Western, Windsor, TRU, or Ryerson

[akk]

Hello everyone! I’m looking for some help and advice. I’m from BC and got accepted to Western, Windsor, TRU and Ryerson so far. I do plan to practice in BC and was thinking family/criminal, but also am keeping my options open as I might be into big law. I was leaning towards Western as based on my research through online ranking reports, it has the highest ranking out of all and I’ve sometimes been told the place you go to law school has an impact (especially if you want to work big law). TRU, although in BC, is newer and smaller so I was leaning away from it because I want to have options and opportunities after graduation. Not sure where I should go now based on opinions I’ve received and was looking for insight from people who have either attended these schools, are already lawyers, and just general opinions. Thank you!!

[NowOrNever]

Western is an excellent school, so is UVic.

But think twice before going there if you want to work in BC later on.

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by NowOrNever

[CleanHands]

6 minutes ago, NowOrNever said:

so is UVic

???

[NowOrNever]

1 minute ago, CleanHands said:

???

I meant UVic is also an excellent school. Agree?

But people are not easy to find a job in Toronto from there.

It is probably the same for attending Western but wanting to work in Vancouver.

[Lawstudents20202020]

1 hour ago, akk said:

Hello everyone! I’m looking for some help and advice. I’m from BC and got accepted to Western, Windsor, TRU and Ryerson so far. I do plan to practice in BC and was thinking family/criminal, but also am keeping my options open as I might be into big law. I was leaning towards Western as based on my research through online ranking reports, it has the highest ranking out of all and I’ve sometimes been told the place you go to law school has an impact (especially if you want to work big law). TRU, although in BC, is newer and smaller so I was leaning away from it because I want to have options and opportunities after graduation. Not sure where I should go now based on opinions I’ve received and was looking for insight from people who have either attended these schools, are already lawyers, and just general opinions. Thank you!!

As a tru grad, if you want to practice in BC Go to tru. It's got a good reputation in Vancouver and if you want big law, that door is fully open. TRU will also be a lot easier to network at for BC as many of the profs are from BC and many of the sessionals are still practicing lawyers in BC. 

[ElleofFrell]

15 minutes ago, NowOrNever said:

I meant UVic is also an excellent school. Agree?

But people are not easy to find a job in Toronto from there.

It is probably the same for attending Western but wanting to work in Vancouver.

OP did not list UVic as one of their options - so that was the confusing part. 

[NowOrNever]

10 minutes ago, ElleofFrell said:

OP did not list UVic as one of their options - so that was the confusing part. 

You are right. So I posted a link below to show it is much harder to find a job from a law school in different province.

[Patient0L]

In my research of BC schools in terms of OCIs, summer placements, jobs, etcetera, I've gotten the info that the firms in BC who recruit go each of the three BC schools (no one gets skipped). Some have summer placements reserved specifically for students from each BC school (and not other provinces). TRU gets ragged on a lot, but from the perspective of BC, I get the sense that TRU students/grads are on an equal playing field. Proportional to class size (approx 1/2 size of UBC, similar to that of UVic), TRU job placement rates aren't drastically different than the other two. Having access to career infrastructure targeted specifically to BC jobs seems a better bet than going to a "higher ranked," yet a middle-of-the-road, school in another province.

[Ramesses]

11 minutes ago, Patient0L said:

In my research of BC schools in terms of OCIs, summer placements, jobs, etcetera, I've gotten the info that the firms in BC who recruit go each of the three BC schools (no one gets skipped). Some have summer placements reserved specifically for students from each BC school (and not other provinces). TRU gets ragged on a lot, but from the perspective of BC, I get the sense that TRU students/grads are on an equal playing field. Proportional to class size (approx 1/2 size of UBC, similar to that of UVic), TRU job placement rates aren't drastically different than the other two. Having access to career infrastructure targeted specifically to BC jobs seems a better bet than going to a "higher ranked," yet a middle-of-the-road, school in another province.

I summered with someone from TRU and they said the quality of exposure they get is different than what UBC and UVic gets. Usually firms are excited to go to UBC and UVic but it is more of a chore for them to go to TRU and it shows in the quality of interaction they receive. For the career firm, the lawyers get shipped in and shipped out. While at the other school there are dinners with select students afterwards and other activities. It was also mentioned that they have to fight for a lot of sponsorship (whether money or lawyers to attend events) as oppose to the other schools where the Vancouver firms are more than happy to give them money or send a couple lawyers to chat with them. 

Nonetheless, I do agree that TRU would be the best bet for OP since he's from BC and wants to practice there.

[Lawstudents20202020]

1 minute ago, Ramesses said:

While at the other school there are dinners with select students afterwards and other activities.

