List of law schools in Canada

Last updated

A number of law schools in Canada operate as a faculty or as an affiliated school to a Canadian public university. Twenty law schools offer common law schooling, whereas seven schools offer schooling in the civil law system. Although the judicial system in most Canadian provinces operate under a common law system, the province of Quebec uses the civil law system for private law matters. As a result, most Canadian law schools that offer schooling in civil law are based in Quebec.

Contents

Generally, entry into law programs in Canada is based primarily on a combination of the student's previous grades as well as, for English-language common-law programs, their score on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Factors such as specialized degrees, work experience, community involvement, personal character, extracurricular activities, and references are sometimes taken into account, for which the Universities of Calgary, Windsor and McGill's holistic law school admissions are well known, but the LSAT remains far more determinative of admission than comparable standardized tests for other disciplines, such as the MCAT or GMAT. Quebec law schools, including the dual-curriculum, bilingual McGill University Faculty of Law, do not require applicants to write the LSAT, although any scores are generally taken into account; nor do the French-language common-law programs at the Université de Moncton École de droit and University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.

All of Canada's law schools are affiliated with public universities, and are thus public institutions. This practice has been held to have helped reduce disparities in the quality of students and instruction as between the schools.[ citation needed ] Since there is a limited number of positions in each law school's annual admissions, entry to all Canadian law schools is intensely competitive: most law schools receive far more applicants than they can accommodate. Most schools focus on their respective regions, and many graduates remain in the region in which the school is located, though the relatively uniform quality of the law schools affords greater geographic mobility to graduates.

After completing the Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), or a Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.), students must article for about a year (in Quebec, the six-month stage is the equivalent to articling); this can be a challenge for those with lower grades, as there are often a shortage of articling positions, and completion of articles is required to be able to practice law in Canada. Articling involves on-the-job training, at a lower introductory salary, under the supervision of a lawyer licensed by the Provincial Bar who has been practising for a minimum of 5 years. An alternative to articling, usually for the most competitive students, is to complete a Judicial Clerkship with a provincial or federal court under the direction of a judge. After ten to sixteen months of articling or clerking and call to the bar, lawyers are free to practice in their own right: many are hired by the same lawyer or firm for which they articled, while some choose to begin independent practices or accept positions with different employers. Others may leave the private practice of law to work in government or industry as a lawyer or in a law-related position. Former Judicial Law Clerks are typically not hired by the court after their clerkship.

Schools teaching common law

SchoolProvince (city)DegreeTypeFounded
Dalhousie University, Schulich School of Law Nova Scotia (Halifax)J.D.Public1883
Lakehead University, Bora Laskin Faculty of Law Ontario (Thunder Bay)2013
McGill University, Faculty of Law Quebec (Montreal)1968
Queen's University, Faculty of Law Ontario (Kingston)1957
Thompson Rivers University, Faculty of Law British Columbia (Kamloops)2011
Toronto Metropolitan University, Lincoln Alexander School of Law Ontario (Toronto)2019
University of Alberta, Faculty of Law Alberta (Edmonton)1912
University of British Columbia, Peter A. Allard School of Law British Columbia (Vancouver)1945
University of Calgary, Faculty of Law Alberta (Calgary)1976
University of Manitoba, Robson Hall Faculty of Law Manitoba (Winnipeg)1914
University of New Brunswick, Faculty of Law New Brunswick (Fredericton)1892
University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law Ontario (Ottawa)1953
University of Saskatchewan, College of Law Saskatchewan (Saskatoon)1912
University of Toronto, Faculty of Law Ontario (Toronto)1949
University of Victoria, Faculty of Law British Columbia (Victoria)1975
University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law Ontario (London)1959
University of Windsor, Faculty of Law Ontario (Windsor)1967
Université de Moncton, École de droit New Brunswick (Moncton)1978
Université de Montréal , Faculté de droit Quebec (Montreal)2011
York University, Osgoode Hall Law School Ontario (Toronto)1889

Schools teaching civil law

SchoolProvince (city)DegreeTypeFounded
Université Laval , Faculté de droit Québec (Quebec City)LL.B.Public1852
McGill University, Faculty of Law Québec (Montréal)B.C.L.Public1848
Université de Montréal , Faculté de droit Québec (Montréal)LL.B.Public1892
Université d'Ottawa, Faculté de droit Ontario (Ottawa)LL.L.Public1953
Université du Québec à Montréal , Faculté de science politique et de droit Québec (Montréal)LL.B.Public1969
Université de Sherbrooke , Faculté de droit Québec (Sherbrooke)LL.B.Public1954
Akitsiraq Law School Nunavut (Iqaluit)LL.B.2013

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tax law</span> Area of law

Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a legal context. The rates and merits of the various taxes, imposed by the authorities, are attained via the political process inherent in these bodies of power, and not directly attributable to the actual domain of tax law itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juris Doctor</span> Graduate-entry professional degree in law

A Juris Doctor or a Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree in law. The JD is the standard degree obtained to practice law in the United States; unlike in some other jurisdictions, there is no undergraduate law degree in the United States. In the United States, along with Australia, Canada, and some other common law countries, the JD is earned by completing law school.

