Death, taxes, and the annual recruit
In this Recruit Special, you’ll find 2024 2L recruit numbers for Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver, as well as numbers for the 1L Ottawa intellectual property recruit. Like last year’s special, this edition also includes more detailed information from 2L U of T students who participated in the Toronto recruit, including demographic details and their own comments on the process.
We recognize that UV’s annual recruit special reinforces the idea that the recruit is the most important event for law students, or that it is the only way to find gainful employment after law school. The data can be overwhelming, and it can make things seem more serious than they actually are. But year after year, our data also shows that students who do not find jobs in the recruit go on to find incredible positions that align with their passions and interests. Those positions are wide-ranging, including academia, in-house, government, boutique firms, public interest organizations, legal clinics, and more.
In this edition, we included stories of what previous students have done if they did not secure employment through the traditional recruit. We hope you can feel inspired by these real, amazing people who went on to do great things. For some levity, we have an article on students’ recruit blunders to show that this process can be a laughing matter. We also recommend reading Peeha Luthra’s (2L) article “Why I Did Not Participate in the 2L Recruit” from the October issue for another perspective; similar pieces have been published in previous years’ Recruit Specials.
We owe a huge thank you to our Volume 25 team for all of their work making this issue a reality. In particular, thank you to our Recruit Editor, Rebekah Kim (3L), and our Recruit Reporters, Sooyeon Park (2L) and Ammar Thaver (2L), for their tireless work creating this feature. We would also like to thank our Visual Coordinator, Rachael Gregoris (3L), for her incredible work on the recruit graphics and art. Thank you to all the employers who responded to our requests and, in doing so, contributed to the accuracy of this special and the transparency of the overall recruit process.
Finally, thank you to all the students who have shared their stories and experiences with us. We know the recruit is a difficult process with unique pressures and expectations, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your deeply personal experiences. As much as it gets said, it bears repeating that the recruit is not indicative in any way of your skills, your humanity, or your worth. It is merely a tiny moment in the journey of life, and we are so 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/ or camh.ca/en/suicide-prevention/get-help
