uOttawa vs Osgoode

[Rocky Road]

Hi all!

I am having some trouble deciding between Osgoode and uOttawa and was looking for some first-hand insight or general advice if anyone has any. A bit about my situation: I am thinking of pursuing corporate law (but that can always change depending on how 1L goes haha) and was accepted into the joint JD/MBA program at Osgoode. A big factor towards uOttawa is the fact that I am from Ottawa and my family is here.

Thanks in advance!

[ArchivesandMuseums]

1 hour ago, Rocky Road said:

Hi all!

I am having some trouble deciding between Osgoode and uOttawa and was looking for some first-hand insight or general advice if anyone has any. A bit about my situation: I am thinking of pursuing corporate law (but that can always change depending on how 1L goes haha) and was accepted into the joint JD/MBA program at Osgoode. A big factor towards uOttawa is the fact that I am from Ottawa and my family is here.

Thanks in advance!

If you want to practice corporate law, Osgoode is a far better choice than uOttawa law. uOttawa law does not have strengths in corporate law. (I am a 2L at uOttawa.)  

[Debtful]

1 hour ago, Rocky Road said:

Hi all!

I am having some trouble deciding between Osgoode and uOttawa and was looking for some first-hand insight or general advice if anyone has any. A bit about my situation: I am thinking of pursuing corporate law (but that can always change depending on how 1L goes haha) and was accepted into the joint JD/MBA program at Osgoode. A big factor towards uOttawa is the fact that I am from Ottawa and my family is here.

Thanks in advance!

It really depends on where you want to work. Osgoode places more people in Toronto Biglaw and Ottawa places a lot of their students in corporate law in Ottawa. 

 

One big thing to consider is the increased financial costs of moving to Toronto. Are you close to your family? law school is stressful and it can help to have family around.

[coffeelover]

22 minutes ago, ArchivesandMuseums said:

If you want to practice corporate law, Osgoode is a far better choice than uOttawa law. uOttawa law does not have strengths in corporate law. (I am a 2L at uOttawa.)  

I understand you say Ottawa does not have strengths in corporate law but I have heard that you do get good OCI opportunities for corporate law positions just like schools like Queens and Western. I just want to confirm from your experience if you think it is possible to secure a corporate law position from uOttawa (subject to grades). 

[ArchivesandMuseums]

6 minutes ago, coffeelover said:

I understand you say Ottawa does not have strengths in corporate law but I have heard that you do get good OCI opportunities for corporate law positions just like schools like Queens and Western. I just want to confirm from your experience if you think it is possible to secure a corporate law position from uOttawa (subject to grades). 

I cannot compare my school with Queens or Western in terms of grades; however, I am quite sure that a B+ student from Osgoode will have better opportunities to secure a corporate job than a B+ student from uOttawa law.

[LMP]

1 hour ago, coffeelover said:

I understand you say Ottawa does not have strengths in corporate law but I have heard that you do get good OCI opportunities for corporate law positions just like schools like Queens and Western. I just want to confirm from your experience if you think it is possible to secure a corporate law position from uOttawa (subject to grades). 

Statistically this is untrue. Osgoode places 20-25% more students in corporate law as compared to Ottawa. 

In fact Ottawa places less students than any other school on Ontario (except Lakehead).

[Kobe]

10 minutes ago, LMP said:

Statistically this is untrue. Osgoode places 20-25% more students in corporate law as compared to Ottawa. 

In fact Ottawa places less students than any other school on Ontario (except Lakehead).

Is this really true though? And what I mean is obviously on Bay Street we can see these numbers and this is true for Bay Street. But what percentage of Uottawa students are finding corporate work in Ottawa? I don't think we have any recent numbers on that, not that I could find anyway. To my knowledge UOttawa places quite well in Ottawa amongst the various corporate firms. If OP wants corporate work in Ottawa this may be a consideration, especially if it results in much lower debt. Not to say Ottawa is the better choice but I don't think it's so simple as Ottawa places no one in any kind of corporate work and Osgoode does. 

I found these numbers from 2017. 35 corporate jobs is certainly significant. So it may be true they do not place as well on Bay but students could be self selecting into Ottawa. 

https://inter-alia.ca/2017/06/15/ottawa-2l-summer-recruit-statistics/

[QMT20]

39 minutes ago, Kobe said:

Is this really true though? And what I mean is obviously on Bay Street we can see these numbers and this is true for Bay Street. But what percentage of Uottawa students are finding corporate work in Ottawa? I don't think we have any recent numbers on that, not that I could find anyway. To my knowledge UOttawa places quite well in Ottawa amongst the various corporate firms. If OP wants corporate work in Ottawa this may be a consideration, especially if it results in much lower debt. Not to say Ottawa is the better choice but I don't think it's so simple as Ottawa places no one in any kind of corporate work and Osgoode does. 

