Osgoode vs UVic

[helloitsme]

Hi! I have been admitted to both UVic and Osgoode and am hoping for some insight to help me choose between the two schools.

I grew up in Vancouver so choosing UVic would allow me to stay closer to my family and if I move back home after law school I would be saving money on living expenses. Moreover, the tuition for UVic is less than half of Osgoode. 

However, my current goal is to pursue corporate law and I know Osgoode and Toronto would offer more opportunities. I am open to working and living in Toronto although I may want to return to Vancouver in the future.

I would really appreciate some insight on:

1. How UVic students do in corporate and Vancouver big law.

2. Whether the increase in opportunity I would find in Osgoode/Toronto justifies the extra tuition and living expenses I would be taking on.

3. How easy it would be for an Osgoode grad to pursue corporate or big law jobs in Vancouver. 

Thank you all in advance!

[Pendragon]

I don't see many Osgoode grads in Vancouver. Why would you spend all that money on one of the most expensive schools in the country just to end up back there? Vancouver already has two strong law schools and TRU places decently in Big law hiring as well. 

If you wanted to work on Bay Street, then Osgoode is the better choice. It's possible from UVic but your chances are better from Oz. But since you seem to be leaning towards living in Vancouver and staying with your family, I don't see why you need to go to Oz. 

What increase in opportunity will you find at Osgoode/Toronto that you won't get in Vancouver? List an area of law and I can guarantee you that at least one firm will practice in that area in Vancouver. Bay Street firms also have offices in Vancouver and most other major cities in Canada. 

I see most law firms in Vancouver doing corporate law work. Check out UBC's employment stats here - https://canlawforum.com/topic/1704-how-difficult-is-it-to-get-a-job-in-toronto-from-an-out-of-province-school/page/2/#comment-17442 (over 100 graduates went into corporate law, full service and general practice). I can't find the stats for UVic but I am sure it is more than possible to work at a corporate law firm in Vancouver from this school. 

I feel like you have this misconception that corporate law is a hard field to get into. My guess is that most students at every law school in Canada, except for maybe some of the newer ones, go into this line of work. The bar associations in this area are the largest I've seen. The only advantage Osgoode gives you is if you are deadset on working on Bay Street or going abroad. 

 

[BlockedQuebecois]

I agree that if someone wants to stay in Vancouver, they should go with UVic as it is much cheaper. However, there are a lot of Osgoode grads in Vancouver, and in general I think it's quite easy for competitive Osgoode students to end up at good Vancouver big law firms. 

There's also a huge difference between corporate law generally and big law specifically, which is probably worth noting for OP's benefit lest they think more than 100 UBC grads are going to work in big law. 

[helloitsme]

5 hours ago, Pendragon said:

I don't see many Osgoode grads in Vancouver. Why would you spend all that money on one of the most expensive schools in the country just to end up back there? Vancouver already has two strong law schools and TRU places decently in Big law hiring as well. 

If you wanted to work on Bay Street, then Osgoode is the better choice. It's possible from UVic but your chances are better from Oz. But since you seem to be leaning towards living in Vancouver and staying with your family, I don't see why you need to go to Oz. 

What increase in opportunity will you find at Osgoode/Toronto that you won't get in Vancouver? List an area of law and I can guarantee you that at least one firm will practice in that area in Vancouver. Bay Street firms also have offices in Vancouver and most other major cities in Canada. 

I see most law firms in Vancouver doing corporate law work. Check out UBC's employment stats here - https://canlawforum.com/topic/1704-how-difficult-is-it-to-get-a-job-in-toronto-from-an-out-of-province-school/page/2/#comment-17442 (over 100 graduates went into corporate law, full service and general practice). I can't find the stats for UVic but I am sure it is more than possible to work at a corporate law firm in Vancouver from this school. 

I feel like you have this misconception that corporate law is a hard field to get into. My guess is that most students at every law school in Canada, except for maybe some of the newer ones, go into this line of work. The bar associations in this area are the largest I've seen. The only advantage Osgoode gives you is if you are deadset on working on Bay Street or going abroad. 

 

 

4 hours ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

I agree that if someone wants to stay in Vancouver, they should go with UVic as it is much cheaper. However, there are a lot of Osgoode grads in Vancouver, and in general I think it's quite easy for competitive Osgoode students to end up at good Vancouver big law firms. 

There's also a huge difference between corporate law generally and big law specifically, which is probably worth noting for OP's benefit lest they think more than 100 UBC grads are going to work in big law. 

 

Thank you so much for your responses! To clarify, ultimately my goal is to work in big law although I'm not dead set on it. If I go to Osgoode, I will most likely be working in Toronto but I just wanted to make sure the option to return to Vancouver would be open to me. While I know that there are corporate firms in Vancouver, my concern is that UVic doesn't seem to be corporate-focused and the number of opportunities in Vancouver may not be as great as in Toronto. 

I guess my more practical question is about earnings potential. Would the average Osgoode grad be making more money in Toronto than a UVic grad in Vancouver? And would that additional earnings potential be offset by the additional tuition and cost of living I would be taking on by going to Osgoode and living on my own? 

[CBay]

On 2/9/2022 at 6:32 AM, helloitsme said:

 

 

Thank you so much for your responses! To clarify, ultimately my goal is to work in big law although I'm not dead set on it. If I go to Osgoode, I will most likely be working in Toronto but I just wanted to make sure the option to return to Vancouver would be open to me. While I know that there are corporate firms in Vancouver, my concern is that UVic doesn't seem to be corporate-focused and the number of opportunities in Vancouver may not be as great as in Toronto. 

I guess my more practical question is about earnings potential. Would the average Osgoode grad be making more money in Toronto than a UVic grad in Vancouver? And would that additional earnings potential be offset by the additional tuition and cost of living I would be taking on by going to Osgoode and living on my own? 

Bump on this. Would love to know this too. 

[Turtles]

59 minutes ago, CBay said:

Bump on this. Would love to know this too. 

"Average grad" is a tough thing to nail down. Vancouver has no 1L formal recruit, whereas you could land a 1900/wk x ~15 week 1L job in Toronto. In articling, the standard big law in Vancouver is 65k whereas Toronto is 98.8k. A first year associate at Blakes or Osler in Toronto will make 130k vs 115k at the same firm in Vancouver these days, but after 5 years of call the delta widens up to 50k (ish?) pre-bonus. BUT are you going to stay in big law for 5 years, or go in-house after 2? How much in bursaries and scholarships might you get at Osgoode vs UVIC to lower the sticker cost of tuition (Osgoode's highest bursary is 15k/yr, which offsets tuition to be near UVIC's ~8k). What about differences in housing costs during school and after? What about tax differences, including, for example, BC's provincial tuition tax credit. What about differences in opportunities you might have to lateral down to the US for double or triple the salary? 

And all that to say, it is possible to go to UVIC and land in Toronto, and vice versa.