University of Ottawa maintains the lead
The Ottawa intellectual property (IP) recruit concluded on Thursday, October 31, 2024, with at least 16 students hired. Five firms participated, recruiting both 1L and 2L students. Four of those firms shared their results with UV.
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP hired the most students this year, with eight in total, a decrease from last year’s nine hires. Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) and Brion Raffoul LLP took second place, hiring four students each. Last year, Smart & Biggar LLP hired the second-most number of students, but they did not participate in the recruit this year.
Regarding school rankings, the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) had the most students hired from the Ottawa IP recruit, followed by U of T Law which came as a close second. According to our data, firms hired five uOttawa students, representing 31% of this year’s offers.
This year, UV asked about the number of applications each employer received and the number of interviews they conducted. In an effort to promote more transparency and informed decision-making, we hope this additional information will provide students with a clearer picture of how the recruitment process works.
As in previous years, UV asked firms to share the total number of students hired with a graduate degree and the total number of students hired with a background in science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics (STEM). There is a common belief that these qualifications can help students enter the IP law sphere. Although the sample size is too small to draw significant conclusions, of the 16 students hired, 15 had STEM backgrounds or graduate degrees. While Gowling responded that all 8 of their hired students had a STEM background or a graduate degree, they did not specify the number of students with a graduate degree and the number of students with a STEM background separately.
Editor’s Note: Visit ultravires.ca for the most updated spreadsheets with information provided by employers after the time of publication.
