Any students currently in the French JD?

[TheHungJuror]

I'm starting in the French JD stream and just wanted to know if anyone here has gone through the process. I had contact with someone on ls.ca but Idk if they migrated here or not. I've got a few questions about a couple small things, and was just wondering if someone could help, particularly if you're anglophone/english-dominant. 

Please let me know if you could help me out! 

 

Thanks

[chagrin]

Hi! I'm just starting the French JD too, so i'm not a wealth of knowledge but I did ask someone on the old forum and they answered me, so I might have a few answers that I can pass down? Let me know 🙂

[user 111]

@chagrin Hey! I have a question regarding the French JD program at UOttawa. I'm wrapping up my degree, and I have a cGPA of 3.45 (B2 3.6). I didn't take the lsat, and my Ecs are quite average. Do you think I have a chance at getting accepted? 

Also, do you think the job prospects of a French JD are higher than a regular English JD? Can I still practice law in English if I choose to switch later in my career (I'm anglophone).

I'm very new to this forum, so if anyone has any insight I'd greatly appreciate it!

Edited June 11, 2021 by user 111

[chagrin]

22 hours ago, user 111 said:

@chagrin Hey! I have a question regarding the French JD program at UOttawa. I'm wrapping up my degree, and I have a cGPA of 3.45 (B2 3.6). I didn't take the lsat, and my Ecs are quite average. Do you think I have a chance at getting accepted? 

hi! I'll do my best to answer as per the information I gathered in the past! For this, I think the best I can say is maybe. If you are applying for the next cycle, I would recommend doing a lot of great ECs that will help balance your lower cGPA, and I would actually take the LSAT if I were you. This is because if you succeed well, then it gives you a better chance (+ if you apply to anglo programs). I definitely think that with a strong CV and references, a very strong statement and a great LSAT score, you could have a very, very solid chance of getting accepted! 

I've heard of people getting accepted with less (old forum history of acceptances all the way to 2016), so it's possible, I think it's worth applying (even if you don't write the LSAT). 

22 hours ago, user 111 said:

Also, do you think the job prospects of a French JD are higher than a regular English JD? Can I still practice law in English if I choose to switch later in my career (I'm anglophone).

 

Glad you asked! I asked this too to that 1L student, and she said that it may open up more opportunities and that you absolutely can practice in English if you choose. It might actually give you more jobs, especially in Ottawa as a lot of places want bilingual lawyers. In other words, it won't affect you negatively and it might even affect you positively.

This is what I've been told. 

 

I hope this helps a bit!!! 

Also, do you feel comfortable studying in French? 

[Frankie576]

I'm also starting in the French stream this year (PDC not JD though). Nice/comforting to see that there will be some Anglophones in the programs :)

[TheHungJuror]

On 6/11/2021 at 1:14 PM, chagrin said:

Hi! I'm just starting the French JD too, so I'm not a wealth of knowledge but I did ask someone on the old forum and they answered me, so I might have a few answers that I can pass down? Let me know 🙂

PM me if you'd like, the question(s)(there's a few, but the main) was more so relating to grammar and how much profs care about proper French grammar while writing.  I used to have fairly strong grammar but I've lost a bit of it over the last few years. I'm wondering if it's worth putting in some effort to relearn some of it, or if profs are generally understanding and mostly care about substance. 

[Frankie576]

1 hour ago, TheHungJuror said:

PM me if you'd like, the question(s)(there's a few, but the main) was more so relating to grammar and how much profs care about proper French grammar while writing.  I used to have fairly strong grammar but I've lost a bit of it over the last few years. I'm wondering if it's worth putting in some effort to relearn some of it, or if profs are generally understanding and mostly care about substance. 

I've heard that the only class in which you're really graded for writing is Délits! Otherwise, they're grading more for substance.

[TheHungJuror]

29 minutes ago, Frankie576 said:

I've heard that the only class in which you're really graded for writing is Délits! Otherwise, they're grading more for substance.

Interesting, do you know if that's for the Civil law/PDC Delits, because there's one for the common law section and an additional one for civil. 

[Frankie576]

2 minutes ago, TheHungJuror said:

Interesting, do you know if that's for the Civil law/PDC Delits, because there's one for the common law section and an additional one for civil. 

That's for the PDC Délits, which is Common Law (all of the first year of the PDC is Common Law). I was worried about the same thing so I asked someone who just finished 1L in PDC.

[chagrin]

On 6/14/2021 at 11:32 AM, TheHungJuror said:

PM me if you'd like, the question(s)(there's a few, but the main) was more so relating to grammar and how much profs care about proper French grammar while writing.  I used to have fairly strong grammar but I've lost a bit of it over the last few years. I'm wondering if it's worth putting in some effort to relearn some of it, or if profs are generally understanding and mostly care about substance. 

Hey, others have answered for this and I actually have no idea, but I would've guessed that it matters and ought to matter, given the discipline. Not too sure though.

[TheHungJuror]

2 hours ago, chagrin said:

Hey, others have answered for this and I actually have no idea, but I would've guessed that it matters and ought to matter, given the discipline. Not too sure though.

I actually ended speaking with a few people who have all told me that for a fair amount of courses, grammar does not trump substance, particularly in final exams when you are rushed for time. This doesn't mean that it's not important at all, you still need strong sentence structure and a decent ability to write properly, but there can be some leniency on the specifics of conjugation and tenses, etc...

I've been told courses like Habiletes et Competences Juridique (IDK how to do accents on work comp), which are more geared towards actual writing aspects are more strict on grammar, but that substantive courses are likely to be more forgiving. This may also apply to Delits, as Frankie said, but I personally believe that they are referring to the Civil law course.

I've also heard (and this may have been on ls.ca) that the U of O's French program is a little lenient in some aspects to try and incentivize more bilinguals/anglophones from other provinces to attend. I can't confirm this second part but that was what I have been told. 

[Mimi23]

2L in the PCLF here! I come from a francophone background (elementary and high school in full French) but decided to do my undergrad in English. Applied to the PCLF cause I was afraid to lose the language. I utilized Antidote a lot and tried my hardest to improve my French and I've honestly noticed an improvement from my first assignment to my last. 
 

Courses that you will for sure be graded for grammar: Competences et habilités juridique and your assignments in Contrats. 
 

The competences class is a legal research and writing course. You're going to be learning how to write various different legal documents so you will for sure be evaluated on grammar and sentence structure. In contrat, your prof will also look for grammar mistakes, especially when it's time to write the graded contract. On exams, the profs don't really care for mistakes, they just want you to apply the concepts properly and want you to come up with a coherent sentence. Stay organized though and split your paragraphs.

 

If you guys have any other questions about the PCLF in general, don't hesitate to reach out 🙂