My experience during the recent summer recruit doesn’t make me feel like a U of T Student
Graduate students at any university are often more “distant” from the main population. From conducting unique and cutting-edge research in lieu of attending classes, to being a generally older demographic, graduate students tend to be separate. However, I contradict this notion. I am only 23 years old, and I am by no means conducting cutting edge research. I am in the Global Professional Master of Law (GPLLM) program. Here, there is no dissertation to undertake or hours teaching students. In fact, in the Canadian Law stream of the GPLLM, many of my classmates are older and already qualified lawyers in jurisdictions such as India, Brazil, and England.
To those of you who are unfamiliar with the process, undertaking this intensive program allows for Internationally Trained Lawyers (ITLs) to “convert” their experience and education to a Canadian one under the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA). To put it simply, we are most similar to 3Ls — once we graduate from the GPLLM, we will be able to sit the bar exams and begin articling. While it is possible to complete the NCA requirements on your own at nearly 1/10th of the cost, I elected to complete a master’s degree at U of T Law for the intellectual rigour as well as the reputation of the Faculty. It is no secret that U of T dominates Bay Street law firms and cultivates trailblazers in the legal profession in a variety of practice areas.
In the midst of applying for summer positions, I was shocked to learn that graduate students at the university are not permitted to be part of the U of T OCI process. Instead, we had to contact an external organisation to arrange our OCIs. If you are a JD student reading this, I hope I do not come across as trying to “steal” a coveted interview during the OCI process. At the end of the day, we are all part of the U of T Law “family” and we should be accorded the same opportunities. I experienced rejection from some firms which do not conduct OCIs with the external organisation but do conduct them with U of T students. It makes me wonder whether, if I could be a part of the U of T OCI process, I could have been granted an interview. During the interviews I did have, some employers were perplexed that I was not meeting with them during the U of T OCI process, despite being a U of T student — a sentiment I also share.
In the UTLC Resource Library, the 2L folder is filled with incredible resources, which are invaluable to a current student applying for summer positions. However, under the GPLLM folder there is only one file, a presentation from January 2018. Of course, it is possible to simply click on any other folder, however it seems unjust to me that we don’t have our own tailored and maintained resources since the inception of the program in 2017. However, to everyone that intends to practice law in Canada, having adequate information and support from the University is vital and expected.
Furthermore, I did not feel like I had the support of the Career Development Office (CDO) for mock interviews or general preparedness when going through the OCI process. When contacting current 3L students about their experiences at firms I was applying to, many were shocked to hear this. It seems that I have been navigating this complicated process by myself, much like a self-studying NCA student, undermining the value of the high tuition fees that the GPLLM charges. Virtual events by the CDO focusing on tips for the OCIs were held days before the U of T OCI process, but nearly two weeks after I had finished my OCIs. The information provided in that session was very useful and I wished it had run earlier, so all U of T law students could benefit from the CDO’s experience and expertise.
In my role as President of the Graduate Law Students Association (GLSA), I have faced numerous queries from students who are completely unaware of the nuances in drafting a cover letter for Canadian employers or tailoring their vast years of experience to a Canadian context. Yet, when contacting members of the CDO or faculty and career advisors within the graduate programs, we get slow or no replies.
The pandemic is a valid reason for the delay in replies, yet I can’t help but question the Faculty’s preparedness in managing graduate students. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for GPLLM students to apply for the coveted summer positions and gain invaluable Canadian legal experience was not flagged to us. We were left to crack the confusing code of the OCI process and research the best practices on our own. Many of my peers were even unaware that they could apply for summer roles. Discovering this through an email four days before the Group B deadline in late January simply did not leave us enough time to prepare a good application.
While many graduate students likely do not expect heavy hand holding to navigate the process. However, the distinct lack of support and direction from the Faculty was surprising to say the least. Apart from the recruit, we were not informed about the unique opportunities at the Faculty, such as resources for societies and extracurricular groups.
I feel like there is much more that can be done to ensure that we go on to have successful legal careers in Canada. A simple improvement to this system would have been proper direction to resources, and encouraging the CDO to work alongside graduate students to help us succeed. Dean Brunnée has been proactively holding listening sessions, while individual program leaders are now trying their best to inform us of opportunities. These are encouraging steps in the right direction and I hope that the future students in the Faculty’s graduate programs have access to the same level of support that JD candidates receive.
Editor’s Note: In a normal year, graduate students, many of whom are in one-year programs, would not have transcript grades available in time to participate in the Fall semester’s OCIs. Due to this year’s delayed timeline, they were able to participate.
