Hi all,
I am a final year LLB (United Kingdom) student. I am new to this board and had a couple of questions regarding admission to an LLM programme in the USA / Canada.

1. What is the minimum UK degree classification required in order to gain admission to an LLM programme in the USA/ Canada? (I know there are several other factors, but I am curious as to how the UK grading system compares with the GPA or CGPA system in the US/ Canada)
2. What are the chances of acceptance if one is a fresh law graduate without any work experience? (Most American schools seem to have students who have been practising for a few years and it appears to me that it is very difficult to gain admission if you are a mere graduate)

Cheers!

Hi,
I am not from the UK, so I cannot answer your first question. I had the same concerns, when it comes to your other question, though. Try it! I will graduate this summer and have been admitted to a couple of pretty good schools even without them knowing my final grades. I don't know, if I was just lucky or if it is not as hard as they make it sound like. Either way, it is definitely possible.
Good luck!

Hi SCHORSCH,

Thanks for your encouraging reply! If you have received admission before your final grades are declared, you must have a brilliant profile! Congratulations! Could please tell me which LLM programmes you gained admission to and if you know any other law schools which do not have a significant bias against freshers?

Cheers!

Hi Aditya (or Shil?),
I think most schools allow recent graduates to apply. The advice I can give you is find out, which schools you are interested in, e-mail them and ask, if they will consider your application even without any significant experience and then work hard on the other parts of your application. It seems like you can make up for your weakness in experience with strong other parts of your application (grades, personal statement, recommendations).

Good luck!
Schorsch

Hi guys,
I live in Toronto / Canada.
For Canadian schools you need minumum B+ GPA. Work experience is not that important.

Good luck.

Hi,

Schorsh - Cheers! I wasn't sure whether the LLM programmes considered students straight out of law school. Yeah mailing the schools and finding out their policy seems like a good idea. Guess I have to sort out my other areas so that I stand a chance against people with significant work ex.

Deniz - Great to find some information about Canada. I am interested in Uni of Toronto, York, McGill & British Columbia. Any suggestions? Also how highly rated are these courses compared to Unis in the US and UK. For example could you please name some UK or US Universities which you would consider to be at par with the Canadian universities.

Cheers!

I graduated from McGill University which ranks, along with the University of Toronto, as arguably one of the two best law schools in Canada.

Comparing our schools to US schools is difficult. We have twenty or so law schools in Canada, whereas the United-States have over 180 ABA accredited schools. Americans thus have a much wider talent pool to choose from, both in terms or professors and students. While I would venture that the average Canadian school is comparable (or even slightly better) than the average US school, their elite universities are much, much better than ours, based on funding, the star power of the professors, their incredibly talented students, and reputation (within the US).

While some Canadian LL.B.s, usually from McGill and the University of Toronto, have success in finding top jobs in the US (specifically in Massachusetts and New-York) after their degree, our opportunities in the United-States are nowhere near those of someone graduating with a JD from a top 25 or even top 40 school in the US.

From an international perspective, things are very different. If you are planning an international career, Canadian schools are highly regarded. This is both due to the fact that our schools are generally very good, but more so with the fact that Canadians are generally well liked abroad.

My advice would be to completely forget about Canada (or Europe and the UK) if you want to work in the States. However, if you want to return to your home country or work internationally, Canadian schools are a very good choice, probably on par with some of the best European schools, and with good (though not super-elite) UK schools.

Hi bonobo,

Thanks for your post! It gave me a clear picture about the relative merits of US and Canadian schools. I am primarily interested in areas of Taxation, IP and Corporate Law. Could you please give me an idea about the schools in Canada which are highly regarded in such areas? Also, like in the USA, (e.g. NY and California) is it possible for an international student to appear for the Bar in Canada post LLM? Finally, if I were to do an LLM from a top law school in Canada how easy/ difficult would it be to gain admission to a good Phd Programme in the US/ UK i.e how valued would my degree be considering that I had done it from Canada?

Cheers!

I agree with you bonboo. I think McGill is the best. There is not much of a diffence between the unis. in Canada.
1) McGill
2) Uni of Toronto
3) Queens
4) York
5) Ottowa
I don't know much about British Comumbia.
Good luck!

Hi Deniz,

Thanks for your post. I had thought that Tornoto was the best school in Canada by far, but it seems that McGill has an equally good reputation.Thanks for clearing my doubts!

Cheers!

+ life is very good in Montreal.
Cheers!

Hi,
I am not from the UK, so I cannot answer your first question. I had the same concerns, when it comes to your other question, though. Try it! I will graduate this summer and have been admitted to a couple of pretty good schools even without them knowing my final grades. I don't know, if I was just lucky or if it is not as hard as they make it sound like. Either way, it is definitely possible.
Good luck!