Criminal law - what school ?

[ellewoodswannabe]

I have noticed a lack of discussion on here about criminal law and was hoping to get some feedback from current students/alumni. What school would you suggest for criminal law ?

 

Specific to myself- Accepted at Uottawa, Western, Calgary, Dalhousie and Windsor. Waiting to hear from UBC, Queens, Osgoode, UofA. Hoping to become a crown prosecutor in the future. Would love to hear suggestions on these schools as I have to respond to my current offers by March 31/April 1. I also hope to work in the Vancouver area eventually. 

 

Would also like to hear info on the other schools mentioned/ any general comments on school choices in relation to criminal law that may be helpful to others and myself. 

 

Thanks! 

[Icarus]

I could be wrong, but I think Osgoode and Queen's are at the top for criminal law. In my year U of T did well enough placing students with the Crown. I'm not familiar with the Western schools. 

[Hegdis]

The reputation of various schools change over time. Here is what you really need to focus on:

1. Lowest possible cost and

2. clinical work opportunities 

While brilliant profs are great, and being in a major city is great, the real focus is minimizing your debt and getting your hands dirty. Criminal law is not a lucrative career for anyone in the first five years, and if you have a massive debt it will limit your options severely. You want to be able to say yes to things that come your way without being forced to focus only on the pay. And what practitioners hiring students look for is actual experience with clients and in court, as they seldom have a lot of resources to train (relative to big firms that have formal training built in).

[ellewoodswannabe]

2 minutes ago, Icharus said:

I could be wrong, but I think Osgoode and Queen's are at the top for criminal law. In my year U of T did well enough placing students with the Crown. I'm not familiar with the Western schools. 

Thanks! I figured this will be the most common response. I have to firmly accept to Western by April 1, so trying to weigh the options to see if waiting for Queens/Oz would be worth it. I appreciate the response 🙂 

1 minute ago, Hegdis said:

The reputation of various schools change over time. Here is what you really need to focus on:

1. Lowest possible cost and

2. clinical work opportunities 

While brilliant profs are great, and being in a major city is great, the real focus is minimizing your debt and getting your hands dirty. Criminal law is not a lucrative career for anyone in the first five years, and if you have a massive debt it will limit your options severely. You want to be able to say yes to things that come your way without being forced to focus only on the pay. And what practitioners hiring students look for is actual experience with clients and in court, as they seldom have a lot of resources to train (relative to big firms that have formal training built in).

Thank you so much for the realistic and informative response. I really appreciate the insight! 

[CleanHands]

11 minutes ago, ellewoodswannabe said:

Waiting to hear from UBC

[...]

I also hope to work in the Vancouver area eventually. 

9 minutes ago, Icharus said:

In my year U of T did well enough placing students with the Crown.

Jumping off of what @Hegdis wrote, UofT is the worst choice of school in the country for a criminal law career based on tuition cost alone if one is paying sticker (even if Kent Roach is a legend). I have absolutely no doubt that UofT grads can get excellent criminal law jobs on both the crown and defence side if they want (compared to students from other schools with equivalent grades and experience). But the tuition cost is a non-starter.

If someone can get scholarships, bursaries, etc, that of course changes things significantly.