Toronto-Wide Hireback Numbers

Since 2009, Precedent has tracked the number of articling students Toronto law firms have hired back as first-year associates—and called it the Hireback Watch.

In the interactive chart below, you can toggle between the past 15 years and sort by the hireback data in each column. If you click on the name of a firm, you’ll see its numbers from over the years. See below the chart to find out how we calculate the data and how we have handled law-firm mergers over the years.

The 2023 Hireback Watch is now complete.

Scroll
Firm Articling
Students
Students
Hired Back
Number of
opt outs*
Start Date Notes
Bereskin & Parr 7 4 0 September
Brauti Thorning Zibarras 1 1 0
Caramanna Friedberg 1 0 0
Mathews Dinsdale 3 2 0 September
Reisler Law 6 3 0 August
Blaney McMurtry 7 3 1 September
Lenczner Slaght 5 4 1 September
McCague Borlack 6 5 1 September
Ridout & Maybee 1 1 0
Smart & Biggar 3 3 0
Wildeboer Dellelce 4 2 0 January
Aird & Berlis 8 5 1 September
Baker & McKenzie 8 6 1 September
Beard Winter 6 3 0 August
Bennett Jones 17 12 0 September
Blake, Cassels & Graydon 29 25 1 September
Borden Ladner Gervais 19 13 2 September
Cassels Brock & Blackwell 19 12 2 September
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg 14 9 5 September
Dentons 14 8 1 September
Department of Justice 9 5 0 Various
Dickinson Wright 2 1 1 August
Fasken 14 7 5 September
Fogler, Rubinoff 5 3 0 September
Gardiner Roberts 5 3 0 Summer
Goodmans 16 12 0 October
Gowling WLG 17 9 0 September
Hicks Morley 9 2 2 September
Lerners 5 2 0
McCarthy Tétrault 19 14 0 September
McMillan 14 8 1 September
Miller Thomson 11 5 0 August and September
Minden Gross 3 1 0 September
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt 16 15 1 September
Paliare Roland 3 0 1
Sherrard Kuzz 2 2 0 July and September
Stikeman Elliott 20 16 0 September
Teplitsky 2 2 0 Summer
Torkin Manes 6 3 0 September
Torys 25 23 2 September
WeirFoulds 7 4 1 September
Norton Rose Fulbright 20 13 3 August or September
Dutton Brock LLP 2 1 0 July

*Students who opted out are included in the figures for total articling students

Notes on the data

  • Our data for each year before 2012 refers to Ogilvy Renault, which merged with Norton Rose in July 2011.
  • Our data for each year before 2013 refers to the numbers for FMC, which merged with Dentons in March 2013.
  • Our data for each year before 2015 refers to Davis LLP, which merged with DLA Piper in April 2015.
  • Our data for each year before 2016 refers to Gowling Lafleur Henderson, which merged with UK-based Wragge Lawrence Graham to form Gowling WLG in February 2016.