University of Ottawa
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What's Happening
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Entering 1L Advice
Hello there! I am wondering if anyone can offer advice, discuss their experience, share what they had learned in their first year of law school, and share what you wish you knew going in? -
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Legal field entry question
As some who has hired LAs and paralegals in the recent past, this is very good advice. E.g., I had an excellent paralegal for less than 12 months because she ended up going to law school. She was just starting to get the hang of her job and take ownership of work when she left. I don't think I would make that same decision again. I'd be looking to hire ppl who want to be LAs/paralegals. -
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Negotiating Interest Payments during Study
I don’t have an answer but this is something that should matter in the grand scheme of things. I know someone that graduated law school 10 years ago, still has their line of credit and has been dumb enough to not establish an emergency fund. If they get let go from their firm, they are effectively fucked. If you can find any way to minimize your debt, do it. Prioritize your private debt in contrast to government student loans. I think that our law schools need to be more proactive in having a mandatory session on finances in orientation. We no longer have rock bottom interest rates and financial instability will impact your ability to practice as a lawyer. I think in at least one province you have to report if you have filed a consumer proposal and will be marked with a restriction on practice. I commend you for thinking about this now instead of afterwards. I am trying to pay off my line of credit that I have used before I am done law because it stresses me out that much. Applying for bursaries and scholarships as much as I can. -
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Thoughts about certificates in the legal profession? Including certs aimed at non-lawyers.
I think that sometimes people answer questions without knowing what they are talking about. CIPP/C holds some weight. I have been told as much by lawyers practicing in privacy law. It demonstrates knowledge, and indicates a commitment to the practice area. Unlike a course based certificate, CIPP/C you have to pass a knowledge based exam. It’s not something that someone can accomplish in a weekend to pad their resume. I can’t speak for the other certificates. The CSC is stupidly easy I hear (well that was many years ago I heard that so things might have changed). If you are not interested in securities work it may be pointless but otherwise the privacy stuff is relevant to everywhere you work unless you have a privacy officer that takes care of it all (but still good to know). A lot of privacy law work is breach management/reporting. Older has a monthly privacy call if you are interested in this and it’s quite good. -
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Admission 2024 - UDEM
J'ai été accepté a L'UdeM ce soir a minuit. Je suis une ppliquante universitaire avec un baccalaureat en science politique. Terminé avec 3.5/4.0 de McGill. J'ai accepté l'offre et je vous souhaite tous une tres bonne chance 🙂- 1
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Lower than competitive GPA would still love to get in to u Ottawa
uOttawa's median is around 3.7/158 (I heard some professors said the median in recent years increased a little bit.) Still, your cgpa is strong and you shouldn't worry to much about it. Just try to score above 158 and write a good personal statement, then you will be fine! -
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Lower than competitive GPA would still love to get in to u Ottawa
Hi Everyone! I am a third year and have a cGPA of 3.61, I am a bit worried since usually a competitive GPA is 3.7. I have decided to slow down with school and do five years to help higher my GPA since I have to work. My dream school is UOttawa. What LSAT score would I need to get a spot there? It is worth mentioning I have incredibly strong softs, a triple major writing a thesis on law, and great future recommendation letters. -
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Legal field entry question
Arguing and clarifying a position was not a sign of disrespect at all. Thank you for pinpointing other aspects. -
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Legal field entry question
While it's entirely fair to want to see how working in a firm/being a lawyer is before shelling out a bunch of time and money for law school, I don't think becoming a legal assistant or paralegal for that sole purpose is the way to do it. It's just a completely different job. It's like trying to become a dental hygienist to get experience in a medical office before you decide whether you want to become a plastic surgeon. I'm exaggerating here but I'm sure you get the idea. I think the better way to hear about what being a lawyer is like is to research what lawyers say about their lives, read some case law, get coffee with lawyers if you can, that kind of thing. It's not that you can't go to law school if you're a legal assistant first, but you're adding in an extra totally different job between what you do now and lawyerhood when it's unnecessary. Depending on what province you're in, specific education for legal assistant/paralegal/etc roles may be required. It's great that you're getting interviewed, but that doesn't really refute the "spamming" thing, at least from my past experience interviewing for roles I had no business in. I agree that offering to volunteer in this context is a bit odd. Firms want reliable and knowledgable assistants. This isn't to say you're not knowledgable, but someone willing to take on such a role full time for free is odd, and someone doing it only casually wouldn't really appeal, so either way it comes across differently than I'm sure you intend. -
