How many firms to apply to? (Toronto 2L Recruit)

[aw321 16]

I'm in Group B for the Toronto recruit. I researched all the firms listed on ViRecruit, firms given by our Career centre, and firms I found on my own. I came up with a list of 40 firms I want to apply to and have written cover letters for them. However, I am now scared that I was too "picky" and may have been to harsh when choosing not to apply to certain firms. I am also scared that given my grades, I should be applying to more firms to increase my odds. 

Should I be applying to more firms? Or is 40 ok?

[For context my grade in 1L were A, A-, B+, B+, B+, B+, and B. For 2L I have two passes (one is for an internship, the other for law review), B+, B+, and B.]

[Twenty 244]

Also a lost 2L here and I would also like to know what other people think. Personally, I am applying to 30ish firms for the Toronto recruit. Unlike you though, I don't think I am being particularly picky. Once I decided that I was not particularly interested in government nor interested in working in an ultra-specialized boutique, that limited things to a reasonable number of firms - at least that's how I feel. 

Edited January 19 by Twenty

[Rearden 424]

When I did the recruit, I applied to as many as possible. My strategy was that if I was fortunate enough to get more OCIs than I could handle, I could decide which firms to cut when deciding which OCIs to accept.

That said, I guess if you’re adamantly opposed to certain firms (for whatever reason), you’re probably better off spending that time focussing on your applications for the ones you do want to work at.

Edit: I don’t think I applied to more than 30/40 firms. I was really only interested in corporate law and I didn’t apply to any of the government or other positions.

Edited January 19 by Rearden

[easttowest 1659]

I applied to 19, all full service and lit boutiques. For my own arbitrary reasons, I didn’t apply to any American or truly international firms, which cut the list down a bit. I eventually just got tired of making new cover letters.

[LawBlaw2019 140]

40 is plenty.

[leavemealone 11]

40 is more than enough!