erinl2

As well-respected as Nick is, I would not make the presence of one prof, at any school, the primary factor in choosing which school to attend. It's not as though you will be taking multiple courses from one prof. Look at the course offerings at both schools in the areas that interest you, do some research on clinic opportunities re: who is chosen to work there, for how long, the likelihood of getting the opportunity, etc. These are things that every student who is making this type of decision should do. In addition, cost, housing, amenities that the city offers, may all be important to you. Where do you want to work eventually? Kingston has a very small legal community but there is demand in some areas. If you want to end up practicing there, then Queen's should likely be your choice, all else considered. If you want to eventually live and practice in Ottawa, making connections will be easier and likely more fruitful if you are in Ottawa for law school. It's a larger legal community, and a close one. Having said that, Queen's students do interview and get hired by Ottawa employers if they are able to convince of a connection there. Personally, I don't think that Queen's is necessarily a better school. I'm not sure what criteria people use in order to conclude this. As a U of T grad, who has interviewed, hired, and worked with grads from both schools, I'd never make that type of claim. Good luck with your decision.

I have clerked, lived and practiced in Ottawa for 8 years and your comments re: French language skills are not an accurate reflection on law school, clerkships or practice in the city.

French language skills are not required in Ottawa, either in law school or in practice.

Any Canadian common law JD will give you the ability to write the bar in NY and MA. The dual JD at Windsor is extremely expensive and the U.S. part of the dual ranks in the lowest tier. Ottawa is a better choice.

Yes, let's keep this discussion focused on Ryerson. If people want a broader discussion on the other issues, we can splice it out and move it to the OT forum.

You're assuming that everyone attending a law school in Toronto will remain in Toronto. That isn't the case. If TRU and Lakehead were such great ideas, then why was there so much negativity here on ls.ca? And, yes, that is a rhetorical question.

I don't think another law school is a great idea but I have to say that the vehement reaction by many of you is, in my opinion, over the top. I felt the same way when there were endless comments about TRU and Lakehead before they opened. So much negativity before seeing any substantive information. And now, the grads from those two schools seem to be doing fine. My guess is that Ryerson grads will likely follow suit.

And that's all, folks!

Answered in your other post. Please don't post the same question in more than one forum.

No, they are not only considering one semester. Some schools consider credits as one per full year course or equivalent, thus the 10 credits for 2 years.

If the grade is for a course that is already completed, why do those of you who are advising to cancel it think that that is possible? What school allows you to choose which completed course grades to eliminate from your transcript?

Short answer is, yes, it's a terrible idea, for several reasons. How are you going to connect to classmates and ECs if you're commuting on a daily basis and never around on weekends? Let alone the time involved, but the unreliability of VIA would make this a nightmare scenario.

Number of applicants isn't the only factor in determining the competitiveness of any particular cycle.

I think we know each person's opinion on this issue now so let's try to move on and offer any further comments to the OP's question. Thanks.

A full course load is always 5 courses per semester. It is different than what a school considers full-time status.

A deferral is a commitment to attend the following year. It isn't an opportunity to reapply to other schools in the next cycle.

My practice is L&E, and Human Rights. I walk to and from work. However, my hearings take place all over the province, and across the country. For those within driving distance, I definitely need my car. To be honest, I don't know any lawyers, come to think of it, who do not own a car, regardless of what city they're in here in Canada. I do know a few in NYC but that's a very different situation.

Let's keep this thread on track. We don't need another discussion on the pros/cons of Ryerson. There is already a 29 page discussion that the OP can search for, if interested. Thanks.

I've heard from a few friends that Preet Bharara's book is very good. It's in my to-read-pile but I haven't gotten to it yet.

His experience is not the same as a Canadian who chooses to go abroad for law school then return here to practice. He was from Singapore as referenced in an earlier post.

Time for you to find somewhere else to play.

A reminder to read the banner at the top of the page. This isn't the place for other discussion or asking for chances. We've had to delete several posts.

This is an automated response to a topic that appears to be requesting legal advice. Please refer to the following post regarding such requests:

Come on, people, read what ProfReader has posted. I happen to agree with her, from my own experience in law school and that of my classmates who also did well. We went to class, we did all the readings, most of us created our own summaries, we also managed to find time for our ECs, and a few even had part-time jobs. We paid a lot for law school, and students today are paying even more. This isn't undergrad, and I don't mean in terms of difficulty. You're going to be competing with classmates who all did well in undergrad; you'll be graded on a curve; you'll have many exams worth 100% of your grade; and your 1L grades are going to be predictive of many of your future employment options. Be smart about this.

If you have any advice for the OP, please visit his post in the U.S. and Foreign Schools forum.