Need Help Deciding

[cuincourt2027]

Hello!

I paid my deposit back in January for TRU. Even though I applied elsewhere, I was pretty set on TRU. It seems tight knit, I already love their Admin —Stefani is so sweet and helpful, the professors seem like they want to see you succeed (there are a couple professors who interests/focus completely align with mine), the school has connections for students to return to Alberta, and I’m a born and raised Calgarian, so going to Law School in B.C. (relatively close to home) seems like a good idea…

For the past two years, I’ve lived in Halifax and attended Dalhousie. Living in Halifax has been incredibly fun —cool restaurants/bars, good weather (considering I came from Calgary), lots of activities/hiking to do, nice people around, etc.).

Earlier today, I was sent an offer from UWindsor for their Dual JD program. Two of my siblings live and work in the US, so that was my motivation to apply there. I can totally see myself working as a Lawyer in Canada and the US.

What should I do now?! Has anyone heard good things about their Dual program/living in Windsor? How’s the Law School? Are the professors helpful? Are their fun things to do in the city? I’m so confused now… Please help me!!

Edited March 21 by cuincourt2027

[Scrantonicity2]

Go to TRU. Windsor is a perfectly good law school, but the Dual JD is generally considered very poor value for money. It costs waaay more than a single JD and Detroit Mercy is not a well ranked school (which matters in the US). You could also work in the US in the future without doing a dual JD. Also, I've never lived in either Kamloops or Windsor, but I'd take the BC interior over southwestern Ontario any day.

[legal2024]

1 hour ago, Scrantonicity2 said:

Go to TRU. Windsor is a perfectly good law school, but the Dual JD is generally considered very poor value for money. It costs waaay more than a single JD and Detroit Mercy is not a well ranked school (which matters in the US). You could also work in the US in the future without doing a dual JD. Also, I've never lived in either Kamloops or Windsor, but I'd take the BC interior over southwestern Ontario any day.

So can you work in the US with our Canadian JD even if it is not an ABA-approved law school, I know we still need to write the state bar exam but can we just write the State bar exam with the Canadian JD cause I heard we don't get equal credit if its not ABA-approved law school 

[Scrantonicity2]

Huge caveat that I am not an expert in getting accredited to practice as a lawyer in the US. Anything I say here is based on cursory research and if you are seriously considering studying in Canada then praticing in the US you should be finding more informed folks to ask about this. Maybe others on the forum can weigh in?

That said, requirements in the US vary by state and some do seem to require a JD or LLM from an ABA approved law school.

In hingsight, the best version of my advice to OP would have included the following proviso. Practising law in Canada and the US simultaneously is not that common. Law is jurisdictional - you should study where you want to practice. If OP wants to practice in Canada, they should go to TRU. If the OP is genuinely interested in practicing in the US, they should have a sense of what state they want to practice in, look into the accreditation requirements for that state and act accordingly. They should also do more research on employment outcomes in the US for Detroit Mercy students. I don't know anything about that, except that DM is poorly ranked and that law school rankings make a real difference in the US in terms of employment prospects. It is still very possible, even if OP does decide to practice in a US state that requires a degree from an ABA -approved school, that doing a Canadian JD and then pursuing an American LLM could be a better option than the Windsor Dual JD.

4 minutes ago, legal2024 said:

So can you work in the US with our Canadian JD even if it is not an ABA-approved law school, I know we still need to write the state bar exam but can we just write the State bar exam with the Canadian JD cause I heard we don't get equal credit if its not ABA-approved law school 

 

I should also add that financial considerations are relevant. The Windsor Dual is much pricier - if money is no object for OP, this will matter less.

[Whisk3yjack]

You should go to TRU. If you want to work in Alberta, then TRU is easily the better option. If you want to work in the US, the Dual JD still might not be a better option given the reputation of UDM. Plus, the cost of attending the Windsor Dual JD is incredibly high relative to the value of the degree

[SpaceTigerX]

I was looking at this option myself, however aside from the fact its almost $50,000 a year just for tuition I question whether the education you are getting is enough to secure employment. You are taking the required courses to meet the requirements for the associations and can write the bar exam, but are you getting enough depth/exposure in Canadian Law or US Law courses/content to be a competitive candidate for employment compared to someone who took all 3 years from the Canadian Law perspective or US Law perspective. 

Plus, there are options for Canadian Law Folks, to work in the US like others have said. It changes from state to state, in some cases you have to practice or be a member of the Bar in a Canadian province for X amount of time, then you can apply to the Bar in the state. Although Washington State is looking to get rid of the Bar Exam, so that might be an interesting opportunity as well.