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Possible to get U.S. 1L/2L BigLaw/HiTech placements from Canadian J.D. program?


Latte_Specter14

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Latte_Specter14
  • Law Student

For example, most summer associate/legal intern job descriptions say "Enrolled at an ABA approved law school" which Canadian schools do not qualify for, however most would agree the top Canadian law schools are better than 2/3 of the ABA approved schools in the U.S. 

I understand it is possible to practice in the U.S. upon graduation from a Canadian J.D. program (eg. you can sit for the NY state bar exam right out of a Canadian school; can sit for California bar if you have a provincial bar already), however I was hoping to learn if it possible to do this during your studies? I am sorta 50/50 on whether I want to end up long term in the U.S., hence why I stayed in Canada for significant reduced cost + I wasn't going to get into a T14 school due to my LSAT score (I also don't believe an LSAT score can predict success in IP law...). However, I was hoping to work down south during my 1L or 2L summers for exposure. Any advice/thoughts are much appreciated!

For reference, I have a STEM degree and 2 years of technical engineering work experience, hoping to end up in IP/Tech/Corporate law. Thanks!

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Ben
  • Law Student

I don't think New York firms recruit summer students from any Canadian schools except U of T, Osgoode, McGill and maybe occasionally UBC. 

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Since you're not yet a student, the current favourable market conditions may not still be here when you graduate.

1. Direct recruitment.

  • 1L: It's (very) difficult for top students from T14s to snag those; never seen Canadian students getting a 1L firm position.
  • 2L: Only Toronto, Osgoode, and McGill send summers to the States with any regularity. Only Toronto sends a non-negligible amount (10-15% of the class but some top candidates self-select out of US recruitment). Other schools, like Queens, may send 1 per blue moon.
  • 3L/post-articling: Usually very few spots are still open by this time, but demand for corporate legal work has spiked because of COVID. There's been an irregular amount of 3L hiring these past 1.5 years.

2. Lateral. Easier to do with corporate because of a lower degree of T14 competition (relative to other practice areas), sheer number of positions available, and overlapping substantive legal knowledge and skill sets. The only junior Canadian lateral at my firm in regulatory/litigation graduated near the top of his class at UofT.

3. Clerking. There are usually some SSC clerks that move down every year. If I can recall, I think I've seen a handful of ONCA/BCCA clerks on firm websites too. A fancy clerkship will get you noticed. Although, if you get the grades for these, you'll be competitive for summer recruiting as well.

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CleanHands
  • Lawyer

Getting US work during 1L and/or 2L summer "for exposure" before articling in Canada, while studying at a second tier Canadian law school, is not going to happen.

Edited by CleanHands
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  • 3 weeks later...

@Chemistry124 is on the money here. I actually haven't even seen that many Osgoode/UBC/McGill students. A lot of US firms let you filter their attorneys for school. You should filter for Canadian ones and then read their bios to see if they did their 2L summer there, if they clerked, if they moved there later in their career, etc.

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