takes no employment or labour law courses, it will reflect poorly on their interest in employment law. Students also should not choose courses for “easy” grades.
For example, if a student considering working in tax law takes a tax law course, recruiters will care less about what grade that student gets and more about the fact that they were interested enough to take the course. If a course like tax law interests you, don’t shy away from it because you expect a better grade in Basket Weaving 101.
Decia-Guilatieri: Students should also not avoid courses with clinics or externships just because they offer no grades. A clinic may be one of the most important experiences you have in law school — now more than ever.
The Implications of a Staggered Application Process
Consensus: the new staggered procedure will not disadvantage anyone, whether they belong to Group A, whose deadlines are one week before Group B, or Group B, whose applications will be reviewed after Group A’s.
McKenna: The benefit of having staggered deadlines is that employers get more time to review everyone’s applications. If all applications were due on January 25, that would only leave about a week before OCIs for employers to review the applications and connect with the students they intended to interview, and for students to decide whether or not they accept the OCI and familiarize themselves with the virtual OCI process. Under such a time crunch, the review process would become highly grades-based. A staggered process allows employers to review applications more holistically.
Networking in the Time of COVID-19
Sordi: The way in which we approach networking has definitely changed. In many cases, it will be impossible to continue with in-person coffee talks, firm tours, and large networking events. However, students are encouraged to reach out to firms and upper years for virtual meetings. Many employers will be more than willing to meet via online platforms like Zoom, which has its own conveniences over in-person chats. At the same time, employers are thinking of ways to engage students and offer networking events on virtual platforms.
Interview Logistics
OCIs:
McKenna: If technical issues arise on the day of an OCI and an interview cannot proceed as originally scheduled, the new rules provide for make-up days.
In-Firms:
Sordi: Additionally, students who made commitments (e.g. for international clinics) for the Winter term before the LSO announced the new recruitment timeline, will be able to work something out with the firm — whether that means being interviewed at an earlier date or doing a remote “in-firm” interview. For students who do their “in-firms” remotely, employers will try to have interviewers participating in online interviews only do online interviews, so students doing virtual interviews are not compared with students doing in-person interviews.
Comments on the Concurrent 1L Recruit
The 2021 2L summer recruit will run at the same time as the 1L summer recruit. This, however, should not be a source of concern for either group.
Sordi: Just as they have in previous years, firms next year will generally try to fill the same number of positions. BLG, for example, hires approximately 20-24 2Ls and three to six 1Ls in the summer, and expect their numbers to be the same in 2021. 2Ls should not be worried about the concurrent 1L recruit. They are two separate recruits, just running in parallel.
Final thoughts
McKenna: The deferral of the recruit to the Winter semester should not be a source of stress. It’s a matter of allowing students to rehabilitate what might have been lost — whether in terms of academics or in terms of work opportunities. Students from the same school will still be treated in the same way, as they have been in previous years. We are all in this together.
Decia-Guilatieri: Do what you need to do — whether that’s networking, reflection, or application prep – but do it at your own pace.
Sordi: Block out the noise. Remember that the recruit is your own marathon.
Comments from webinar panelists have been edited and condensed for clarity and length. You can watch the full webinar video on the LSSO’s website.
