Law Times

Law Times • augusT 24/31, 2009 NEWS Law firms say economy not affecting numbers Hiring of articling students continues apace BY ROBERT TODD Law Times dents despite a troubled econo- my, Law Times has learned. While it remains unclear B when the fi nancial system will fully rebound, professional de- velopment experts at the large fi rms say they plan to go ahead with historical levels of hiring. And at least one fi rm beefed up its complement of articling stu- dents for the 2010-11 articling term during the recent August recruitment drive, based on a projection of strong economic recovery. Jessica Watkins, manager of professional development for Miller Th omson LLP, says the fi rm hired four articling stu- dents in the recruitment drive. Th ey will join seven current summer students who will also return for the 2010-11 arti- cling term. Th at's at the fi rm's historical target of 10 to 12 ar- ticling students, she says. Miller Th omson typically does not hire students in Au- gust, but made an exception this year, she says. "We generally hire out of our summer pool, so we just decided the economy is look- ing up and we needed addi- tional bodies this year," says Watkins. Frances Mahil, director of student aff airs for Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, says her fi rm has taken on 16 arti- cling students for the 2010-11 term, compared to its current crop of 22. Th e fi rm picked up its fi nal recruit for next year's ar- ticling term during this month's recruitment drive, she says. Davies tries to keep an ex- tra spot open in August for "exceptional candidates" who ay Street law fi rms con- tinue to take on a steady stream of articling stu- missed out on the summer- ing process due to other commitments, such as work for professors, she says. She says Davies tries to its keep articling students within a ratio of 10 lawyers to one student. Th e fi rm is cut- ting its numbers to get closer to the ratio of other fi rms. Mary Jackson, chief offi cer of legal personnel and profes- sional development at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP, says her fi rm hired 37 summer students last November, 12 of whom spent time in New York. She anticipates the To- ronto offi ce will end up with about 30 articling students for 2010-11, which left no spaces open for this month's recruitment drive. Th e offi ce's historical av- erage for articling students is about 26 to 30, she says. "We've always done a bit of hiring in August, but frankly the large portion of our hir- ing occurs in November," says Jackson. "We usually pick up just one or two or three people in August. Th is year, because we had such a high acceptance rate in November, we decided not to do that." Jackson says the economic situation has not aff ected the fi rm's articling student recruit- ment. But she notes the econ- omy and the hiring process are often "disconnected." For example, the current crop of articling students, who arrived last week, will be fi rst-year as- sociates at the end of 2010. Th e current summer students won't be associates until 2011, at which point recruitment is expected to pick up. "You almost have to really focus on where you think the economy will be in a couple of years, and not focus too much on the economy right now," Presented by Enroll Today! HEALTHCARE M&A September 9 – 10 | Atlanta EMPLOYEE TERMINATIONS September 14 – 15 | Halifax September 21 – 22 | Ottawa September 28 – 29 | Calgary ABORIGINAL LAND September 14 – 15 | Vancouver COMMERCIAL INSOLVENCY September 14 – 15 | Calgary DRUG DELIVERY SUMMIT September 21 – 22 | New Jersey E-DISCOVERY and E-DOCUMENTS September 30 – Oct.1 | Halifax October 19 | Montréal B.C. 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Key statutes and regulations include: • • • • • • • • • • • • and regulation • • (selected sections) (selected sections) • • • • and regulation • • • (selected sections) and regulation • • • • • ORDER your copy today Perfectbound • 516 pp. • September 2009 Standing Order $52 • P/C 0838140000 Current Edition Only $62 • P/C 0838010000 ISSN 1481-3637 • Multiple copy discounts available and regulations and regulation (selected rules) fi ne line, because I also think it's really important to show a lot of commitment to your students — that you have a long-term interest in them." Jackson also suggests fi rms are reluctant to overreact to this recession based on les- sons learned in the 1990s. In the late '90s fi rms were desperate to add to their as- sociate ranks because they had held off during tougher times, she recalls. "Also, Canadian law fi rms are not overleveraged like in the U.S. and the U.K.," she says. "We've already taken a fairly Firms hire far into the future so they can't base decisions on today's econ- omy, says Mary Jackson. she says. "It makes it challeng- ing because you're often hiring so far in the future." But Jackson suggests some fi rms may react to the current economic situation. Th at could force them to miss out on some excellent future lawyers, she notes. "You don't want to err on the side of taking too many people on and not being able to be committed to those peo- ple," she says. "On the other hand, you don't want to take too few people on, and then you're out looking for people at a time when it's often very dif- fi cult to fi nd good people. So I think you really want to walk a cautious approach to our staffi ng. So we're not overstaff ed in this economy." It's important to note that most large fi rms have closed the door on the Au- gust recruitment drive, opt- ing to stick with the students they've taken through the on-campus interview process. Th e only large fi rms that had committed to hiring articling students this August were Goodmans LLP, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, and Stikeman Elliott LLP. Several others were on the fence. Diana Miles, director of professional development and competence for the Law Soci- ety of Upper Canada, says it's too soon to off er fi nal fi gures on the number of students who have landed articling spots for the 2009-10 term. But anecdotally, she says, "Some of the fi rms have reported they will be lowering the num- ber of people that they will be recruiting for next year. I don't think there's been a sig- nifi cant impact on the people they had already recruited for this year, because no one re- ally knew until late last fall about the economic condi- tion, and of course most of the fi rms had already hired months before that." If the economy doesn't pick up, it's safe to say that the num- ber of articling spots will de- crease, she says. But she notes that it's important for students to look beyond Bay Street to ful- fi ll their articling requirement. "Remember to think about the alternatives, the various ar- ticling environments," she says. "Th e world doesn't centre at Bay and King. Th ere are many, many very exciting opportuni- ties out in the market, whether that's in other areas of Ontario, including more northern areas or smaller communities. Th ere are also opportunities outside of the private practice area." Myles also encourages fi rms to participate in the law society's ongoing articling telephone survey. It plans to speak with about 8,500 pri- vate law fi rms in the province to fi nd lawyers who would like to take on articling stu- dents but may be unfamiliar with the process. "We streamline the process such that it really is a simple process to be involved in now," she says. 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