I found these numbers from 2017. 35 corporate jobs is certainly significant. So it may be true they do not place as well on Bay but students could be self selecting into Ottawa. 

https://inter-alia.ca/2017/06/15/ottawa-2l-summer-recruit-statistics/

The 35 or so additional placements that uOttawa gets in Ottawa is significant. However, what you're failing to consider is there's likely a much larger pool of Osgoode students ruling out applying to Ottawa than there are uOttawa students ruling out applying to Toronto. If Osgoode students actually applied to Ottawa at the same rate as uOttawa students did, they'd likely place more than 3 students in Ottawa. Even if they wouldn't place as many as uOttawa does, to the extent you'd give uOttawa the benefit of the doubt for placing something like 12% of their class on Bay, you'd have to give the same benefit to Osgoode for placing less in Ottawa. 

Toronto is a much larger market for corporate law than Ottawa is. After U of T, Osgoode gives you the best chance to land in corporate law in the largest market for corporate lawyers in Canada. I think that's a significant advantage. Many firms do 80 OCIs over the course of 2-days at Osgoode. That means even mediocre students can get a few interviews with large Bay Street firms. Those same firms are doing 20 OCIs (maybe a bit more now that they're virtual) at Ottawa. You'd have to be much closer to the top of your class to be competitive. 

If you want to do corporate law in Ontario, the schools that give you the best chances are: (1) U of T, (2) Osgoode, (3/4) Western/Queen's (though Western has done better since 2019); and then Ottawa, Windsor or Ryerson. That's not meant to be a ranking of schools or anything. That's just the reality of how well the schools historically place on Bay. 

[Kobe]

17 minutes ago, QMT20 said:

The 35 or so additional placements that uOttawa gets in Ottawa is significant. However, what you're failing to consider is there's likely a much larger pool of Osgoode students ruling out applying to Ottawa than there are uOttawa students ruling out applying to Toronto. If Osgoode students actually applied to Ottawa at the same rate as uOttawa students did, they'd likely place more than 3 students in Ottawa. Even if they wouldn't place as many as uOttawa does, to the extent you'd give uOttawa the benefit of the doubt for placing something like 12% of their class on Bay, you'd have to give the same benefit to Osgoode for placing less in Ottawa. 

Toronto is a much larger market for corporate law than Ottawa is. After U of T, Osgoode gives you the best chance to land in corporate law in the largest market for corporate lawyers in Canada. I think that's a significant advantage. Many firms do 80 OCIs over the course of 2-days at Osgoode. That means even mediocre students can get a few interviews with large Bay Street firms. Those same firms are doing 20 OCIs (maybe a bit more now that they're virtual) at Ottawa. You'd have to be much closer to the top of your class to be competitive. 

If you want to do corporate law in Ontario, the schools that give you the best chances are: (1) U of T, (2) Osgoode, (3/4) Western/Queen's (though Western has done better since 2019); and then Ottawa, Windsor or Ryerson. That's not meant to be a ranking of schools or anything. That's just the reality of how well the schools historically place on Bay. 

Just want to be clear I am not failing to consider this. I am just saying that it is not so simple as Ottawa places the fewest students in Ontario in Corporate law. The number of students that get corporate jobs in Ottawa + Toronto is probably comparable to schools like Queens and Western. Ottawa placed 41 students in the 2L recruit plus likely similar numbers in Ottawa from 2017. That is close to 30% landing corporate style jobs. So if OP wants to stay in Ottawa they are not precluding themselves from corporate law the way the comment I replied to was saying. 

In fact, I would argue if they want to stay in Ottawa post grad and can live at home for cheaper in Ottawa, that could even be a better choice. Lower tuition and lower COL. Again, OP just said corporate law and never specified that only meant Bay, if they want Bay the choice is a no brainer. If they want to keep more options open Osgoode does that. 

Edited March 25, 2022 by Kobe

[LMP]

2 hours ago, Kobe said:

Is this really true though? And what I mean is obviously on Bay Street we can see these numbers and this is true for Bay Street. But what percentage of Uottawa students are finding corporate work in Ottawa? I don't think we have any recent numbers on that, not that I could find anyway. To my knowledge UOttawa places quite well in Ottawa amongst the various corporate firms. If OP wants corporate work in Ottawa this may be a consideration, especially if it results in much lower debt. Not to say Ottawa is the better choice but I don't think it's so simple as Ottawa places no one in any kind of corporate work and Osgoode does. 

I found these numbers from 2017. 35 corporate jobs is certainly significant. So it may be true they do not place as well on Bay but students could be self selecting into Ottawa. 

https://inter-alia.ca/2017/06/15/ottawa-2l-summer-recruit-statistics/

Are we talking corporate or are we talking big law? They aren't one and the same and I wouldn't consider all of the firms on this list "big law". 

If we are just talking general corporate law I'd agree with you. But if we are talking about corporate big law which, like it or not, is most prevalent in Toronto, I think there's no doubt that Ottawa is probably one of the bottom three choices in Ontario. 

