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
Affleck Greene McMurtry 1 1 0 September
Gilbert’s LLP 2 2 0
Heenan Blaikie 18 5 4 September
DLA Piper 5 5 0 September
Bereskin & Parr 8 4 0 September
Brauti Thorning Zibarras 2 2 0 August
Caramanna Friedberg 1 1 0 July
Blaney McMurtry 7 4 2 September
Lenczner Slaght 5 3 1 September
Wildeboer Dellelce 5 5 0 January
Aird & Berlis 8 6 0 September
Baker & McKenzie 5 3 0 August and September
Beard Winter 4 4 0 August
Bennett Jones 17 11 2 September
Blake, Cassels & Graydon 27 23 0 September
Borden Ladner Gervais 22 14 0 September
Cassels Brock & Blackwell 19 16 1 September
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg 15 9 4 September
Dentons 13 10 0 September
Department of Justice 12 3 1 TBD
Dickinson Wright 1 1 0 July
Fasken 15 7 0 September
Fogler, Rubinoff 5 3 0 September
Gardiner Roberts 5 3 0 Summer
Goodmans 15 14 1
Gowling WLG 16 9 1 September
Hicks Morley 10 4 0 September
Lerners 5 3 0
McCarthy Tétrault 23 18 2 September
McMillan 16 7 2 September
Miller Thomson 13 8 1 Fall
Minden Gross 3 2 0 September
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt 25 19 3
Paliare Roland 3 0 1
Sherrard Kuzz 2 1 0 September
Stikeman Elliott 26 14 1 September
Torkin Manes 6 2 1 September
Torys 19 17 0 September
WeirFoulds 7 2 0 September
Norton Rose Fulbright 17 13 1 September
Dutton Brock LLP 2 2 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.