Queen's Law - Family Law

[yellow16]

Hey everyone! I am in the process of deciding on what law school to attend. I am extremely interested in family law and have some relevant experience through volunteering and graduate school. 

Does anyone have experiences with the Family Law Clinic and/or Family and Children's Law Placements? How did you find the experiences in securing a placement and completing the clinic?

[QueensDenning]

I go to Queen's but have no interest in family law, so I haven't participated in the clinic. But I know lots who have and I've heard good things. I find with clinics especially, you tend to get out what you put in. 

One thing I want to note is that we have professor Nicholas Bala, who is arguably the top family/child protection scholar in Canada (possibly the world). He teaches 1L contracts, and a lot of family law classes in upper years. If I were interested in anything family, he would be a major pull for me in terms of which school I was considering. 

[yellow16]

9 hours ago, QueensDenning said:

I go to Queen's but have no interest in family law, so I haven't participated in the clinic. But I know lots who have and I've heard good things. I find with clinics especially, you tend to get out what you put in. 

One thing I want to note is that we have professor Nicholas Bala, who is arguably the top family/child protection scholar in Canada (possibly the world). He teaches 1L contracts, and a lot of family law classes in upper years. If I were interested in anything family, he would be a major pull for me in terms of which school I was considering. 

Yes Professor Bala is one of the primary things pushing me towards Queens, alongside the wide-range of family law clinics offered.

I am debating between Queens and Osgoode. I currently live very close to York University so I'm trying to see if moving away and taking on an increased cost of living and deceased amount of family support is worth it for future career prospects in family law.

Thank-you very much for your insight 🙂

[Pendragon]

19 hours ago, yellow16 said:

Yes Professor Bala is one of the primary things pushing me towards Queens, alongside the wide-range of family law clinics offered.

I am debating between Queens and Osgoode. I currently live very close to York University so I'm trying to see if moving away and taking on an increased cost of living and deceased amount of family support is worth it for future career prospects in family law.

Thank-you very much for your insight 🙂

Keep in mind that most family lawyers are sole practitioners or work in small firms. Most family law jobs are also outside of the formal recruits and people find them through networking. This is one of the areas of law where there are lots of jobs relative to the amount of people that want to do it. I really would not recommend taking on more debt for a lower ranked school just to go into this area. Every law school has lots of clinics in family law. Osgoode has the Family Law Project, placements with Barbra Schlifer Clinic, Feminist Advocacy: Ending Violence Against Women Clinical Program, CLASP Family Law Division, Parkdale Social Assistance, Violence, and Health, and the Mediation Clinical Program. There are some good family law professors as well. Fertility law is taught by a renowned adjunct professor. 

A number of my classmates from Oz are practicing in family law now. I really don't think taking on more debt just to take a class with one professor makes sense in your case. 

[Aureliuse]

As an Osgoode grad and now a full time family law exclusive lawyer, I think you wouldn't go wrong with either choice.

Your law school clinic/volunteering/courses will help you land your first job (and grades of course), but once you are in practice, I would say everyone is on an even keel with respect to competence and experience. You learn most of your "how to family law lawyer" in practice and not in school. There is a valley between family law academia and family law in practice.

[yellow16]

13 hours ago, Pendragon said:

Keep in mind that most family lawyers are sole practitioners or work in small firms. Most family law jobs are also outside of the formal recruits and people find them through networking. This is one of the areas of law where there are lots of jobs relative to the amount of people that want to do it. I really would not recommend taking on more debt for a lower ranked school just to go into this area. Every law school has lots of clinics in family law. Osgoode has the Family Law Project, placements with Barbra Schlifer Clinic, Feminist Advocacy: Ending Violence Against Women Clinical Program, CLASP Family Law Division, Parkdale Social Assistance, Violence, and Health, and the Mediation Clinical Program. There are some good family law professors as well. Fertility law is taught by a renowned adjunct professor. 

A number of my classmates from Oz are practicing in family law now. I really don't think taking on more debt just to take a class with one professor makes sense in your case. 

Thank-you so much for all this information on clinics. Using the Osgoode website and pamphlets I was unaware many of these existed or had a family law department. This information was extremely helpful.

13 hours ago, Aureliuse said:

As an Osgoode grad and now a full time family law exclusive lawyer, I think you wouldn't go wrong with either choice.

Your law school clinic/volunteering/courses will help you land your first job (and grades of course), but once you are in practice, I would say everyone is on an even keel with respect to competence and experience. You learn most of your "how to family law lawyer" in practice and not in school. There is a valley between family law academia and family law in practice.

Thank-you very much. I will keep my options open regarding areas of practice since there is a big difference between academia and practice. Hopefully I have a clearer picture as I gain more experience.

[artsydork]

On 2/26/2022 at 12:07 AM, yellow16 said:

Yes Professor Bala is one of the primary things pushing me towards Queens, alongside the wide-range of family law clinics offered.

I am debating between Queens and Osgoode. I currently live very close to York University so I'm trying to see if moving away and taking on an increased cost of living and deceased amount of family support is worth it for future career prospects in family law.

Thank-you very much for your insight 🙂

My suggestion is to set yourself up for success. Are you someone that needs family support or are you someone that can thrive in an unknown environment? Both schools are great and can lead to a career in family law. Nicholas Bala is a quoted scholar and there are fantastic courses at Osgoode/scholarship in the field as well.

Burning out in the process is going to be a barrier though. You'll also want to minimize debt, if possible.