What You Need to Do to Become a Lawyer in Canada
So, you want to become a lawyer huh? The journey to becoming a lawyer is a long and not an easy way to embark. But if you prepare yourself well, you can achieve this goal with no problem. Here is a list of the things you need to know and do to achieve this aim.
1. Graduate with your high school diploma and have a good GPA
Completing your high school diploma is the first pathway before going to law school. If you get a good GPA, you will get a high chance of getting accepted into any university of your choice and choose a program that you prefer. Choosing a four-year degree program is a must if you are planning to go to law school.
2. Attend university and graduate with bachelor’s degree
Before you attend law school, you need to attend university to get a bachelor’s degree. Unfortunately, you cannot enter Canadian law schools directly from high school. Having a university degree is a must before attending a law school even if the law school you are applying to does not require it. In general, any university degree is accepted at the law schools such as BA, BSc, BBA, BComm, BEng and so on. It will be helpful if you get high GPA. The better GPA you get, the better chance you get into law school.
3. Write the LSAT (Law School Admission Test)
LSAT is required for all Canadian and US law school students. Some law schools may not consider you for their program if you write the test for multiple times so make sure you write the test once and get the highest mark to get a high chance of getting into a law school.
4. Apply to law school
Before you apply to a law school, you need to consider few things such as the school location, its specialization, its reputation, and the language instruction. There is six law schools in Ontario and sixteen law schools overall in Canada. With these many options, you choose what is best for you.
What you need to do:
- Complete the form.
- Academic transcripts
- LSAT Score
- A personal statement
- Reference letters if required
- Meet the deadline
5. Earning your law degree
It will take three years to complete a law school in Canada. You will obtain J.D degree upon completing the law school. It is important to participate in extracurricular activities or volunteering at legal clinics or nonprofit organizations to get more experience of legal training in the real world outside of the academics.
6. Graduate with your law degree & obtain a license to practice law
After you graduate with your law degree, you need to write and pass the provincial bar exams before becoming a licensed to practice law in Canada:
Articling
“ In Ontario, “articling” entails working under the supervision of a licensed (and qualified) lawyer for ten months” (Law.Utoronto).
The Law Practice Program (the alternative to articling)
“In Ontario, licensing candidates may choose to either article or complete the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Law Practice Program (LPP) in order to satisfy the experiential training component of the Lawyer Licensing Process” (Law.Utoronto).
The Bar Admission Exams
“licensing candidates are admitted to the “bar” after successfully writing the Barrister and Solicitor examinations” (Law.Utoronto).
7. Now it is time to work as a lawyer
There are many fields of law that you can choose such as the law in the public interest, private practice, and government. You can also choose other careers too such as becoming a professor, politician, CEO, mediator, union leader, teacher, arbitrator. Getting a law education opens your world to new and many possibilities, the only your limit is you.
Source:
University of Toronto.
