Canadian Law Schools vs American Law Schools Forum

[jayjohn]

Does anyone know where the Best Canadian Law schools compare to American? where would they place in the Tier 1 , Tier 2 schools in America?

[dibs]

i don't even know how you begin making the comparison. the two legal systems are entirely different.

the metrics used to rank the american schools don't correlate with the canadian system, either. i would say the best you can do is make the presumption that there are several schools in canada that would be considered in your t14, several in the t50, several in the t100, and then a bunch of TTTs. that's only compared against each other, however.

and that being said, the canadian system is different from the american in terms of prestige and pedigree. you can get a great legal education in canada almost anywhere you go, and at a fraction of what it costs down in the states.

i think the way things are done is that you get a degree from wherever in canada, probably ontario if you want to go back to the states, and then get your LLM back in the states. wherever you get your LLM from will distinguish you.

[krogers]

i don't even know how you begin making the comparison. the two legal systems are entirely different.

the metrics used to rank the american schools don't correlate with the canadian system, either. i would say the best you can do is make the presumption that there are several schools in canada that would be considered in your t14, several in the t50, several in the t100, and then a bunch of TTTs. that's only compared against each other, however.

and that being said, the canadian system is different from the american in terms of prestige and pedigree. you can get a great legal education in canada almost anywhere you go, and at a fraction of what it costs down in the states.

i think the way things are done is that you get a degree from wherever in canada, probably ontario if you want to go back to the states, and then get your LLM back in the states. wherever you get your LLM from will distinguish you.

know quite a few utoronto 2Ls summering at my v5. defintely no llm needed.

[splay]

The differences between Canadian law schools are negligible. The top 3 are probably Toronto, McGill, and Osgoode, but you could easily replace those with any one of BC, Victoria, UAlberta, Dalhousie or Manitoba. The remaining law schools, including Calgary and Saskatchewan (I'm not including Quebec because their system is different, or the non LLB/JD granting institutions) are considered the easier schools, but the difference between getting into, say, McGill or Manitoba, is hardly worth a distinction. You'll get an excellent legal education regardless of where you go, but if you're looking at working in the US after getting a degree in Canada, the first 3 are your best bet.

[crazycanuck]

i don't even know how you begin making the comparison. the two legal systems are entirely different.

the metrics used to rank the american schools don't correlate with the canadian system, either. i would say the best you can do is make the presumption that there are several schools in canada that would be considered in your t14, several in the t50, several in the t100, and then a bunch of TTTs. that's only compared against each other, however.

and that being said, the canadian system is different from the american in terms of prestige and pedigree. you can get a great legal education in canada almost anywhere you go, and at a fraction of what it costs down in the states.

i think the way things are done is that you get a degree from wherever in canada, probably ontario if you want to go back to the states, and then get your LLM back in the states. wherever you get your LLM from will distinguish you.

know quite a few utoronto 2Ls summering at my v5. defintely no llm needed.

With the U of T degree you can sit for the bar in MA and NY and I think cali if you have passed the bar in one of MA or NY, but I'm not 100% on that.

Definitely not the norm for U of T students to be at big U.S firms, but it does happen.

[Shot007]

Reading the Interview with Leiter, on this website, here's what he had to say in regards to strength of faculty of the Canadian schools, compared to the American school

The Toronto faculty is the strongest in Canada, comparable to the Georgetown/Northwestern/Texas cluster in the US, so stronger than some of those I assume you mean by “top 14,” and weaker than others. They have a particularly good law & economics group, which is unusual in Canada. Osgoode has the second best faculty overall in Canada, comparable to the US top 20-25. McGill has at least as good a reputation in Canada, though its faculty underperforms at the international level. British Columbia is also quite solid.