Toronto 2L offer day: how offers, acceptances and declines work

After three days of in-firm interviews, the Toronto 2L recruit ends on a single evening. Firms can begin making offers at 5:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. Here is how the evening works and how to handle it well.

The rules in plain language

The recruit is governed by the Law Society of Ontario's Toronto summer student recruitment procedures, which are binding on every student and lawyer who takes part. Read them yourself; the points below are a plain-language summary, not a substitute.

1. A no-contact period comes first. From 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4, firms may not contact students and students may not contact firms.
2. Offers start at 5:00 p.m. Firms may not make an offer to a 2L student before then, except an early offer to a student who worked for them as a 1L summer student.
3. Offers made on offer day stay open until at least 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 5. Offers made later must stay open for a reasonable time, and a firm must tell you how long its offer is open.
4. Offers cannot be conditional on the position still being available or on another student declining.
5. Firms must not pressure you to accept, or try to find out whether you would accept.
6. Decide as quickly as you reasonably can. You must deal with offers expeditiously, whatever the deadline, and decline as soon as you have decided.
7. Accepting is binding. Once you accept, you must immediately tell the other firms that made you offers or scheduled interviews, and you must not interview elsewhere or accept another offer.
8. Breaches are serious. A student who breaches the procedures may face a Law Society Tribunal hearing on whether they meet the good character requirement for licensing.

Before 5:00 p.m.: decide your order

The most useful thing you can do on offer day happens in the afternoon. Sit down and write your final ranking.

• Which firm would you accept on the spot? If that firm calls, you can say yes immediately.
• For every other firm, what would you do? For example: if your second choice calls first, you might ask for a short time to consider while you wait to hear from your first choice.
• Know who to call to decline. Have the recruitment contact's number for each firm ready.

From 5:00 p.m.: how the calls go

Offers usually come by phone, often from a partner or the head of student programs, and often within the first hour. Be somewhere quiet with a charged phone. Some firms send decisions by email, and some say in advance that they will finish by a set time that evening (Canadian Law Forum).

• If it is your first choice: accept warmly and clearly. Ask what happens next and when written confirmation will arrive.
• If it is not: thank them sincerely, say you are very pleased, and confirm how long the offer is open. Do not accept an offer you might back out of.
• If you need a little time, it is fine to say you are waiting to hear from one other firm and will respond very soon.

After you accept

• Tell every other firm right away, including firms that made offers and firms you are still waiting on. A short, gracious call or email is enough.
• Do not attend further interviews or events with other firms.
• Reply to the written offer promptly and check the start date and salary.
• Expect a background check. Students report that firms commonly run a criminal record check after an offer, and that problems are rare when your resume is accurate (Canadian Law Forum). Make sure every date, title, and grade you listed is correct. See our background check guide.

Declining an offer gracefully

Thank you so much for the offer. I really enjoyed meeting everyone at the firm, and it was a difficult decision, but I have accepted another position. I hope our paths cross again.

Keep it short and warm. Toronto's legal community is small, and you will meet these lawyers again.

If no offer comes

Many strong students do not receive an offer through the 2L recruit, and it does not decide a career. Talk to your career office that week, look at other cities' recruits and government and public interest roles, and start preparing for the articling recruit, which for most students matters more than the 2L summer.