The Career Development Office (CDO) is committed to assisting you in your career pursuits.  As a current student, the support and resources available to you are numerous and wide-ranging.  The CDO offers:

  • One-on-one Counselling;
  • Several On-campus Interview Programs;
  • Professional Development Workshops and Seminars;
  • Guides and Resources;
  • Resume and Cover Letter Writing Support;
  • Mock Interviews;
  • Reciprocity with Other Law Schools;
  • And More...
These resources, as well as the means to book an appointment with one of our staff members, can be accessed by logging into UTLC: The University of Toronto Law Career Network.
 
Please note:  UTLC is a password protected website for UofT law students and graduates.  If you are a student or graduate and do not remember your password, please contact the CDO at cdo.law@utoronto.ca.
 

Frequently Asked Questions for Incoming 1L Students

  • When should I start thinking about my career options?
    In the fall of 1L, the priority is settling into law school life. That said, we encourage you to start thinking about your career early. Make sure you attend the CDO’s sessions about 1L opportunities.

  • What opportunities are there for 1L summer employment in law firms and government?
    A handful of employers in Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto hire a small number of 1L students. They typically partake in organized recruitment activities. There are a number of info pages about these recruits in the CDO’s UTLC portal.

    The formal 1L recruits are very competitive given the small number of positions available for first year students. The good news is that a 1L legal job is not a prerequisite for jobs in 2L or articling. Consider doing something that you love, find interesting, or that pays the bills. All jobs lead to skills and experiences that you can offer to legal employers down the road.

  • What sort of summer employment is available at UT Law?
    There are over 90 paid positions offered each summer by law school employers, including Downtown Legal Services (DLS), Law in Action Within Schools (LAWS), Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC), and others. We have created the Law School Summer Employment Program (LSSEP) to streamline the application, interview, and offer process so students consider all their summer job options at the same time. 1L faculty summer jobs are interesting and exciting positions that offer students an opportunity to work in the legal community doing research, working with youth, and more.

  • Networking – do I need to think about this yet?
    Making genuine connections with people and learning about what they do is important throughout your time at law school and your career. Even though its sometimes nervous-making, we encourage you to get to know your professors by attending their office hours, introduce yourself to guest speakers, talk to staff at the law school, and meet practising lawyers - whether that is virtually or in person. All have something unique to offer you about the legal community. You never know who your next advocate will be.

  • Why don’t I see many government/public interest employers hiring for 1L?
    The first year hiring process is a very small process and only a couple of government employers hire (usually in February). This number jumps significantly for 2L summer positions and articling roles.

    Public interest employers are often under-resourced, so there are very few of them that can offer paid summer positions. The best way to work with a public interest employer in first year is to inquire about a summer fellowship, paid by UT Law. Public interest fellowships are granted as part of the LSSEP, the application deadline for which is early in the new year. Many of the larger public interest employers can, however, offer some limited funding for an articling student. As such, you’ll often see job postings for public interest employers leading up to the articling recruitment process.

  • Do I need to do a joint JD/MBA to be competitive for Bay St. jobs? What about other joint programs?
    If you have a strong interest in business and would like to further yourself academically in this area with only 1 extra year of schooling, the joint JD/MBA is a great option, but by no means necessary in achieving your Bay St. goals.

    The same goes for other joint programs you may be considering. Pursuing an additional degree is never a guarantee that particular employers will hire you. However, if you choose to pursue a joint degree because of genuine interest, and can articulate to potential employers a strong rationale for your decision to pursue it, this can certainly serve to bolster your application.

    If you are considering a joint degree, we strongly encourage you to reach out to upper year students or alumni to find out what they got out of this path and whether it assisted them in obtaining the career you are hoping for.

    Finally, make sure you speak to both the admissions staff in the other Faculty, as well as Assistant Dean Sara Faherty here at the law school, to ensure you are eligible for the program, confirm important deadlines, and discuss what a joint degree will mean for your upper-year law course planning options.