r/lawschoolcanada

Essentially, title. I did a PhD in the humanities and have been a scholar for four years--recently got accepted to a law program. Many people online emphasize how difficult 1L is, but I would assume most who enter are coming directly from an undergraduate degree. For those who have done a PhD program (or even Master's) and then have gone to law school, how would you rate the difficulty and time commitment of the two? Thanks in advance!

Hi all, incoming 1L here. I got into running this year and want to run my first marathon soon! Unfortunately the marathon I'm looking at is at the end of October, right in the middle of my first semester.

This might be a silly question, but I keep hearing how brutal and time consuming 1L is, is this a bad idea? I expect to be basically completely out of commission that weekend, but also want to keep up with training (3-4hours per week). Anyone have experience/advice with maintaining their exercise routine throughout law school? Should I just expect to abandon all my hobbies once school starts?

Hey everyone,

I’m about to start my 1L at the uOttawa Common Law this fall. My ultimate goal is to land a 2L summer associate position at a firm in New York City.

I know the standard baseline advice: "Get top 5% grades in 1L or don't bother." I fully intend to bust my ass for the grades, but given that NYC firms heavily favour the T14 in the US, and tend to look mostly at U of T/McGill when hiring out of Canada, I know that grades alone might not cut it coming from uOttawa.

For those who have successfully made the jump to NYC from a non-target Canadian school (or specifically uOttawa), what else does it take? I want to make sure I’m building the right profile from day one.

I’m a 1L summer student at a medium sized law firm. Yesterday one of the lawyers asked me if I was coming back next year. I’m at about the halfway point of my summer contract and would be interested in returning next year. When do firms usually talk to students about rehiring (or not)? I know my firm has rehired students regularly, I’m just wondering what firms generally do when the time comes. I don’t know if this is related, but the head of my department said he wanted to meet with me this week to review a few work assignments.

Hi guys, I finished my first year at UTM. I did ok in my first semester (3.5 GPA) but really badly in my second semester (around 2.8), so I ended up with a cumulative GPA of 3.1. Now I want to do better, but UTM's grading system is so annoying because in many of the courses I'm taking (English specialist), if my essays aren't "publishable," I will never even get a 90% on my writing. Ik TMU does not base their decisions on gpa's but I think no matter what I do, I might just end up with an overall of a 3.3-3.4 GPA when I finish my other years here because although I try very hard, I don't seem to be U of T's version of smart ig. My main thing is that I genuinely want to be a lawyer and do the JD program (at U of T specifically since it's my dream school for law), but it seems that no matter what I do, I'm just gonna be average. I decided to start doing work-study programs, volunteering, and joining pre-law programs at my university to maybe boost my chances, since I can mention them in my personal statement. I've already started studying for the LSAT because I want to get close to perfect when I take it in my third year.

Has anyone gotten into a big law school in Canada with a very low GPA? I know some redditors on here are very discouraging to students interested in law, law school, or becoming lawyers, so I don't want negativity. I've been working to become a lawyer since high school, and I am very dedicated. I just hate that if I try so hard and I'm so dedicated, all that gets thrown down the drain because marks basically define you.

Also, for anyone wondering why i did so bad my second semester, it's cause I was taking 6 courses, and I tried my best to do well and I only did rlly bad in 2/6 courses (low 60's in both) because I don't have the best private life and was under a lot of pressure, stress, and was genuinely trying my best, but other factors in my life were bringing me down.

168, 2.7 gpa? What are my chances of getting into any Canadian law school?

Can any current law students speak to whether they had the time to hold down a part time job during their 1L year?

I just finished my second year of computer engineering at UBC with 80 or 3.7 cGPA.

My first year average was 86 and I bombed a few courses in second year. I think I can score above average on the LSAT, especially given that I can do it multiple times.

So a few questions:

1. How bad is bombing a few courses in second year?

2. Does my engineering background give me an edge in IP law in admission or employment?

3. Realistically what school should I aim for?

4. What LSAT score would I need to compensate for my cGPA?

5. Any advice/opinion for someone like me pursuing this path?

I just need some advice to see if I should actually pursue law school or should I just pack up and stick with engineering. If you had a similar path I would like to know your story just in general also.

Thanks

Just completed 1L (top 10%) at a Canadian law school. My long-term goal is to work in corporate New York. As of now, I've received a JD/MBA offer to continue at my current school, along with a one-year MBA tuition scholarship. I also received an offer to transfer to UofT's JD/MBA (still waiting on funding). My main issue is the uncertainty around Rotman (funding, timing, and whether the marginal NY placement advantage is worth giving up the certainty at my current school).

I guess I'd like to know:

a. How much does UofT's prestige actually matter for NY recruiting compared to schools like McGill or Osgoode (assuming strong 1L grades)?

b. How do NY firms view transfer students?

c. What level of funding can I expect from UofT Law or Rotman?

Hi! im 18 and i'm seriously thinking about becoming a lawyer and attending law school! I'm already done my first year of undergrad at tmu for business and im scaring the living shit out of my parents cause they found out i'm not interested in a full career in business. It had taken me more then four months of debating but i realized im super into law and i think i seriously wanna go. only thing is my parents are super strict and picky in general about careers. They are total tiger parents and didn't want me doing anything besides finance. They are especially upset since im thinking of switching to a marketing major cause a) better gpa and b) im way more interested in it! Its been making me super anxious and they want answers to which school i want to attend law school and they want me to stick to it.

So i know its a bit silly since im just 18 and already debating which law school i wanna attend but i kinda need answers now lol. To all the lawyers on this reddit forum that attended either school which do you think is better? i'm really interested in business law so specifically which school has a better program or turnout? Also side note is marketing a bad idea 😭 My parents are kinda freaking me out like its a really big mistake??? Would sticking to Finance and minoring in accounting like i originally planned be better

I’m a judicial clerk right now and start law school in the fall, but I honestly suck at my job. I’ve been in it for about a year (part time for 7 months full time for 5) but am struggling to learn some of the software and panic when I’m court and fuck up. I just got news today that I gotta get retrained essentially and it leaves me anxious for the future as a lawyer. My attention to detail I think is not where it should be and I lacked on taking good notes early on and have paid the price for it later on. Lots I could have done differently, but it leaves me thinking: if I can’t do this how will I ever be a good lawyer? Just feeling a bit bummed today.. not sure exactly what the point of this post is but I wanted to ask: are there any experiences people have had similar to this? I’ll be done at the end of the month so who cares really but I’m still just mad and worried for the future

I'm conflicted because I can JUST BARELY pay my tuition+rent out of pocket, but I would have close to nothing in my savings account. And maybe roughly $100 left over each month. Which I acknowledge is still a HUGE privilege. (I would still be working.)

Is the interest/debt from the line of credit too risky? Or am I putting myself in a risky spot by paying out of pocket?

I am attending UOttawa Law School (11 000 per semester roughly).