Wave of Canadian Lawyers Hired in the US 2020-22, Some Now Returning

Jonathan Whatley · Feb 28, 2024

The Globe and Mail said:

a wave of Canadian lawyers […] were lured south by massive paycheques between late 2020 and early 2022. This period marked a historic time for deal activity on Wall Street. American law firms couldn’t keep up with the work and looked abroad for talent. Although there are no official data on how many left, law recruiters told The Globe and Mail that anywhere between 100 and 150 lawyers – primarily from Bay Street and mostly at the junior level – made the jump.

This southern exodus created a domino effect of vacancies on this side of the border, with American firms raiding Tier 1 Canadian shops, and those firms turning to Tier 2 Canadian firms to fill their own vacancies and so on. […]

While she’s happy to be home, Ms. Shivratan [lawyer Davina Shivratan] said her years in New York were invaluable: “I was given a lot of responsibility because there was so much to get done. … There were a few deals where our senior associate left so I, as a baby lawyer, was thrown into it.” […]

The Canadians who were most vulnerable [to layoffs in the US, legal recruiter Matt Rosenberg says,] were the ones fresh out of law school or with minimal experience. Because there is no articling year in the U.S., new lawyers were jumping right into life as a first-, second- or third-year associate. […]

Christopher Sweeney, chief executive officer of ZSA Legal Recruitment, has a message to those who left and who want to come back: The longer you wait, the harder it will be.

Mr. Sweeney recently had this conversation with a fifth-year Canadian associate in New York, who is hoping to stay another two years. This would make the candidate a seventh-year associate upon return, when firms typically start considering associates for partner. Bay Street firms don’t always count the years abroad, Mr. Sweeney warned, particularly if the work being done is highly specialized, which is common at large American shops. Another consideration is the time lost building a Canadian book of business.
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Lawyers lured to the U.S. by bigger paycheques now at a crossroads as they mull return (Robyn Doolittle, The Globe and Mail, February 27, 2024)

nosborne48 · Mar 3, 2024

150 lawyers is hardly a "wave". The Federation of Law Societies says there are about 136,000 lawyers admitted in common law provinces.

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Wave of Canadian Lawyers Hired in the US 2020-22, Some Now Returning

Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

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Wave of Canadian Lawyers Hired in the US 2020-22, Some Now Returning

Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

nosborne48 Well-Known Member

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