At least 37 U of T students secured work in NY
Every year, numerous New York law firms search for new talent to fill their student cohorts from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. This year’s recruit was particularly promising, with reports from students that firms continued to interview and hire as late as October 1, well past the Career Development Office’s (CDO) official OCI date of July 23. In addition, law firms interviewed and hired students who did not participate in the official OCI recruit, instead applying through the resume collect request that was sent in September.
Fifty-three students responded to Ultra Vires’ informal survey. In a self-reported survey, thirty-eight students attended OCIs or screening interviews, thirty-five students attended call-back interviews, and thirty-five students secured a 2022 summer associate position. In addition, Sullivan & Cromewell LLP indicated to the CDO that two more students will be joining their summer program, raising the total estimate of students who have received NY offers to 37.
Most of the successful candidates who responded to our survey were 2L students (28), constituting a whopping 13.2% of the 2L cohort. The remaining successful candidates were in 3L or 4L. Two students did not declare their year. Of the thirty-five total offerees that responded to our survey, twenty-four were JD-only students while eleven were combined-degree students.
| Law Firm | Number of U of T Students Hired |
| Sullivan & Cromwell LLP | 10 |
| Kirkland & Ellis LLP | 5 |
| Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP | 3 |
| Sidley Austin LLP | 3 |
| Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP | 3 |
| White & Case LLP | 3 |
| Cooley LLP | 2 |
| Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP | 2 |
| Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP | 2 |
| Latham & Watkins LLP | 1 |
| Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP | 1 |
| Shearman & Sterling LLP | 1 |
| Undecided | 1 |
| Total | 37 |
U of T Law students welcomed the high demand for legal talent in New York, as reflected by the results of this year’s recruit. One student shared this hopeful note to encourage others to apply: “I had very average grades. (2 Hs across all of 1L), and still received many interviews in New York (6+), so I would highly recommend students apply regardless of what they feel their academics are.” This message was echoed by other candidates as well, “I was unsuccessful in the 2L NY recruit, but I have just been hired in the 3L recruit, which means I never summered in NY but will start as a first-year associate in 2022 with the class of 2022.”
The demand for U of T Law students continued well past UV’s informal survey collection. According to Director of the CDO, Neil Dennis, “Based on my office’s numbers thus far we should have approximately 36 2Ls heading to NY and Boston this summer (and counting since not everyone has filled out our online form). That’s around 15% of the class (a 5% jump from what we historically see).”
Commenting on the rise of U of T Law hires, Dennis noted that, “this is a testament to the extremely talented students we admit to U of T and the high-performing alumni that graduate and excel in the field.”