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working in New York from a Canadian law school


friedpotato

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friedpotato
  • Law Student

Hi - if you've applied/been successful with applying for 2L New York firms: 

1) how did you format your resume? was it the same 2 page resume you sent out to Toronto firms? What was different? What did you focus on? 

2) which firms did you apply to and why? 

3) what is it like? what are the hours like? types of transactions? your colleagues? living in New York? 

4) did you networking with any associates/summer students? 

5) what was the interview like? any tips? 

6) do you have any tips? 

Thanks! 

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LegalPerson
  • Law Student

I'm currently in the middle of the NY recruit, though I do have a few interviews lined up already, so take what you will from my answers:

1) NY firms want 1-page resumes. I don't know which school you go to, but UofT has detailed resources on this kinda stuff on UTLC. Unlike Toronto OCIs, you can use 11-point font and smaller margins. You can also lump your unpaid and paid experience together in one section. Personally, I cut out one of my degrees for space and only included 3 work/volunteer experiences. I really focused on my highlights. This made sense for me. You'll have to figure out what makes sense for you.

2) I applied to 15 firms, all but one of which is in the v20. I chose my firms based on their excellence in litigation (since that's my preferred practice area), reputation, and summer program.

3) Obviously, I can't answer this.

4) I've spoken to 15-20 associates/summer students in the past month and a half. Some of these conversations have been more helpful than others, but overall I would say it was significantly beneficial. It really helps to get a lot of data from people who have done the kind of things that you want to do. For me, that was get a NY job, get a clerkship, etc.

5) I'll circle back and let you know!

6) If you just want to go to New York and don't have significant preferences, apply broadly (and early). There's very little harm in applying to many firms, especially since NY firms apparently don't care much about cover letters. In fact, many don't require cover letters. So once you write your first, the rest will follow with minor adjustments.

Edited by LegalPerson
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alanc675
  • Lawyer

Answering as a New York associate

3) Some things I want to share with you:

It's a known fact in NY/US biglaw that your experience as a summer associate is meant to be filled with legitimate 9-6 days and fun outings drinking expensive alcohol at rooftop patios. The firms are trying to show you a good time and you're not really there for long enough to get exposure to "real work." This is especially true of v20 firms. As a result of this, you will not really get a glimpse of what life will be like as a junior associate from your summer stint. Once you are a junior associate you can expect to be working late during the week and on weekends but this will definitely not be the case as a summer.

Living in New York is fun and not as expensive as some people tend to believe. You can get a very decent studio/one bedroom for 2,000-2,500 a month pre-covid in a good area (anywhere but Soho). As a summer/first year you're making $16,700 a month (about $11,500 after tax) so you can certainly swing this.

It's also a known fact that all summer associates get full time offers at the end of the summer (barring some really scandalous behavior). Just wanted to note this for you so you can actually spend your summer enjoying the experience instead of fretting over not getting an offer (which very, very rarely happens). 

Feel free to dm with questions! 

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notnotadog
  • Lawyer

1. One pagers. Ask your CDO for help.

2. I only applied to 3 and won’t name them because I am working at one of them now. But I applied selectively because I applied in the “pre recruit” and figured I could always apply to more in the official recruit. I applied to ones where UofT students were hired in the past and where I had friends from upper years who had good things to say about them.

3. My summer is virtual but I will briefly be in NYC for the summer. It seems like a huge party when it’s in person as another poster suggested. Lots of free dinners and lunches, drinks, events. Not a lot of substantive work. The events still happen often virtually and there’s lots of free lunches and dinners if you have them with associates and partners. The firms pay for this so that you make connections. As for hours, I’ve worked substantially less this summer than I did at my 1L firm last summer. But of course, that’s simply because I’m a summer student. As an associate, it’s clear that the hours are rough and unpredictable. How much work they are than Toronto or the rest of Canada is hard to say, but certainly worse from what I hear. 
4. Summer students and a handful of associates. I don’t know how much it helped but I probably did less of it than other applicants. 
5. not substantive. 2 hour virtual interviews (with 4 people in that time) that are basically just conversations. Make sure to have questions to ask your interviewers, as about half of my interviews consisted of mostly questions from me to the lawyers. You don’t want to end early and it be awkward. 
6. If you have good grades, you’re likely to get interviews. If you don’t, I would try and network hard with associates that come from your school that work at these firms. If there aren’t many, then cold email associates that practice in the areas that interest you. Also, highlight moots, law review, and any research experience you might have. 

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  • 11 months later...

If I graduate from Toronto and manages to go to a US law firm and ends up deciding to apply for an in-house position at a US company after a few years, will graduating from outside of the states become a disadvantage at that point?

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Byzantine
  • Law Student

I see that my CSO has posted two different 2L NY firms that are seeking resumes this month. As a UBC student, is there a more formal NY 2L recruit with more firms that I can participate in later in the summer? 

Is it worth participating with a high B+ average (top 5-10% of class) or are they looking for higher? 
 

thanks! 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Lycidas
  • Law Student
On 5/22/2022 at 4:45 AM, linda said:

If I graduate from Toronto and manages to go to a US law firm and ends up deciding to apply for an in-house position at a US company after a few years, will graduating from outside of the states become a disadvantage at that point?

Probably not. Once you become meshed in the US biglaw ecosystem you can do whatever you want. 

 

On 5/22/2022 at 7:18 PM, Byzantine said:

I see that my CSO has posted two different 2L NY firms that are seeking resumes this month. As a UBC student, is there a more formal NY 2L recruit with more firms that I can participate in later in the summer? 

Is it worth participating with a high B+ average (top 5-10% of class) or are they looking for higher? 

UofT Law had a very large resume drop last year (when things were weird cuz of COVID) and I believe normally the NY firms do a form of OCIs in Canada. Each firm also has portals on their website where you can apply on your own accord. I recommend reaching out to associates who have Canadian backgrounds and inquiring yourself (at various firms) - they may be able to give you more valuable information. Couldn't hurt to call up the recruiters either. Now, before it gets into the swing of things with the NY recruit. Top 5 - 10% at UBC should be solid for NY - nice work. 

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BlockedQuebecois
  • Lawyer
2 hours ago, Lycidas said:

Probably not. Once you become meshed in the US biglaw ecosystem you can do whatever you want. 

This really isn’t the most sound advice.

Canadian graduates are always going to be disadvantaged relative to graduates from top American schools. It’s not likely to be an insurmountable disadvantage, but all else being equal most American employers are going to prefer the T6 grad over the graduate from a Canadian law school. 

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On 5/23/2022 at 8:18 AM, Byzantine said:

I see that my CSO has posted two different 2L NY firms that are seeking resumes this month. As a UBC student, is there a more formal NY 2L recruit with more firms that I can participate in later in the summer? 

Is it worth participating with a high B+ average (top 5-10% of class) or are they looking for higher? 
 

thanks! 

what is the percent of B average.

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Byzantine
  • Law Student
On 6/2/2022 at 3:17 PM, linda said:

what is the percent of B average.

79.5% 

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