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New York Summer 2023 Recruitment Results

At least 28 U of T students secured work in NYC

New York City skyline. Credit: Mishail Adeel

U of T Law students are no stranger to securing a coveted spot in the Big Apple. Last year’s New York recruit was remarkably promising, as 37 U of T Law students self-reported securing a position. Although this year did not match last year’s hiring explosion, at least 28 U of T Law students are nevertheless joining the other side of the border next summer. 

35 students responded to Ultra Vires’ informal survey this year, where 28 reported receiving an on-campus interview (OCI) or screening interview, 29 attended in-firm or call-back interviews, and 28 secured a 2023 summer associate position.

Most of the successful candidates who responded to the survey were 2L students (26), constituting 12 percent of the 2L cohort. The two remaining successful candidates were 3L students. Of the 28 total offers, 27 were JD students, and one was a combined-degree student.

Many students expressed their preference for the NY recruitment process over the Toronto recruit. Flexibility, in particular, was a common theme. Included below are comments from some of the 2023 New York recruit participants.

The NY recruit experience was significantly better than the Toronto recruit. Pre-OCIs, lack of first choice language, ability to network between screeners and in-calls, more possible interview dates, and more time to decide on an offer made the experience smoother.

[O]verall, the experience was approximately 1000000x better than 1L recruit, and I appreciated that the offers weren’t 24hr-exploding, so that I could actually ask real/meaningful/tough questions before making my decision. I also liked that I didn’t need to play the first-choice game.

It was kind of annoying that my offers theoretically expired after 21 days (which, in my case, was before OCI-route call-backs would have happened), but I think they are often pretty generous about extensions…I got my offers extended by a week because of course selection and just being busy with work.

Several students also commented on the importance of the pre-recruit period and networking outside the formal recruit.

I applied and got the job during the pre-recruit.

I secured my position through networking and applying outside the formal recruit.

[T]he pre-recruit is very important. I received 4 offers through the pre-recruit and ended up declining all of my OCI offers.

Keep your eyes peeled for opportunities if you are interested in working in New York! There are many more opportunities than just the official NY Recruit hosted by the school. Whether they be pre-OCI direct applications, or other field-specific applications (like Loyola for IP), try and do research ahead of time to maximize your chances of success if NY is your goal. Just something I wish I knew!

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