How important is school choice in Canada?

[QuestionMark]

Hey there! I’m looking at changing careers and going into law. I was curious how important the choice of school is.

I’m a mature student (34) with a bad GPA but decent LSAT, so I don’t think I’d be a competitive candidate for more well-known universities. I’d ideally like to work in criminal law in Atlantic Canada, but would be more than happy with most fields in law that I know. I want to know if that’s something that would be likely if I went to a school that isn’t McGill, or if I’d be wasting my time and money because of the name. My situation has changed significantly from undergrad and I feel confident I’d be able to get much better results.

Thanks for your help 🙂 

Edited December 28, 2024 by QuestionMark

[LMP]

School choice is relevant depending on your career goals. Given what you've expressed here, the biggest factor would likely be just going to a local school but even that won't matter too much. 

[FlyingFish]

It does not really matter. Go to a school in the community you want to practice in (to the extent possible).
 

[Conge]

If you want to work in Atlantic Canada, then Dal or UNB are your best options.  

[QuestionMark]

Thank you all for your advice. Do you think going to Moncton make things more difficult in finding work after? I saw the tuition difference and I enjoy working/studying in French even though I’m a stronger writer in English. 

[Renerik]

A couple people I did highschool/uni with went to Moncton Law. Big leg up if you want to work in an Acadian community.

If you want to keep the door open for more competitive/desirable careers, probably not a great idea to study in a second language since you'll be "competing" with classmates who are more fluent in French (that said, some people who get in speak Franglais).

While tuition is low, so are lawyer salaries in the maritimes. Reconnected with a buddy who's a 2nd yr call who's making under 50K, which isn't an outlier.

[SNAILS]

On 12/27/2024 at 8:14 PM, QuestionMark said:

I’d ideally like to work in criminal law in Atlantic Canada

That's very helpful. Why? Criminal law is federal, whereas some other areas of law are provincial (i.e. family). If I wanted to be a Family lawyer, I'd expect a very different experience studying in Ontario vs Quebec (civil law), vs Halifax vs BC. An Ontario law school will focus on the Ontario Family Law Act and Children's Law reform Act, for example.

Being bilingual is more important for government jobs. If you think you want to be a criminal lawyer with English speaking clients, there is no reason to take any law courses in French. taking 100% courses in English does not rob you of your existing French language proficiency anyway, it just might make it harder to do a trial in French if you have only ever used the relevant terms and concepts in French. 

Ask yourself where you want to spend 3 years of your life. You will certainly not be disadvantaged going to school at Dal or elsewhere in Atlantic Canada. On the other hand, schools in a any of the ten provinces are fine as well (for criminal).

It's a bit odd to me that you would elevate McGill as the gold standard of law schools (unless you want to practice Quebec civil law). If you are going for "prestige"  I'd sooner look at Dal (strong Atlantic connection) and UofT/UBC (strong general prestige). Of course, with a low GPA as you said, your options may be more limited.

The tuition of the school is something I have not and will not address, and you may very well prefer a cheaper school.

Edited January 1 by SNAILS

[QuestionMark]

Thank you. To be more specific, I hope to work in Newfoundland after, and there’s no law school here so it seems like it matters less. 

The reason for elevating McGill is because I’m a dual citizen in France and Canada. I’m just unsure of where life will take me and the BCL/JD program would make it easier to keep the door open to working in France. 

I really appreciate the replies 🙂 . There’s so much conflicting information online and in discussions in real life about the importance of school choice and reputation etc. Honestly it’s silly because I know with my stats I would be lucky to be accepted hahaha! 

[SNAILS]

If you want to potentially work in France, do some research about the French process for accepting a Canadian law degree. I know very little about it, but I do know it is hard to become lawyer in Canada with a foreign degree, so i assume it is hard to become a lawyer in France with a foreign degree.

Of course, to really open the door to practicing in France, you would want the "civil law" JD (offered, I believe, mostly at Quebec schools) and not the "common law" JD. Or perhaps the dual civil/common law JD.

If you are very serious, perhaps consider a law school in France.

[CleanHands]

32 minutes ago, SNAILS said:

I know very little about it, but I do know it is hard to become lawyer in Canada with a foreign degree

The number and calibre of NCA lawyers I've encountered has consistently contradicted this assertion. The overwhelming majority of NCA lawyers I've worked opposite have been demonstrably incapable of doing anything that could be remotely described as "hard."

Hard to get a decent job as a lawyer in Canada with a foreign degree? Yes.

"Hard to become a lawyer in Canada with a foreign degree"? No.

Edited January 4 by CleanHands

[SNAILS]

Yeah, you're right @CleanHands I take it back.

