Goodmans: student program and recruit guide

Goodmans is a Toronto firm known for corporate, real estate, restructuring, and litigation work. It runs a smaller student program than some of its peers, and it hired back every articling student in 2026. Here is what the firm says about its program and what to know before call day.

At a glance

The summer program

Goodmans' student site describes summer students attending client meetings and court proceedings, working on substantive matters, and taking part in firm life (Goodmans students). Litigation students attend discoveries and arbitrations and do legal research. A distinctive feature is the Knowledge Party, where each summer student presents a topic of their choice to the group, which the firm frames as practice for presentation and communication skills.

Articling and hireback

Articling at Goodmans is rotational: students "work on a rotation basis and gain exposure to four different sections of the firm," choosing from Business, Real Estate, Administrative Law, Restructuring, Tax, and Dispute Resolution (Goodmans students).

In Precedent's 2026 Bay Street hireback ranking, Goodmans had 12 articling students, hired back 12, and had 0 opt-outs, for a hireback rate of 100% (Precedent). Precedent removes students who chose not to stay before it calculates the rate, so a lower number is not always a sign that the firm turned people away.

Applying

Goodmans says it recruits under the Law Society of Ontario's procedures, with applications for 2027 second-year summer positions due on Monday, July 20, 2026 through its online application (Goodmans). It encourages students to compare the work, the challenges, and the people at each firm, and runs a student-led site and Instagram account for prospective students.

Recruit dates for summer 2027

The Law Society of Ontario's procedures set the same dates for Goodmans and every other firm in the Toronto 2L recruit.

Use our free call day planner to rank your firms and book slots without clashes.

Pay

Goodmans does not publish its student or associate pay. The Globe and Mail reported in 2025 that first-year associates at top-tier Bay Street firms earn about $135,000 before bonuses, and named Goodmans among the firms that raised associate base pay (The Globe and Mail). For students, the median weekly pay at Toronto firms was $1,900 in NALP's 2025 Canadian survey (NALP). See our student salary guide and Bay Street salary scale.

Questions worth asking at Goodmans

Good questions show you read about the firm and want to know how the work really runs. These come straight from how the firm describes its own program:

• What did recent summer students present at their Knowledge Parties, and how did it shape their summer?
• How do articling students choose their four sections?
• How does a smaller student class change the kind of work you get early on?

For more, read our guides to questions to ask law firms, in-firm interviews, and in-firm week etiquette.

Compare with the other Seven Sisters profiles: Blakes, Davies, McCarthy Tétrault, Osler, Stikeman Elliott, Torys, or see all seven side by side.

This profile uses the firm's own student pages and the public sources linked below. Lateral Law Report is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any firm. Programs change from year to year, so confirm details with the firm's student programs team before you rely on them.