Bachelor of Civil Law is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL continues to be the primary postgraduate taught course in law. It is also taught as an undergraduate degree in other countries. The reference to civil law was not originally in contradistinction to common law, but to canon law, although it is true that common law was not taught in the civil law faculties in either university until at least the second half of the 18th century. However, some universities in English-speaking countries use the degree in the former sense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal education</span> Education in topics related to law

Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular jurisdiction, to provide a greater breadth of knowledge to those working in other professions such as politics or business, to provide current lawyers with advanced training or greater specialisation, or to update lawyers on recent developments in the law.

The University of Toronto Faculty of Law is the law school of the University of Toronto. The Faculty's admissions process is the most selective of law schools in Canada and is one of the most selective in North America. The Faculty has consistently been ranked as the top law school for Common Law in Canada by Maclean's since it began to publish law school rankings. The Faculty offers the JD, LLM, SJD, MSL, and GPLLM degrees in law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McGill University Faculty of Law</span> Canadian law school in Montreal, Quebec

The Faculty of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest law school in Canada, and continually ranks among the best law schools in the world. The faculty is known for its holistic approach though highly selective and competitive process for admission. Only 180 candidates are admitted for any given academic year. For the year 2021 class, the acceptance rate was 10%. McGill Faculty of Law has consistently ranked as the top law school for civil law, a top law school for common law, the most number of Supreme Court clerkships of any law school in Canada, and consistently outranks Europe, Asia, and Latin America's top civil law schools.

Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in Australia, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong S.A.R., Macau S.A.R., Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Japan, Pakistan, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Botswana, Israel, Brazil, Tanzania, Zambia, and many other jurisdictions.

A Master of Laws is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In most jurisdictions, the "Master of Laws" is the advanced professional degree for those usually already admitted into legal practice.

A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is granted by examination, and exercised locally. The law degree can have local, international, and world-wide aspects, such as in England and Wales, where the Legal Practice Course or passing Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is required to become a solicitor or the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) to become a barrister.

Legum Doctor (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law and civil law, with the double “L” itself indicating the plural, although Cambridge now gives the degree the name Doctor of Law in English. This contrasts with the practice of the University of Oxford, where the degree that survived from the Middle Ages is the DCL or Doctor of Civil Law (only).

The Bar of Quebec is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal education in the United States</span>

Legal education in the United States generally refers to a graduate degree, the completion of which makes a graduate eligible to sit for an examination for a license to practice as a Lawyer. Around 60 percent of those who complete a law degree typically practice law, with the remainder primarily working in business or government or policy roles, where their degrees also confer advantages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law school</span> Institution specializing in legal education

A law school is an institution or professional school specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a judge, lawyer, or other legal professional within a given jurisdiction.

The University of CalgaryFaculty of Law, at the University of Calgary. is a law school in Calgary, Alberta.

The University of Victoria Faculty of Law is a law school at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The school grants JD, JID, LLM, and PhD degrees in law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Ottawa Faculty of Law</span>

The University of Ottawa Faculty of Law is the law school at the University of Ottawa, located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1953, the faculty is today divided into Civil Law and Common Law sections, the two formally recognized legal traditions in Canada.

In Canada, a medical school is a faculty or school of a university that trains future medical doctors and usually offers a three- to five-year Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery degree. There are currently 17 medical schools in Canada with an annual admission success rate normally below 7.5%. As of 2021, approximately 11,500 students were enrolled in Canadian medical schools graduating 2,900 students per year.

Université de Moncton Faculty of Law is one of only two law schools in the world offering a common law legal education taught entirely in French, the other being the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Université de Montréal Faculty of Law</span>

The Faculty of Law at Université de Montréal was officially founded in 1892. In 2018, the Faculty was ranked as the best francophone law school in the world. In addition to its civil law degree (LL.B.), the Law School offers a one-year J.D. in common law for Quebec civil law graduates that enables them to take the bar exam in other Canadian provinces and in New York, Massachusetts and California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor of Law</span> Doctoral degree in law

A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science, Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL.D.).

References

  1. "Programme de droit canadien". University of Ottawa. Dec 20, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-09-11.
  2. "National Program at U of Ottawa". University of Ottawa. June 24, 2006.