General Program Comparison

[warmbodiestvd]

Hello! I am currently applying to schools all across Canada and doing research on potential schools I might be interested in. I was just wondering where I would be able to find the "specialties" of each law school. I was able to find that The Bora Laskin Faculty of Law specializes mainly in environmental, natural resource and Indigenous law, but I wasn't able to find the specialties listed on other law school websites. Is there a webpage or forum that breaks down this for Canadian law schools specifically? 

[Whist]

The reason you're having trouble finding specializations is because many schools don't really have one. While it's true some schools will have more courses or clinics than others in certain areas, often that still doesn't equal a "specialty." For example, UCalgary has more energy law/oil and gas courses, Dalhousie more maritime law, Queens has a well-known prison law clinic, UBC has the Innocence Project, etc. UVic has the thing I'd consider closest to a specialty with its JID program. However, a place like Dal also has certificate options in other areas, like health law; many people go to UBC for Vancouver Biglaw, and so on. My school has a reputable criminal law clinic, but I can't say my school specializes in criminal law. I'd recommend surfing this forum to see what people are saying about the places you're potentially interested in and if they have a clinic you like the sound of, and more than just the introductory course in that area. I'll add that people often choose a school based on location/desired province of practice, and then narrow down their top choices from there. The kind of law you may want to practice often changes during law school, so I wouldn't choose Bora Laskin (for example) just because I wanted to potentially practice indigenous or environmental law. 

[scooter]

Another thing you can do is look up the course calendar for the schools you're interested in. I think most schools publish a list of the courses they offer each year. This can be useful if you have a few areas that you're interested in. For me, I made a choice between two similar schools, and a big factor was the breadth of courses offered in my area of interest. Depending on your interests and the schools you're comparing, there may or may not be much of a difference. 

Here it is for uOttawa. I'm sure you can find the other schools easily if you want: https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-law/common-law/student-centre/courses/course-search-engine