It's better to say that NCA is a long, annoying, and potentially expensive process. I have also seen a ton of NCA lawyers out there, very few of whom work for big law forms, or as Crowns but rather in small firms and clinics and places you'd think would not be a new lawyer's first choice.

So, for the OP, please make sure that there is a path to becoming a lawyer in France with a Canadian JD before factoring the potential to practice in France into your plans.

 

Edited January 4 by SNAILS

[QuestionMark]

I greatly appreciate that. It is possible and this pathway was actually suggested by two lawyers I know in France, as it would be 3 years faster than doing law school in France. 

[CommeCiCommeCa]

13 hours ago, SNAILS said:

If you want to potentially work in France, do some research about the French process for accepting a Canadian law degree. I know very little about it, but I do know it is hard to become lawyer in Canada with a foreign degree, so i assume it is hard to become a lawyer in France with a foreign degree.

Of course, to really open the door to practicing in France, you would want the "civil law" JD (offered, I believe, mostly at Quebec schools) and not the "common law" JD. Or perhaps the dual civil/common law JD.

If you have a civil law degree from a Québec school (or uOttawa) and get licensed in Québec, it is actually quite easy to get licensed in France (this is also one of the main reasons I chose to go to McGill), and I have since been able to work in civil law jurisdictions in Europe. Once you are a member of the Québec bar, there is an entente between the Québec and French bars, where all you have to do to get licensed in the other jurisdiction is take a (relatively easy) déontologie exam. You, of course, would not have taken any law classes on French law, so that makes you a trickier sell to French law firms than someone who completed all of their legal studies in France, but schools like McGill and UdeM are relatively well regarded in France, so that might be beneficial to you, if you go down that route. You would then also get to bypass the gruelling French bar admission process (a huge plus), mind you the Québec bar is no cake walk either.  

That said, this path is only available for folks who have a civil law degree (B.C.L. or LL.B.) and are members of the Québec bar. At Moncton, you would receive a French JD, not a civil law degree, so if becoming a member of the French bar is something you want to do (via studying law in Canada outside of Québec), you would have to either: 1) get your French JD at Moncton (or an English JD at any other common law school in Canada, really), and then take a one-year civil law program (like the one offered at uOttawa), then pass the Québec bar; or, 2) get a JD from any common law school, get licensed in that jurisdiction, then pass the equivalency exams for admission to the QC bar from a Canadian common law province. 

However, if you are happy to stay in Atlantic Canada, I agree with much of the advice above that attending a school in Atlantic Canada will be beneficial. You will be able to build a network with professionals practicing in the legal markets you are interested in practicing. A French degree may be helpful for criminal law in Eastern Canada, given the SCC's recent decision in Tompouba: accused have the right to a trial in their first official language. Newfoundland is a province that has historically struggled with respecting language rights, so there may be a market for bilingual crim lawyers in the province. 

Edited January 4 by CommeCiCommeCa
Grammar

[Conge]

On 12/30/2024 at 9:48 AM, QuestionMark said:

Thank you all for your advice. Do you think going to Moncton make things more difficult in finding work after? I saw the tuition difference and I enjoy working/studying in French even though I’m a stronger writer in English. 

Moncton is a fine school. However, I believe it mainly caters to serving the Acadian/Francophone community in NB. Therefore, if the goal is NL or just Atlantic Canada in general, then I stick to my original advice: Dal or UNB.

I think Dal is your best choice because you get the strong connection to Atlantic Canada, and all the big firms across Canada recruit from Dal in case you change your mind later.

If the goal is France, I have no worthwhile advice but others here sure do. 

[BondGuy]

On 1/4/2025 at 2:16 PM, QuestionMark said:

I greatly appreciate that. It is possible and this pathway was actually suggested by two lawyers I know in France, as it would be 3 years faster than doing law school in France. 

Chiming in to say: don't. As an NCA grad myself. 

I know plenty that are doing well, working in good spots, making bank, etc. etc.   But it is a path with a lot of downsides. If you're hankering for some adventure - like I was - do an exchange. 

[GreyDude]

Also chiming in, I think @CommeCiCommeCa mentioned the possibility of doing a JD with a civil law add-on. The reverse is also available: UdeM has a one-year JD (in « North American Common Law ») that can be done on top of the LLB in civil law. You end up with the two degrees and can practice all over Canada. So if OP isn’t sure and might want to prioritise the possibility of going to France afterwards, they could consider the UdeM option. As @CleanHands noted, since criminal law is federal, you can get a good basis for that practice at any school including civil law schools.  I didn’t pick up whether OP’s first language is English or French, though, and that can make a difference, particularly when it comes to grades. 

As an aside, the French civil code comes up frequently in classes at UdeM, though I don’t recall being tested on it at any point. It is a common reference point though, in most (all?) civil law classes I have taken.