Almost all students hired have STEM backgrounds
The Ottawa intellectual property (IP) recruit is a bit of an oddity. Recruiting largely 1L students, applications were due October 12, 2021, just mere weeks into many students’ first semester of law school. Following a quick interview week, the Ottawa IP recruit concluded with Offer Day on October 28, 2021. Five of seven participating firms shared their results with Ultra Vires.
A total of 19 students were hired through the Ottawa IP recruit, 13 from 1L and six from 2L.
For 1Ls, U of T Law narrowly took the top spot with five students selected, followed closely by Ottawa Law.
Only three of the five responding firms hired 2L students during this recruit cycle. Of the six 2Ls hired, half are from uOttawa.
Smart & Biggar LLP hired the most students in total, with four students from each respective year, consistent with their hiring numbers in previous years. Osler noted that they did not seek applications from 2Ls this year due to all their previous summer students returning for the upcoming summer.
New this year, we asked firms to share the total number of students hired with a graduate degree and the total number of students hired with an undergraduate degree in science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics (STEM). There is often the belief that in order to pursue a career in IP law, one needs these qualifications. Although the sample size is too small to draw any significant conclusions, of the 13 1Ls hired, five had graduate degrees and 12 had STEM backgrounds. Of the six 2Ls hired, four had graduate degrees and five had STEM backgrounds.
Editor’s Note: We will update our online spreadsheet at ultravires.ca to reflect any further information provided from employers after the time of publication.