And based on what I'm reading, I'm pretty sure OP did mean big corporate law.

[Kobe]

4 minutes ago, LMP said:

Are we talking corporate or are we talking big law? They aren't one and the same and I wouldn't consider all of the firms on this list "big law". 

If we are just talking general corporate law I'd agree with you. But if we are talking about corporate big law which, like it or not, is most prevalent in Toronto, I think there's no doubt that Ottawa is probably one of the bottom three choices in Ontario. 

And based on what I'm reading, I'm pretty sure OP did mean big corporate law.

Yea agree with you, not the same thing. I thought they were just generally interested in corporate law, which is why I thought it relevant to mention their are still many corporate opportunities from UOttawa.  

 

5 hours ago, Rocky Road said:

Hi all!

I am having some trouble deciding between Osgoode and uOttawa and was looking for some first-hand insight or general advice if anyone has any. A bit about my situation: I am thinking of pursuing corporate law (but that can always change depending on how 1L goes haha) and was accepted into the joint JD/MBA program at Osgoode. A big factor towards uOttawa is the fact that I am from Ottawa and my family is here.

Thanks in advance!

I was just basing it off this, maybe they meant biglaw. I agree with you Osgoode is obvious choice for biglaw. 

[Rocky Road]

14 hours ago, ArchivesandMuseums said:

If you want to practice corporate law, Osgoode is a far better choice than uOttawa law. uOttawa law does not have strengths in corporate law. (I am a 2L at uOttawa.)  

Thanks for the input! Do you mind sharing a bit about your experience - if you applied for the Toronto recruit etc. and your grades if you are comfortable?

[Rocky Road]

14 hours ago, Debtful said:

It really depends on where you want to work. Osgoode places more people in Toronto Biglaw and Ottawa places a lot of their students in corporate law in Ottawa. 

 

One big thing to consider is the increased financial costs of moving to Toronto. Are you close to your family? law school is stressful and it can help to have family around.

That's good point, thanks! Luckily Osgoode has residence on campus that seems pretty affordable so I don't have to try and play with the Toronto real estate market which should help reduce that effect a bit, but still obviously more expensive than living at home.

Yes, I'm pretty close to my family! I guess one thing I'm concerned about is that living at home I'll have about an hour commute each way to school. I have been online for most of undergrad so it hasn't affected me too much, but with the increased workload of law school, I'm a bit worried about it. Any thoughts/experience with this?

12 hours ago, Kobe said:

Is this really true though? And what I mean is obviously on Bay Street we can see these numbers and this is true for Bay Street. But what percentage of Uottawa students are finding corporate work in Ottawa? I don't think we have any recent numbers on that, not that I could find anyway. To my knowledge UOttawa places quite well in Ottawa amongst the various corporate firms. If OP wants corporate work in Ottawa this may be a consideration, especially if it results in much lower debt. Not to say Ottawa is the better choice but I don't think it's so simple as Ottawa places no one in any kind of corporate work and Osgoode does. 

I found these numbers from 2017. 35 corporate jobs is certainly significant. So it may be true they do not place as well on Bay but students could be self selecting into Ottawa. 

https://inter-alia.ca/2017/06/15/ottawa-2l-summer-recruit-statistics/

That's a good point! Thanks for the link, I'll definitely check it out!

[Rocky Road]

14 hours ago, ArchivesandMuseums said:

I cannot compare my school with Queens or Western in terms of grades; however, I am quite sure that a B+ student from Osgoode will have better opportunities to secure a corporate job than a B+ student from uOttawa law.

Do you think that's the same of an A+ student at Ottawa and an A student at Osgoode? Or does the name carry more weight there?

[ArchivesandMuseums]

18 minutes ago, Rocky Road said:

Do you think that's the same of an A+ student at Ottawa and an A student at Osgoode? Or does the name carry more weight there?

lol... In this case, both students (an A+ student at uOttawa and an A student at Osgoode) will secure a clerkship at the Supreme Court. 

[LMP]

45 minutes ago, Rocky Road said:

Do you think that's the same of an A+ student at Ottawa and an A student at Osgoode? Or does the name carry more weight there?

Keep in mind this isn't undergrad. Very few students will have an A average. Never plan on being the outlier. Plan on being average and if you aren't you'll be pleasntly surprised. 

[Rocky Road]

11 hours ago, Kobe said:

Yea agree with you, not the same thing. I thought they were just generally interested in corporate law, which is why I thought it relevant to mention their are still many corporate opportunities from UOttawa.  

 

I was just basing it off this, maybe they meant biglaw. I agree with you Osgoode is obvious choice for biglaw. 

Yes, I should've specified. I was talking more about biglaw.

17 minutes ago, LMP said:

Keep in mind this isn't undergrad. Very few students will have an A average. Never plan on being the outlier. Plan on being average and if you aren't you'll be pleasntly surprised. 

That's very true, I was just wondering if having a higher GPA reduces the effect of what school you go to or not.