Hi everyone,

Im a 21 yr old BA Poli-sci student who is interested in attending law school. Im graduating this June and I plan to take a year off to work, hopefully for a law firm as a legal assistant. I have few questions that I hope you can help me with. I would like to know about whether I need to write the LSAT even if I have a very high GPA? What can I do to increase my chances of getting accepted to a good law school in Canada? Are there any provincial differences when it comes to practicing law: can I practice law in Ontario, if I am certified in BC? Im interested in either human right law or immigration, will it be easier for me to practice any where in Canada with these types of law? And lastly, what can I do to attain a job with a law firm as legal assistant, any advice?

Thank you very much.

If you're looking to attend law school in Canada, you'll have to write the LSAT. Luckily, with a high GPA, your score won't matter to you quite as much as it could, since most schools have some form of admissions formula for weighing the importance of the two which will favour your GPA (Not all, mind you - for some its 50/50).

In terms of increasing your chances, have a good LSAT score and a good GPA. Most of the schools have pretty accessible information on the scores you'll need. The top 20% of writers for the LSAT is pretty solid, usually. Most schools don't care all that much about extracurriculars (despite what they say), so it's largely about the numbers.

If you have a Canadian common law degree, you're eligible to be called to the bar of any province (except Quebec, I think). You'll have to article in that province for a year before being called, but then you're good to go. If you want to practice in other provinces, you'll have to be called there as well, but the process is relatively straightforward in most cases. (Unrequested advice: go to school in the province in which you want to practice.)

As an aside, I'm pretty sure there are more students ostensibly dedicated to practicing "Human Rights Law" than there are people suffering human rights violations. Every other student I talk to wants to do this sort of work (not that there's anything wrong with that) before eventually just becoming a securities lawyer like everyone else. One of the predominant reasons for this (I'm speculating) is that there really isn't a lot of that kind of work in most provinces, at least as far as I'm aware: you might want to identify a specific lobby group or government department and aim at that particular province. (I also stand to be corrected by more knowledgeable Canadians than myself - but I'll stand by my first point with alarming verve.)

Immigration is governed by a federal statute, though, so its universal across the country and there's plenty of work, both in private practice and with the government, particularly in Vancouver and Toronto.

Bon chance!

Hi Bender, thank you very much for your reply, you have helped me see things more clearly, thanks once again. Initially, I was thinking of perhaps studying a paralegal program and or working for a year as a junior legal assistant to help my application, but from what you say, it would not make any difference, except that it would enable me to explore the field of law. Btw, you are so right about the human right law;)

Cheers!