Western or Ryerson

[tibs]

For reference, I would like to work in Toronto and can see myself either focusing on criminal law or some sort of technology law. Thoughts?

Edited March 4, 2022 by tibs

[Pendragon]

7 minutes ago, tibs said:

For reference, I would like to work in Toronto and can see myself either focusing on criminal law or some sort of technology law. Thoughts?

https://www.reddit.com/r/lawschooladmissionsca/comments/t5e8lr/western_or_ryerson/

The responses you received here are accurate. I see no reason to choose Ryerson in your case. What other factors are  you considering that are not mentioned in the Reddit thread?

[Doot Universary]

To preface what I’ll say, I’m only a recent admit, so my perspective hasn’t been informed by attending law school or practicing.

With that said, if you plan on entering an area of practice that doesn’t pay exceptionally well relative to biglaw (e.g. crim), debt load should be considered in my opinion.

Will you have to pay for housing at both schools? In this situation, I’d attend Ryerson over Western only if I didn’t have to pay for housing while attending Ryerson (e.g. living at home) while having to rent if I had to attend Western.

For some people, that ~$30,000 difference in attending due to housing cost is negligible. For others, that’s something they can’t afford to say yes to, mainly because of pre-existing debt, an understanding that their practice area won’t pay exceptionally-well, or both of these factors. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Doot Universary
No edits were made to my original post, but I just wanted to quickly say that Western is the better choice here in about 99% of situations.

[Pendragon]

Technology and criminal law are very different fields to begin with. But regarding criminal law, see Hegdis' post.

https://canlawforum.com/topic/2591-criminal-law-what-school/?do=findComment&comment=28231

Quote

 

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).

 

[tibs]

In addition  if anyone can add their perspective on student life as well as opportunities that would be helpful!

[Pendragon]

Ryerson is a commuter school, though I am not sure if the law school has more of a community. But the school is located in the midst of downtown and is not closed off so will have less of a community feel than Western. If you want to have the traditional university social/party experience, then Western is better. Ryerson also attracts more mature students, parents, and professionals, so they may have other commitments outside school as well. Western typically attracts a more younger crowd and lots of KJDs. Ryerson will likely be more diverse than Western. 

As for opportunities, Western has more opportunities for obvious reasons. It has been around for 60+ years while Ryerson has been around for 3 years.

[beyondsection17]

Don't underestimate the fact that literally nobody who is in a position to hire you will have gone to Ryerson.