Manager – Legal Recruitment and Student Development

Position Overview

The Manager, Legal Recruitment and Student Development is responsible for the management of the full law student lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, evaluations, programming, events, and law school relationships, lateral associate recruitment in Toronto, and onboarding of lateral associates across all offices. The role also partners closely with legal recruitment and student development teams across all offices to ensure alignment, consistency, and best practices.

Key Accountabilities

Student Recruitment & Programs

Toronto Student Recruitment

Lead execution of the 1L and 2L student recruitment

• Act as the central hub for all processes and information regarding candidates, scheduling, interviewers and communications with law schools;
• Act as primary liaison with the Law Society of Ontario (LSO), staying apprised of rule changes, providing guidance on recruitment best practices, ensuring compliance, and responding to lawyer and student inquiries regarding LSO matters;
• Conduct first level review of all applications for the 1L recruit;
• Conduct first level review of applications for the 2L recruit;
• Manage the process for on-campus and in-firm interviews, including preparing materials;
• Maintain and synthesize candidate data and interviewer feedback;
• Work with the events team to plan and execute all student events;
• Draft student offer letters; and
• Analyze recruitment data, prepare post-recruit report and recommendations for the next recruiting cycle.

Year-Round Student Recruitment Strategy & External Representation

Manage Toronto’s year‑round law student recruitment efforts, including:

• Act as a key external representative and firm ambassador, including attending career fairs and on-campus events;
• Act as a primary liaison with law school representatives and staff (e.g. Career Development Offices, law student associations)
• Act as a resource for law students interested in joining the firm, answering questions, hosting coffee meetings and otherwise serving as a resource for prospective candidates;
• Collaborate with Marketing, Business Development, Diversity & Inclusion, Human Resources, and others to maintain the Student Program website and create promotional content; and
• Manage advertising, law school sponsorships and awards, including tracking historical contributions.

Student Development & Initiatives

• Act as primary contact for summer and articling students and their mentors.
• Manage student onboarding, integration, engagement, development, and departure, including systems changes.
• In collaboration with the Learning team, design and execute law student orientation and ongoing training for Toronto students.
• Manage student external secondments, including identifying opportunities, preparing agreements, and collecting client feedback.
• Oversee the student mentoring program.
• Manage the performance review process for summer and articling students, including managing timelines, consolidating feedback, and preparing review summaries for the Director.
• Manage the hire back process, including scheduling meetings and preparing supporting materials.

Associate Lateral Recruitment & Onboarding

• Manage the full lateral associate recruitment process for Toronto associates, including managing the viRecruit applicant tracking system, application review, candidate communications, liaising with recruiters, scheduling interviews, collecting and tracking interviewer feedback, coordinating hiring decisions and preparing offer letters.
• Centralize, manage and oversee the pre-onboarding, onboarding and integration process and experience for all lateral associate hires across all offices including background and conflict. checks, systems setup, designing onboarding schedules, collaborating with office PR Directors and Business Services departments.

Process Improvements & Information Sharing

• Evaluate end-to-end recruitment processes to propose efficiencies and implement enhancements.
• Manage Aderant (viRecruit and viEval) system updates.
• Lead knowledge sharing and training on key processes across the PR team.
• Identify opportunities to optimize processes using technology and AI.

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop the team to ensure alignment with departmental goals, service standards, and firm needs.
• Manage team performance, development, and performance improvement activities to ensure team members possess the skills and capabilities required to deliver services effectively.
• In collaboration with HR, manage the recruitment, onboarding, and integration of new team members.
• Manage team resources to support departmental priorities and project requirements.

Budget & Expenses

• Analyze monthly GL reports, reconciling expenses, authorizing entries, and reallocating costs as needed.
• Prepare the annual Toronto student and recruitment budget.Other Initiatives
• Design and execute the Torys 1L Scholar Connect Workshop, including managing applications, marketing, programming, and feedback collection.
• Manage the LAWS mentoring program, including communications, programming, scheduling, and new initiatives.

Attributes & Experience

Qualifications

• Post-secondary degree or diploma in Business or Human Resources Management, or comparable educational qualifications (complete or in progress).
• 5+ years of relevant experience, preferably within a law firm or professional services firm.
• A minimum of 2+ years of managerial experience or coaching people is preferred.
• Proficient in MS Office product suite.

Core Coompetencies

• Strong client service orientation combined with the ability to manage multiple client needs with a sense of urgency.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships at all levels, work collaboratively and independently, and effectively communicate and interpret policies, practices, and procedures.
• Effective people management skills, including the ability to delegate, provide timely feedback, and collaborate respectfully with direct reports.
• Proactive self-starter with strong organizational and time management skills, exceptional attention to detail, and the ability to effectively prioritize competing demands and meet deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Excellent judgment and problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess options, adapt approaches to changing circumstances, and exercise tact, poise, and discretion.
• A flexible and positive attitude.
• Ability to assess current processes or services and make recommendations on how these can be improved, and lead and coordinate implementation.

Additional information

This position is part of our hybrid work model with 4 days in the office per week. As part of our onboarding, new hires are required to be in the office more often for the first few months of employment to ensure they receive the requisite cross training.

This job posting is for an existing vacancy.

Salary will be determined based on the candidate’s skills, experience, and qualifications.

At Torys, we are committed to diversity in the recruitment, retention and advancement of our people. We believe that diversity of backgrounds, experience and perspectives enhances the quality of our work and enriches our lives. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible work environment. Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities. If you require immediate accommodation at any time during the recruitment process, please contact Jenny Tavares, Director, Human Resources at [email protected].

We are committed to leveraging innovative tools to enhance our recruitment process. As part of this, we use AI-powered tools to assist in the initial stages of candidate shortlisting and screening. These tools help us evaluate applications more efficiently and consistently by focusing on qualifications, experience, and skills relevant to our roles. Although we use this technology, all applications are reviewed, and decisions made by our Human Resources team to ensure fairness and alignment with our firm policies. If you have any questions or concerns about this process, feel reach out to us at [email protected].

All offers of employment are subject to background checks. This process includes criminal record checks, social media checks, and employment and educational background checks.

Posted Min Pay Rate

CAD $95,000.00/Yr.

Posted Max Pay Rate

CAD $105,000.00/Yr.