Canadian Law Schools

[CC]

What do you mean by stats? My gpa and lsat

well my lsat was in the 81 percentile and my gpa is 3.9

[Pun]

Thanks...why did'nt you apply to U oF T. You would have been a shoe in.

[CC]

I didn't think my lsat was high enough for U of T, which is why I didn't apply.

[Chris N.]

If you're asking because you're thinking of practicing in the US, then forget about the U of T right now and start applying to decent US law schools.  A Canadian LL.B. is never going to be a match in the job market for a J.D. from an ABA approved law school (certainly not one in the tier1/top50 on the US News list).

[J>]

Not sure what you're talking about.  I am currently attending a Canadian law school and have just accepted an associate position at a highly regarded NY law firm. It is perhaps harder than it used to be to get a NY job as a Canadian, but if you work hard and you interview well it is still an attainable goal.  My advice:  go to a good law school and work very hard in your first year (and thereafter if it makes you happy!) and you will have a shot at the best jobs.  

J.

All of this assumes the obvious:  That working in NY is a "good" option.  I will say after being a summer associate in NY that it is not for everybody and that you will make many sacrifices, personal and otherwise, as an associate.

[SarahD]

In the last rankings, The University of Calgary took top honours and Osgoode Hall came second, with U of T 3rd, U Vic 4th and McGill 5th.
It is important to take into account the history of the school before you decide as well. Until the late 1940s, the only way to become a lawyer in Ontario was through Osgoode Hall, which was run by the Law Society of Upper Canada. The University of Toronto was not recognized by the Law Society as a degree-granting institution, so essentially a degree from U of T was the equivalent to a degree from a non-ABA approved law school in the United States. It was not until 1958 that the U of T's law program was deemed satisfactory enough for admission to the bar.

Since Osgoode Hall was the only accredited law school in Canada for so long, and was founded in 1889, it has a larger alumni (which is good for your job prospectives when you finally graduate) and a law library that has some 200,000 more volumes then the next largest legal library. It is interesting to note most of the founding partners of the large Bay Stree firms are all Osgoode graduates. Despite being the most historic, it also has the most up-to-date technology of all the law schools with wireless web in every classroom. Also, it has developed a combined LLB/JD program with NYU that will be beginning next year and is the first of its kind between a top Canadian law school with a top 5 American law school, which might be of interest to those Americans seeking both degrees.

I was accepted to every law school in Canada, and my decision came down to U Vic, Osgoode and U of T. My ultimate decision came down to the 'feel' from the open houses.
All of the law schools in Canada are high quality... unlike the United States, there isn't a law school in Canada that will accept you with a 70th percentile score on the LSAT, and so any decision you make within Canada will land you in a good law school. Everyone is biased, but I put high value on the large alumni base at Osgoode as well as the high rankings for Schulich School of Business because I am in the combined LLB/MBA program.

Well good luck making your decision!


 

 

[Temporary Relief Assistant Trailer Park Supervisor]

Those "rankings" SarahD is talking about were just surveys of recent grads regarding how they rate their school (faculty, facilities, relevance of material), they are not rankings by professionals based on reputation and salary and other major factors. Calgary is not one of the top Canadian law schools, allthough I'm sure it is still a good school. If you are an American and want to work in America, go to school in America. Only 3 (UofT, Mcgill, Osgoode)Canadian schools are recruited at by Boston and NYC firms and they sent a total of 31 or 32 students to 2L summer positions. You're much better off going to a school with comparable admission stats like BC, BU or Fordham if you wish to work in one of these cities. As for joint programs, American University and Ottawa University have the best joint program currently since Windsor's is with the TTT Detroit Mercy. Osgoode Hall (York University) has announced a joint LLB/JD with NYU which will be the best option for anyone wishing to have the oppurtunity to work anywhere in North America.

[CaressMyEgo]

i always heard that victoria was the up-and-comer in canadian law and that mcgill was the most respected internationally and that UT was the best for making a good amount of coin.  osgoode produces great hockey players

hth