Ottawa Law and University of Toronto Law

Perseverance47

Hi Forum,

I will be applying to Canadian schools given that my fiance has received a job offer in Ottawa. I am American and completed my undergraduate degree at a top public university and have an MBA from an Ivy League institution. Is anyone here applying to Ottawa and/or Toronto law? If so, can you share insights on these schools? There are limited rankings in Canadian law schools given that their system is completely different from the U.S. Thank you so much.

AngusMcGillis

U of T and UBC are kind of the Harvard/Yale of Canada. McGill, U of Ottawa, and Osgoode are debatably as good. The Canadian law school system is nothing like the American one, every single school in Canada is "good". Rankings are borderline irrelevant. Where you want to work, and what work you want to do is more important when choosing schools.

Perseverance47

@AngusMcGillis Thank you for the insights. I actually read an article today about the irrelevancy of rankings in Canadian schools. Given that there are so few of them, I think this prevents over supply of lawyers as it is rampant in the united States. Did you go or are applying to Canadian law schools? Thanks again!

Tim Hortons

@Perseverance47 If you're interested in UofT, then I would also encourage you to apply to Osgoode as well, given that they're both located in Toronto proper. From what I know, UOttawa places less importance on the LSAT score compared to UofT and Osgoode, so they tend to look at the entire applicant profile. UofT, however, is largely focused on numbers, so a strong LSAT and UGPA is key to get in there.

@AngusMcGillis said:
Where you want to work, and what work you want to do is more important when choosing schools.

The latter is especially important. The thing with Canadian law schools is that some schools are known for specific areas of law. For example, Dalhousie is known for environmental law, UofT is known for corporate, UBC for indigenous and women's law. These schools do, obviously, offer a multitude of specializations, but taking a look at prof specialties, courses, and clinics offered at each university can be helpful in determining which ones you want to apply to.

MindyKale

@"Tim Hortons" said:

>

The thing with Canadian law schools is that some schools are known for specific areas of law. For example, Dalhousie is known for environmental law, UofT is known for corporate, UBC for indigenous and women's law. These schools do, obviously, offer a multitude of specializations, but taking a look at prof specialties, courses, and clinics offered at each university can be helpful in determining which ones you want to apply to.

What is your opinion on Canadian schools/canada for Intellectual Property Law?

than22p

I'm thinking of applying to a few Canadian schools as well. Does anyone have insight on job prospects as a U.S. citizen wanting to practice and live in Canada? Or insights on a J.D. from a Canadian program and how that impacts job prospects in the U.S.? I am particularly interested in corporate law.

Bamboosprout

@than22p said:
I'm thinking of applying to a few Canadian schools as well. Does anyone have insight on job prospects as a U.S. citizen wanting to practice and live in Canada? Or insights on a J.D. from a Canadian program and how that impacts job prospects in the U.S.? I am particularly interested in corporate law.

I talked to a friend who went to law school in the States. He said that it's easy for him to practice in Canada, and the reverse is simple as well. In fact, he says that Canadian schools are well respected for their rigor, and can compare to T25 schools for most corporate position despite their slightly lower LSAT requirement.
I personally don't know how true this is though, and prefer to play it safe and prefer the American schools.

LSATisland

I graduated from law school at U of T. Feel free to PM me if I can help with anything.

Perseverance47

@LSATisland Thanks! I just PM. Thanks for the offer.

LSATisland

@Perseverance47 said:
@LSATisland Thanks! I just PM. Thanks for the offer.

My pleasure! Just replied.