New York Recruitment
Introduction
Some New York law firms travel to Toronto for on-campus interviews (OCIs), often in
late August. However, many other firms do not travel to Toronto, but are still open to
receiving applications from Canadian law students.
To find out which New York law firms accept applications from non-U.S. schools, go
to the NALP Directory of Legal Employers. Do an advanced search and choose
“Organizations that accept summer program applications: from Non-US schools.”
The NY OCI process is particularly competitive. We strongly encourage you to
consider the wide range of opportunities available to you before you make the
decision to participate. You might wish to book an appointment with the career office
at your law school to discuss your options.
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Timeline
Mid to late June
Possible information session about NY OCIs at your law school
Early to mid August Students upload NY OCI applications
Mid August
Employers retrieve applications. Employers must confirm
student selection by August 23.
Late August
If your law school is participating in OCIs, it will schedule the
interviews.
Late August
OCIs with New York firms
After late August
New York firms might phone at any time to schedule a second,
in-firm interview.
U.S. Recruitment Procedures and Principles
The National Association of Law Placement (NALP) regulates the recruitment
process for students and U.S. employers. It is essential that you read and understand
the NALP Procedures and Principles if you are applying to New York offices,
particularly the “Principles for Candidates.” The full text of the NALP Principles and
Standards for Law Placement and Recruitment Activities can be found online at the
NALP website at: http://www.nalp.org/fulltextofnalpprinciplesandstandards
NALP also provides a helpful guide on students’ ethical responsibilities during the
recruitment process, which is online at:
http://www.nalp.org/uploads/stuprof_rev0310.pdf
Who May Apply?
Students entering their second year can apply to New York firms for 2013 summer
employment (i.e., those reasonably expecting to graduate in 2014). Some employers
will also accept applications from students entering the second year of a joint degree
program (i.e., those reasonably expecting to graduate in 2015).
Some New York offices will interview third year students (i.e., class of 2013) for
positions as first year associates after graduation.
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The New York Application Package
A typical application package for New York employers includes:



a resume (one page)
photocopies of your law school transcripts; some also require undergraduate
transcripts
reference letters and/or writing samples, if requested
Please check with your law school or the firms for specifics on what application
materials are requested by the firms accepting non-U.S. applications
Application Collection and OCI Interview Scheduling
Check with your law school’s career office to see if they offer a resume collection
service for New York applications. This resume collection is may be required for your
New York OCI program applications.
New York Recruitment: Participating Offices
The following firms in OCIs in Toronto in the past:
Cravath Swaine &
Moore
On Campus Interview
Application
Materials
Resume
Law transcripts
UG transcripts
Davis Polk &
Wardwell
Electronic Application
Collection Only
Resume
Law transcripts
Milbank, Tweed,
Hadley & McCloy
Electronic Application
Collection Only
Resume
Law transcripts
O’Melvaney & Meyers
LLP
Electronic Application
Collection Only
Resume
Law transcripts
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind,
Wharton & Garrison
LLP
Shearman & Sterling
LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Meagher & Flom LLP
Electronic Application
Collection Only
Resume
Law transcripts
On Campus Interview
Resume
Law transcripts
Resume
Law transcripts
Electronic Application
Collection Only
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Eligible
Applicants
2L
2L of joint
program
3L
2L
2L of joint
program
2L
2L of joint
program
2L
2L of joint
program
2L
2L
2L
2L of joint
program
3
Weil, Gotshal &
Manges LLP
White & Case
On Campus Interview
Electronic Application
Collection Only
Resume
Law transcripts
Cover letter
Resume
Law transcripts
Writing sample
2L
2L
We encourage you to thoroughly research any firm to which you are interested in
applying. The NALP employer directory is an excellent source of information:
www.nalpdirectory.com. Of course, the firm’s individual website will have detailed
information, as well.
The following is a list of New York firms you might consider applying to directly:
Allen & Overy LLP
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
** encouraging students who will be in the New York City area in June and July to
write-in directly to arrange for an informational meeting. Please let your law school’s
career office know if you do so.
Clifford Chance LLP
Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
O’Melvaney & Meyers LLP
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Proskauer Rose LLP
Sidley Austin LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Torys LLP
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New York OCIs: The Day
If your law school is participating, the OCI program often takes place over one day.
Students dress in business attire for the interviews. There are usually a total of 10
interview spots available for the day.