This happens at TRU 

[TimHortonsCup]

On 3/25/2022 at 3:59 PM, NowOrNever said:

Western is an excellent school, so is UVic.

But think twice before going there if you want to work in BC later on.

 

Just following up - Yes, I would definitely say that go to the school within the province or area you want to practice in. For my case, I was unable to do that because I had only received an acceptance to TRU and no where else, and I don't regret going because I would rather do this than spend another year trying to get into a law school. However, if you have the option to go within your province - definitely go down that path as it will save you alot of time when it comes to applying for jobs. Even during my OCI process I applied to Toronto and Vancouver firms and I had way more interviews and got further in those interviews in Toronto. Although I tailored my resume/cover letter to each area, it was evident to employers that my entire life has been spent in Toronto and to Vancouver firms I assume i look like much more of a flight risk, which makes sense because they are going to be spending time on training, etc. 

TLDR: Just go to the school in the province where you know you want to work.

Edit: Also TRU is not a bad school if you want to practice in BC, alot of my classmates have secured 2L positions in BC with fairly similar grades to mine, the people who came from out of province but got B+ averages and above were able to secure positions in other provinces during OCI's. The professors are solid, it's a tight-knit law school community, so we all know each other and its a sick time. The school offers alot of opportunities in 2L to build up your resume, connect with lawyers, and whatnot but getting good grades in 1L  is what I believe is the the most important factor especially if you want a job in Biglaw, Govt, Crown's office. 

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by TimHortonsCup

[akk]

1 hour ago, TimHortonsCup said:

Just following up - Yes, I would definitely say that go to the school within the province or area you want to practice in. For my case, I was unable to do that because I had only received an acceptance to TRU and no where else, and I don't regret going because I would rather do this than spend another year trying to get into a law school. However, if you have the option to go within your province - definitely go down that path as it will save you alot of time when it comes to applying for jobs. Even during my OCI process I applied to Toronto and Vancouver firms and I had way more interviews and got further in those interviews in Toronto. Although I tailored my resume/cover letter to each area, it was evident to employers that my entire life has been spent in Toronto and to Vancouver firms I assume i look like much more of a flight risk, which makes sense because they are going to be spending time on training, etc. 

TLDR: Just go to the school in the province where you know you want to work.

Edit: Also TRU is not a bad school if you want to practice in BC, alot of my classmates have secured 2L positions in BC with fairly similar grades to mine, the people who came from out of province but got B+ averages and above were able to secure positions in other provinces during OCI's. The professors are solid, it's a tight-knit law school community, so we all know each other and its a sick time. The school offers alot of opportunities in 2L to build up your resume, connect with lawyers, and whatnot but getting good grades in 1L  is what I believe is the the most important factor especially if you want a job in Biglaw, Govt, Crown's office. 

 

I spoke to some individuals who are in law school right now and heard the aspect of being a flight risk as a big part of getting placements. One told me that if I wanted to go outside of BC to study and was planning to work in BC that it wouldn’t be too difficult or detrimental. He said that I could vouch for myself with BC firms as I have lived in the Lower Mainland all my life and in that case would not be a flight risk as I plan to work here. I’m still in the process of deciding where to go and appreciate all the opinions and help! I’m considering TRU but still have my mind set for Ontario. Would you consider it detrimental for me to attend Ontario schools if i wanted to practice in BC?

[CleanHands]

5 minutes ago, akk said:

Would you consider it detrimental for me to attend Ontario schools if i wanted to practice in BC?

Given that you wrote in the OP that you are from BC, this should not be a problem. You will have demonstrated history with, and ties to, BC. People go out of town to study before returning all the time. This is different from a candidate who has never set foot in the province where they are applying and is viewed with suspension as applying to their backup market.

[TimHortonsCup]

2 hours ago, akk said:

I spoke to some individuals who are in law school right now and heard the aspect of being a flight risk as a big part of getting placements. One told me that if I wanted to go outside of BC to study and was planning to work in BC that it wouldn’t be too difficult or detrimental. He said that I could vouch for myself with BC firms as I have lived in the Lower Mainland all my life and in that case would not be a flight risk as I plan to work here. I’m still in the process of deciding where to go and appreciate all the opinions and help! I’m considering TRU but still have my mind set for Ontario. Would you consider it detrimental for me to attend Ontario schools if i wanted to practice in BC?

I don't think it will be too detrimental in the end as all Canadian law schools are good however, it'll definitely be harder compared to just being in the province prior to applying for jobs but it will come down to your grades. I think attending Western would be your best bet as it most likely has the largest alumni network of graduates working in BC if you had to pick between your Ontario choices. However, if you plan to practice in Ontario, all the schools are good - Ryerson placed really well too during oci's and living in Toronto will be a great time.