What are some of the better law schools if I want to pursue public interest?

[citysymphony]

My main objective if I go to law school is to pursue public interest work, specifically working in legal aid or in some form of low income legal services. I am curious if there are some schools that are better than others in this regard, or if most schools are the same. I saw the University of Toronto statistics and noticed that only 10% of graduates pursue public interest, where as I heard in another thread that the University of Ottawa specializes more in public interest because it is in Ottawa. Thoughts? 

[CleanHands]

Minimizing debt will be the primary consideration there. Those kinds of jobs largely don't care what school you went to; they care if you have relevant experience and interest and you can perform in the trenches. I am a legal aid staff lawyer and in recent years my office's hires have ranged from an Oxbridge law grad with an SCC clerkship to less prestigious NCA grads and every Canadian law school in between. The commonality is a desire to speak truth to power and be a street fighting man (or woman) and be able to hack managing challenging clients with complex needs and mudwrestling in court on a daily basis.

It's not a mystery why UofT doesn't produce a lot of legal aid staff lawyers when their tuition is $33k/year (in before idiots who got ridiculously generous scholarships/bursaries or had parents who paid it act like their experience is universally representative).

[Chewy]

Which province do you want to live/work in?

[CleanHands]

16 minutes ago, Chewy said:

Which province do you want to live/work in?

This is really not as relevant for a legal aid staff lawyer job as it is for certain other positions (as long as you can articulate a sensible reason why you are applying where you are applying, geographically-speaking). It's definitely more important to take a cheaper option as opposed to a more proximate one.

Edited May 26, 2023 by CleanHands

[citysymphony]

Just now, Chewy said:

Which province do you want to live/work in?

I want to remain in Ontario if I can but I am open to considering Dalhousie & schools in BC and Alberta as well if it means I have less barriers with tuition and such to working in legal aid.  

[Chewy]

1 minute ago, CleanHands said:

This is really not as relevant for a legal aid staff lawyer job as it is for certain other positions (as long as you can articulate a sensible reason why you are applying where you are applying, geographically-speaking). It's definition more important to take a cheaper option as opposed to a more proximate one.

That's good to know, actually. Was thinking more about making local connections. 

[CleanHands]

9 minutes ago, Chewy said:

That's good to know, actually. Was thinking more about making local connections. 

Your point is certainly worth mentioning for related jobs like, for example, if the OP is also considering criminal defence with private firms that take legal aid certificates. Lots of students get those kind of jobs through interacting with hiring lawyers at law school clinics and such.

[The Law]

I think for public interest what city/province you want to live in and the amount of debt you will leave law school with are the only two factors that really matter, correct? Ottawa probably has the most opportunities because it is the federal capital, and I would assume that provincial capital cities would also be better (for example, Edmonton likely has more opportunities in public policy than Calgary because Alberta's legislature is in Edmonton). But even that doesnt matter. You could easily go to UCalgary and get hired in Edmonton, same goes for going to a Toronto school and getting hired in Ottawa. Just minimise debt. For this reason if you're going to stay in Ontario I dont think UofT or Osgoode would be the best fit because of the tuition costs. Most people are willing to pay those prices because they have corporate law aspirations, otherwise thats a whole lot of debt to pay back.