Another recruit comes and goes
For the last 24 years, Ultra Vires (UV) has reported on the annual Toronto recruit for 2L summer student positions. In recent years, UV has likewise collected data on the Calgary, Vancouver, New York, and Ottawa intellectual property recruits. UV publishes this data in an effort to create transparency for those who choose to participate in the recruit process, with the hope that students feel more informed in their decision-making.
Last year, UV added two metrics to our recruit statistics: the number of on-campus interviews (OCIs) and in-firm interviews conducted by employers. This year, we’ve brought in another metric: the number of applications received by each employer. We hope the addition of these data points will provide students with a more fulsome picture of the recruitment process.
In this special edition of UV, you’ll find the long-awaited Calgary, Toronto, and Vancouver Summer 2023 2L recruit numbers, anonymized feedback on the Toronto recruit process from our students, demographic data, and more. Like last year, U of T Law ranked first for the percent of 2L hires in the Toronto recruit, with 37.74 percent of the Class of 2023 securing a summer position.
The recruit is often framed as the only path to gainful employment and students face immense pressure to both participate and be successful. The prestige of a Bay Street position, the tremendous financial constraints caused by outrageous tuition fees, and the general law school culture can draw students into the process. But, the recruit is not the be-all, end-all. You do not need to participate in the recruit to find a fulfilling job. You do not need to succeed in the recruit to have a rewarding legal career.
We recognize that the UV recruit special reinforces the fiction that the recruit is a requisite to the law student experience. We remind readers that each year, many students do not find jobs through the recruit and later find work in academia, in-house, government, boutique firms, legal clinics, and public interest organizations.
To balance the recruit-centric narrative, we’ve included content from students on the inequity of the recruit and tips for juggling the process with school. We’ve also republished an article from the UV archive written by a previous law student (now lawyer) who “failed” the recruit, but was able to find “success” through alternative hiring processes. We likewise encourage readers to see Justin Nathens’s (2L) article from the October issue on why he chose not to pursue the recruit, as well as similar pieces in the 2021 November recruit edition.
Last, but not least, we’d like to thank our Volume 24 team for their hard work putting this issue together. A special shout-out goes to our Recruit Editor, Hussein Fawzy (3L), and Recruit Reporters, Janice Fung (2L) and Jeffrey Liu (2L), for reaching out to employers, compiling survey data, crunching numbers, and putting it all together in the articles you see here. We’d also like to thank Jennifer Sun (3L) for lending her visual chops to our cover art and recruit graphics. Thank you to the employers who took the time to respond to our requests, and in doing so, supported our venture for transparency. Finally, a massive thank you to all the students who took the time to share their experiences with us after a long and tiring process. We appreciate your honesty and vulnerability. No matter the outcome of this particular process, it’s all going to work out. We’re proud of you.
Mental Health Resources:
- Supporting a student in distress: studentlife.utoronto.ca/service/faculty-support-for-responding-to-distressed-students/
- U of T MySSP is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via telephone, video, or chat in multiple languages
Students can contact:
- The Health and Wellness Centre (M–F, 9am to 4:30pm): 416-978-8030, or visit the Student Mental Health Portal online
- CAMH 24/7 Psychiatric Emergency Department: 1051 Queen St. W, or call 416-535-8501
- Talk Suicide Canada helpline: 1-833-456-4566
- See also: ontario.cmha.ca/documents/are-you-in-crisis/; camh.ca/en/suicide-prevention/get-help
