How transferable is an UAlberta or UCalgary JD to the Vancouver market for BL?

[RC51]

JD from UBC is most preferred, then UVIC....but what is next? TRU, or does the list skip to UAlberta? 

Thanks

[ABJD]

I know a LOT of people at the U of A who have secured positions in big Vancouver law firms. It's not the most common path for students from AB but as long as you can show either a connection to BC or a genuine desire to move and stay there firms will definitely give a shot in interviews.

[TheDevilIKnow]

TRU was indeed #3 for placement in Vancouver last year, well ahead of U of A, which was #4. TRU was very close to UVic, actually.

One problem that always comes up with these comparisons, though: We know how many spots went to students from each school, but we don't know how many students actually applied from those schools. I don't think LCOs generally give out that information. Without it, it's hard to be sure to what extent the numbers reflect employers' preferences of different schools, as opposed to simply reflecting a larger number of applications from students of those schools.

In this case, 15 TRU students accepted 2L spots in Vancouver last year, vs 8 for U of A. But I'd really like to know how many students actually applied from each of those schools. I suspect the number from TRU would be quite a bit higher, but I'm really not sure. 

[BlockedQuebecois]

The 2L recruit in Vancouver is so small that it’s a bit difficult to draw any real conclusions from it. And drawing conclusions for out of province schools is always hard because the assumption that a similar number of students apply to the Big City™ jobs from each school falls apart as soon as you cross a provincial border. 

For example, Ottawa placed 9 students, 7 more than Osgoode or McGill, in Van last year. Does anybody think U Ottawa is a better school to go to if you want to work in Vancouver than Osgoode or McGill? 

[Toad]

6 hours ago, TheDevilIKnow said:

 

In this case, 15 TRU students accepted 2L spots in Vancouver last year, vs 8 for U of A. But I'd really like to know how many students actually applied from each of those schools. I suspect the number from TRU would be quite a bit higher, but I'm really not sure. 

The University of Alberta only has around 20-25 students each year from British Columbia and only a minority of students from outside of British Columbia apply to positions in Vancouver. The high cost of living in Vancouver combined with salaries similar to Calgary doesn't make it a particularly attractive option for students from Alberta. Alberta's large 1L recruit also means that many (or most) of the top students from Alberta already have secured jobs prior to the 2L Vancouver recruit. 

I'd be surprised if TRU and the University of Alberta are anywhere near each other in terms of the number of participants in the Vancouver 2L recruit.

I doubt there's a huge difference between the schools in terms of competitiveness in Vancouver but as far as I can tell there is no way to know with the available information.

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Toad

[Pantalaimon]

Re: your thread title, UofC has a group that goes to recruits in Vancouver every year. I think most of my acquaintances from Vancouver landed jobs, although I can only think of one that is for sure in big law. So it's certainly possible, but I can't speak to whether TRU or UofA would be better or worse.

[Ramesses]

Heard that 10-12 Calgary students got jobs in Vancouver recruit last year. About 50% of the people that applied. Not sure if true or not. 

I think Ontario schools and Dal are given preference over Alberta schools though.

Edited October 27, 2021 by Ramesses

[lawstudent007]

This year UofA had a really tough go with Vancouver 2L recruit. Only know 2 people that landed big law jobs there. But the 2L recruit is super small. Everyone who wanted articles in BC got them (not necessarily in Vancouver but in surrounding areas like Surrey, Richmond). 

[TrashGoose]

3L at U of A here. I can think of at least 6 3Ls in my year who are articling in Vancouver. I know of 7 who got BL jobs in Van in the year above me, but I didn't know that many people in their class. There are usually 15 - 25 BC residents who attend each year and not all of them want to go to Vancouver so it is hard to determine the placement rate.

My understanding is that U of A does fairly well in Vancouver (obviously not as well as UBC or U Vic) but I have no quantitative evidence to substantiate my claim.

[СлаваУкраїні]

On 10/27/2021 at 11:05 AM, Ramesses said:

I think Ontario schools and Dal are given preference over Alberta schools though.

I’d push back on this notion, at least in the absence of any evidence for it. Why would Vancouver employers have such a preference?