Deciding Where to Go - Queen's vs. King's (UK)

[mark_ede]

The OP could of course go to the Castle. More importantly the opportunity to go to England to be lawyer is just that; to be a lawyer in England. Going to Queen's for free opens up more opportunities; the opportunity to study a range of subjects, to go into graduate work, to work as a lawyer in North America without worrying about NCAs etc. Also if the median age of Canadian law hires is about 27-28 (from observing the age of my classmates) it suggests a 23 year old applicant (assuming one extra year forced into law school) may be at a disadvantage.

[meggo]

I know this is a really old thread, not really worth reviving but I saw some castle alumni in this thread and wanted to give a shout out! woo! I was enrolled at Queen's for my first year (the castle), then went back to Kingston but I didn't really enjoy K-town or the university, and was having a lot of personal issues at the time so I took two years out and moved to London (UK) to live and work. When I came back to Canada, I transferred to Western and I'm so glad I did. Not only do I love the program I'm in, and my department, my grades have risen by about 10%.

I don't think you still read this thread 4-1 but on the off chance you stop by....I don't suppose you have a sister at Western do you?

[eudaemonist]

The value of the UK law degree is less than the JD or LLB (which is equivalent to a JD) from Canada. For instance, if you look at hiring done in the UAE, they prize Western law degrees, JD, they view the European LLB as a "basic" law degree. Many firms have mentioned "poor" reasoning and writing skills from UK law students, have you seen the LNAT? Its a joke.

Its easy to get into UK law school, but harder to get a job, especially if you want to be a barrister, solicitors positions are easier. Remember its a separate profession over there, solicitors do not argue in courts, although it is changing slowly. Barristers argue in all courts, solicitors prepare cases and deal with the public. Barristers can make huge money, but its tough to get in, you have a lot of competition and have to buy into the chambers upon completion of your training. The magic circle solicitors jobs in the UK are taken by Oxbridge stars and US top schools, partners can make 750k a year. But with a Western law degree and fluency in Arabic you can push 50-70k a month in UAE.

Being strategic can be a whole different ball game than being book smart and it can take you a lot further.