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Being aware of the grim employment prospects for JD's in the US, I decided it would be good to look into the market in Canada. My research hasn't been exhaustive, but things definitely seem better there. Would it be a wise decision to apply to JD programs in Canada?

AEIOU wrote:Being aware of the grim employment prospects for JD's in the US, I decided it would be good to look into the market in Canada. My research hasn't been exhaustive, but things definitely seem better there. Would it be a wise decision to apply to JD programs in Canada?

There are upsides and downsides. PM me, I got into 4. Stayed in the states in the end though.

spleenworship wrote:

AEIOU wrote:Being aware of the grim employment prospects for JD's in the US, I decided it would be good to look into the market in Canada. My research hasn't been exhaustive, but things definitely seem better there. Would it be a wise decision to apply to JD programs in Canada?

There are upsides and downsides. PM me, I got into 4. Stayed in the states in the end though.

Also interested. Mind if I PM you as well?

.

vpintz wrote:

spleenworship wrote:

AEIOU wrote:Being aware of the grim employment prospects for JD's in the US, I decided it would be good to look into the market in Canada. My research hasn't been exhaustive, but things definitely seem better there. Would it be a wise decision to apply to JD programs in Canada?

There are upsides and downsides. PM me, I got into 4. Stayed in the states in the end though.

Also interested. Mind if I PM you as well?

sure

bee wrote:Aren't there going to be major issues with visas and residency? I looked into this on the canadian TLS but those issues stopped me short.

No. There are issues, but they aren't major. Canada does a program where a grad from their schools gets an automatic work visa to start on their permanent residency if they get a job after articling. And almost every graduate gets a job, like 95% plus, unlike here.

My major issue had to do with the cost: $20K a year is cheap, but if the exchange rate were to ever change, the student loans (from the US Dept. of Ed.) would kill me. If I were childless, not an issue- but I have spawned, so I didn't want to take the risk.

I must confess my ignorance when it comes to Canadian education. Would a graduate of a Canadian law school have to do an LLM or some such to be admitted in the US?

It depends on the state. I've looked into this a lot because I have been admitted to Toronto this cycle. You can practice in MA, NY, and sort of CA (requires some hoop jumping) with a Canadian degree. On the other hand, you cannot practice in Canada with an American degree unless you article for a year (basically like a year of training before becoming a first year associate). This doesn't sound bad, but Canada is extremely restrictive in allowing foreigners to article, they don't want to overpopulate the legal market.