OCIs - reference letters

[Hope97]

Do MAG positions (in Toronto) require reference letters for OCIs (summer jobs)?

[QueensDenning]

Question that I'll leave here rather than posting separately: Do the big firms accept or require reference letters for OCI's (Toronto)?

[QMT20]

27 minutes ago, Hope97 said:

Do MAG positions (in Toronto) require reference letters for OCIs (summer jobs)?

I know a few friends who applied to MAG that had to get reference letters so at least some MAG jobs do. They'll specify in the posting. Usually 2-3 so it wouldn't hurt to reach out to some professors or former employers now to let them know you might need one. 

20 minutes ago, QueensDenning said:

Question that I'll leave here rather than posting separately: Do the big firms accept or require reference letters for OCI's (Toronto)?

As far as I remember, no firms require a reference letter though some specifically say that they'll take it into consideration if you submit one. The CDO at Queen's usually says to send reference letters only to firms that list that in their posting and not to firms that don't mention anything about reference letters. In reality, I'm pretty sure my firm doesn't list it on their posting but they'll look at it anyway if you send them one through ViLaw. Not sure if that's true for all the firms but I don't think it would hurt to send it even to firms that don't specifically ask for it. 

I should mention it's not a big deal to send or not send the reference letter though. I didn't send a reference letters to most firms I applied to and I don't think it affected me in getting OCIs at all. 

Edited June 17, 2021 by QMT20

[SlytherinLLP]

32 minutes ago, QueensDenning said:

Question that I'll leave here rather than posting separately: Do the big firms accept or require reference letters for OCI's (Toronto)?

During the 2019 recruit, most of the OCI firms did not require recommendation/reference letters. Some boutique firm made mentioned they would consider them. 

I included reference letters in every single application and it was brought up (positively) in interviews by firms that didn't require/mention it in their application requirements. So firms will definitely review them. I had strong grades and relevant work experience so I can't speak to the weight attributable to ref letters. 

I'm not sure about the government. Someone more knowledgeable can speak to that. But always keep in mind that a lot of professors have ties with prominent firms and I'm sure the same will apply to MAG positions. It can be a persuasive.

[OzLaw16]

I did the same thing that @QMT20 was told - I included a reference letter for firms that explicitly brought it up as optional in their application details (none of the firms I applied to required one), but didn't include one for firms that were silent on it.

For what it's worth, I don't recall the letter being brought up in any of my interviews with the firms I sent it to. The letter was from a supervisor at a job I described in quite a lot of detail in my resume and cover letter, and that job itself came up a lot in my interviews (and the interviewers seemed impressed with it), so it's possible that they just didn't feel the need to explicitly comment on the letter.

Overall, I wouldn't put too much stock in reference letters, at least for BigLaw OCIs. If you have a really great reference letter, there's no harm in including it (unless a firm explicitly says not to include one), but in most cases, I probably wouldn't expect a letter to make a big difference. There's a reason why they're generally not required and why most firms don't even mention them in their application instructions at all.

[Abella Swan]

On 6/17/2021 at 2:54 PM, Hope97 said:

Do MAG positions (in Toronto) require reference letters for OCIs (summer jobs)?

From what I remember, it depends on the office. Some will want 2-3 letters. Others will just want 2-3 names. So I made a list for my references so they knew which offices they needed to write for and which offices might just contact them.