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Legal field entry question
There is the opportunity cost of working as an LAA and being paid an LAA salary instead of applying to law school right away. I don't think working as an LAA is necessarily bad idea to get exposure to legal work. It will just be very limited since LAA work is mostly administrative. I would NOT recommend taking a volunteer position for a job that should be paid. Those type of employers are, more likely than not, red flags and are unlikely to treat you well. Most lawyers never worked as LAAs and many don't come from lawyer families. There are law-adjacent jobs if you get a law degree and decide not to be a lawyer. -
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Legal field entry question
Also an Applicant (now admit), but ‘sort of’ went down the path you’re describing here. As someone who is currently in a senior/managerial position in a legal adjunct role that has dealt with hiring decisions, this stuff is going to stick out like a sore thumb. You’re gunning for entry-level positions with an overqualified resume. A prospective employer may see this as a flight risk and if you’re mentioning your law school aspirations in your cover letter or interviews, then there’s little-to-no chance you’ll be hired. Part of hiring entails mitigating the risk for turnover, since it means wasted resources and time on training. This is especially true for smaller firms (not too sure about mid to large firms though). My only advice is to be mindful of this potential pitfall with your professional profile. I’d also echo @Yogurt Baron’s comments too - there’s no “outside of the box” advice for law school. Just sit the LSAT and prepare application packages. -
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Opinions on the Laurier-Sussex Law Degree Program
If you'd like to be a lawyer in Canada you should avoid that program.- 1
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Legal field entry question
I gotta echo the good Baron here, my first impression upon reading your post is "this person's very odd". That's not meant to be an insult! But I think it is a big part of why you aren't finding success in your job search (in addition to the factors mentioned above). My advice is to take it easy. Come off as less intense and maybe work a bit on how you communicate in writing. Also, don't get so defensive when you get advice you don't like. Someone spent a lot of time crafting a helpful and informative response. Respect their time and expertise (they know the industry and especially the areas you're applying to) and don't try and argue with them.- 2
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Accepted to Saskatchewan 2024
No - waiting on my final MA grades still! I emailed them before i was accepted and they said that your application would be reviewed regardless if your final marks were in yet. -
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Legal field entry question
1. "Work in collections, and then the law is a "natural career progression". It's really not. I mean, you can switch careers anytime. I could become a beekeeper tomorrow. But a job in collections does not inexorably, or "naturally", progress into a career in law. That's just odd." The answer to this lies in myself expanding onto "why law? : "I was equally drawn to the field out of deep curiosity for such studies, apprehension for legal intellectual work demand, possibility of a profound dive into one career field for life." Such type of education as a BA in arts and a specific work background in collections could sometimes converge logically into an interest in law. Journalistic background can spark interest in law, as can the exposure to the collections case management (through seeing some legal intricacies within collections). 2. I am trying to test out more practically my interest in the legal field, therefore decided to start with a gradual exposure, not "an all in" and the highest level of responsibility possible. It is a big choice to be made, so for me it requires time and direct exposure to the field. That's why I am using this route and not going into "LSAT+law school+" yet. I want to test waters by being an assistant in a law firm or working as a court and client service representative with a choice still being in the making. There are threads with stories of legal assistants even on this forum who pursued their law degrees following this type of work. I am not sure which "oddness"/inconsistence you are targeting here. And fortunately, firms that did interview me did not feel I was spamming and there was enough qualifications present to interview in the first place. It is possible to get into such role without relevant education, just harder. I agree that volunteering side might be of an odd turn, but not for all. Thank you for commenting.
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