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
Blaney McMurtry 7 5 0 September
Dimock Stratton 2 2 0 August and September
Kim Spencer McPhee 2 2 0 Summer
McCague Borlack 11 9 0
Ridout & Maybee 2 1 0
Smart & Biggar 3 3 0 September
Wildeboer Dellelce 4 3 0 January
Goldblatt Partners 4 1 1
Aird & Berlis 8 4 1 September
Baker & McKenzie 4 2 0 Varies
Beard Winter 6 3 0 August
Bennett Jones 17 11 2 September
Blake, Cassels & Graydon 26 20 4 September
Borden Ladner Gervais 20 17 0 September
Cassels Brock & Blackwell 17 8 0 September
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg 14 11 2 September
Dentons 16 11 0 September
Department of Justice 6 3 0 July
Dickinson Wright 2 2 0 August
Fasken 12 12 0 September
Fogler, Rubinoff 5 2 0 September
Gardiner Roberts 4 2 0
Goodmans 17 13 0 October
Gowling WLG 18 9 2 September
Hicks Morley 9 4 0 September
Lerners 4 2 1 August/September
McCarthy Tétrault 20 15 1 September
McMillan 14 7 1 September
Miller Thomson 9 6 0 August and September
Minden Gross 3 1 2 September
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt 19 18 1 September
Paliare Roland 3 1 1 September
Sherrard Kuzz 4 3 0 September
Stikeman Elliott 19 13 2 September
Teplitsky 3 2 0
Torkin Manes 5 2 0 September
Torys 24 20 1 September
WeirFoulds 8 5 2 Staggered
Norton Rose Fulbright 18 12 2 September
Dutton Brock LLP 2 1 1 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.