Interviews take place in interview suites hosted by each interviewing firm.

Interviews usually begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m. There is usually a
30-minute break from 11:00-11:30 a.m.

Law career office staff is usually on-hand at the hotel beginning at 8:00 a.m.
(the exact location will be communicated to participating students closer to the
OCI day). Students check-in with CDO staff and pick up information on the
location of each employer’s interview suite location.

The interviews are be 20 minutes long with 10 minutes in between to allow
students to travel to their next interview suite and give time for interviewers to
confer.

Each firm is be represented by one or two interviewers. Please note you’re
your law school’s career office generally does not know the names of the
interviewers in advance of the OCI program. When interviewers are identified,
they are always subject to last-minute changes.

The interviews are generally informal – students are usually questioned about
their “interests,” why they came to law school, etc. but there are a few
exceptions. The firms are particularly looking for a commitment to New York –
either family ties, work experience or education in the region, etc. – something
to convince them that investing their resources in training you will be in their
long-term benefit.
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New York - What Happens After OCIs
If a New York office is impressed with your OCI interview, they will contact you
directly to set up a time to interview you at their office in New York. There is no
set call day for New York offices, so you need to speak with each office either
during or after your OCI about their internal schedule for follow-up. If they wish to
meet you at their offices in New York, they will reimburse you for your travel
costs (see travel forms on the NALP website).
Advice on Best Practices
Earlier in this memo, we referred to the NALP Principles and Procedures on U.S.
Recruitment, which should be your primary guide in navigating the New York
recruitment process. However, we thought it might also be helpful for you to hear
from current and former Canadian law school students that have been through
process and what, in their view, are the best practices to approach New York
interviews. Please see the New York Interviews: Advice on Best Practices
document.
Practicing in New York1
Admissions requirements for various American bars are published annually by
the American Bar Association and by the National Conference of Bar Examiners
in the Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements, available
electronically at http://www.ncbex.org/bar-admissions/. The Comprehensive
Guide includes a handy chart that provides details on the eligibility requirements
for foreign law school graduates to take the bar examination in each U.S.
jurisdiction. You can find this chart at Appendix VI.
Unlike most provinces in Canada, students planning to practise law in the United
States are rarely required to do any form of internship or articling in order to gain
admission to the bar (there are a couple of exceptions). Once you have passed
the appropriate bar exam, you can join the U.S. firm as a first-year associate.
Although you may intend to practise law in the U.S. for your entire career, it may
be advisable to become a member of a Canadian bar before going to the U.S. for
the following reasons:
1
Some information in this section is extracted, with permission, from the McGill University, Faculty of
Law Graduate Student Career Guide
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


It is arguably easier to complete a provincial licensing process right after
your studies because your knowledge of the Canadian/provincial legal
system will still be fresh in your mind;
If you decide to become a member of a provincial bar after years of
practicing in the U.S., you may be required to complete some or all of the
provincial licensing process; and
The practical legal experience you will gain from articling in Canada will be
helpful when negotiating your compensation package with a U.S.
employer.
However, the Law Society of Upper Canada does allow for two ways you can
satisfy your articling requirement while working in New York:
(i)
(ii)
Apply for International Articles (in which case you do NOT write the
bar in the foreign, common-law jurisdiction). For this option, the
articling placement is served outside Canada and supervised by a
lawyer in good standing who has been called to the bar in that
jurisdiction. You must be pre-approved by the LSUC in advance of
the start of the articling placement. Students apply to enter into the
lawyer licensing process with their third-year law school colleagues
and then have 3 years in which to complete the articles, licensing
exams and an the online Professional Conduct course; or
Apply for an Articling Exemption when you are ready to come back
to Ontario (AFTER you have been called to the bar in the foreign,
common-law jurisdiction AND have practised law in that jurisdiction
for at least 10 months after you have received a license to practise
in that jurisdiction).
New York Bar Requirements
In order to write the bar exams in New York, you must meet all of the educational
requirements contained in Section 520.6 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals for
the Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law. Most Canadian law students
qualify; however, you must still provide the proper documentation. The New York
State Board of Law Examiners requires all foreign-educated applicants to
complete the Online Foreign Evaluation Form. You must complete and submit
this form well in advance of submitting your application to sit for the bar
examination. You will also need to arrange to send your final law school
transcript to the New York State Board of Law Examiners.
In short, to be eligible to write the New York bar examination, you must
demonstrate that you meet the following requirements:

