ULTRAVIRES.CA
October 28, 2021
VOL. 23 ISS. 2
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF LAW
Bay Street Firms Increase First-Year Associate Salary to $130,000 Lock-step changes across the Toronto associate compensation grid ANNECY PANG (3L)
LAW STUDENTS AT THE FIRST CALL TO THE BAR EVENT OF THE YEAR ON OCTOBER 1, 2021. CREDIT: THOMAS ALEXANDER
The Short-Lived Return of Call to the Bar Call to the Bar has been paused in light of COVID-19 concerns and booking difficulties HYE-SEON JUNG (1L) A fter a year and a half of being v irtual, the Students’ Law Societ y (SLS) announced the return of Call to the Bar (CTTB) —a week ly event hosted on Thursdays where law students f lock to a bar to celebrate getting through another week of law school. Approximately 300 students headed to Fox on John on Friday, October 1. The SLS rescheduled the event due to an oversight in orig inally planning the event for September 30, other w ise known as Orange Shirt Day and the f irst National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Students were adv ised to arrive before 9 p.m. to ensure entr y into the event. Rebecca X ie (3L) who arrived before 9 p.m. noted that it was easy to enter the venue
as ver y few people were in attendance at that time. Due to capacit y limitations and lack of planning for a staggered entr y, a sudden f lux of students arrived at the event shortly after 9 p.m., causing many to be frustrated by long lines and wait times. Many students, including X ie’s friends, opted to leave the line and go to a dif ferent bar. X ie expressed her disappointment w ith the event. “I haven’t been to any CTTB in the past years. I only came this time due to [the COV I D -19 pandemic] increasing my desire to meet new people. So I was disappointed when that wasn’t really possible because it was too loud and crowded to properly talk to people,” said X ie.
Tif fany Zhan (1L) echoed X ie’s sentiments. As a 1L , she hoped to meet other students at CTTB. However, she expressed that the event was not optimal for socializing because of its “club-esque” venue, the music’s high volume, and general crowdedness. SLS Vice-President Social, Thr yn Irw in (3L) emphasized the dif f iculties of planning a bar night event during an ongoing pandemic. She explained that “ f inding a venue that could host us was ver y challeng ing as bars were refusing to take reser vations, wouldn’t respond, had too small of a capacit y, or required ver y large deposits and/or minimum spending amounts to reser ve space.”
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE NEW YORK SUMMER 2022 RECRUITMENT RESULTS PAGE 5
RIGHTS REVIEW PAGE 17
Continued on Page 4
On September 8, Cassels Brock & Blackwell L L P announced increases to its Toronto associate compensation grid. The f irst year associate salar y at Cassels is now up from $110,000 to $130,000, w ith corresponding increases for more senior associates. The changes came into ef fect on October 1. In a comment to Ultra Vires, the f irm explained that the salar y increases “ref lect our appreciation of associates’ work and contribution to the f irm’s ongoing success.” Tor ys L L P and Dentons Canada L L P also adjusted their compensation for associates at all levels, w ith raises for f irst year associates to $130,000. Norton Rose Fulbright Canada L L P also conf irmed to U V that the f irm increased salaries for associates “[i]n recognition of the heightened demands on associates during a sustained period of business and legal activ it y.” Most Bay Street f irms paid its f irst year associates $110,000. Dav ies Ward Phillips & Vineberg L L P and Bennett Jones L L P led the pack at $135,000 and $130,000, respectively. With the recent salar y increase, several f irms now match Bennett Jones’ rate. W hen asked to comment, Bennett Jones indicated that it “[ has] not yet made any salar y changes and are currently sur vey ing the market before mak ing any further decisions.” No decisions have been made yet at McMillan L L P or A ird & Berlis L L P. McMillan is currently rev iew ing its associate salaries nationally and remains committed to remaining competitive in the market. A ird & Berlis is similarly in the midst of its annual rev iew of associate salaries, commenting, “[ We] are committed to being market competitive and w ill announce any changes to our associate salar y grid in the coming weeks.” Stikeman Elliot L L P declined to comment at this time. Several f irms did not respond to our request for comment at the time of publication. The prof iles on the NA L P Canadian Director y of Legal Employers have yet to be updated w ith these changes. Editor’s Note: T his story is developing and we will update the article online if and when f irms respond to our requests for comment.
A VICTORY FOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM? PAGE 21