Your degree fulfills the educational requirements for admission to the
practice of law in a foreign country;
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
You have completed a period of law study that is equivalent in duration to
the legal requirements in the U.S. (i.e., 3 years full time)
Throughout your legal studies, the law school(s) attended was recognized
by the competent accrediting agency (you will need to request and submit
a written statement from your law school’s provincial bar society to satisfy
this requirement)
The jurisprudence of the country where you studied is based upon the
principles of the English Common Law; and
Your “program and course of law study” is the substantially equivalent to
the legal education provided by an approved law school in the U.S.
If your degree presents either a durational or a substantial shortcoming, you may
be eligible to apply for admission to the New York Bar if you successfully
complete a 20-credit program of study that includes basic courses in American
law at an approved law school in the U.S. An LL.M. or Masters from a U.S. law
school that is based on at least 20 semester hours of credit may qualify.
For complete information, including a list of all the required documentation that
must be submitted as proof of meeting the eligibility requirements and all the
necessary forms, go to:
www.nybarexam.org/Foreign/ForeignLegalEducation.htm or contact the New
York State Board of Law Examiners directly.
New York Bar Examination
To become a member of the New York Bar, you must write the New York Bar
exam and the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam. There is no
compulsory bar school nor any required internship.
The New York State bar examination is administered twice a year on the last
Tuesday and Wednesday of every February and July. The bar examination
contains two sections: the New York section, which is written on Tuesday, and
the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), which is written on Wednesday.
The overall pass rate for the July 2011 New York Bar Examination was 69.2%,
while the overall pass rate for foreign educated candidates (first-time takers) was
46.2%.
For upcoming examination dates and complete registration details, including
fees, go to: www.nybarexam.org/TheBar/TheBar.htm.
The Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MRPE) is a sixty question, twohour and 5 minute, multiple-choice examination administered three times a year
(March, August and November) by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
The MPRE is required for admissions to the bar in almost all U.S. jurisdictions.
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You may take this exam before or up to three years after your bar exam. For
complete information, go to: http://www.ncbex.org/multistate-tests/mpre .
U.S. Bar Examination Preparation
There is no official bar school in most U.S. States. Preparation for the bar exam
is offered through private courses such as BAR/BRI and Kaplan or through
books like the Gilbert Multistate Exam Workshop.
Additional Information: Health Insurance
If you do land a summer job with a New York employer, you will be required to
have health insurance in order to secure a J-1 work visa. When an employer
serves as a visa sponsor, it is responsible for making sure that the J-1 participant
has sufficient coverage. In our experience, your employer will likely ask you to
make arrangements for insurance coverage. Here are some options:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
If you registered with your law school’s health benefits and travel
plan, this may cover travel insurance while you are outside of
Canada. See their website for details.
If you don’t have coverage under your law school’s plan, you might
consider purchasing travel insurance through an company like
Travel Cuts: http://www.travelcuts.com/Insurance/.
Finally, you can consider buying short-term health insurance from a
private U.S. insurance company.
The CLCDN would like to thank the Career Development Office at Osgoode Hall
Law School for the information contained in this document.
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