[blindlaw] Law Study in Canada

E.J. Zufelt lists at zufelt.ca
Wed Jun 23 20:39:27 UTC 2010


Good afternoon,

Just to clarify about Canadian law school admissions.

Articling is not a requirement to be admitted to law school.  It is, to the best of my knowledge, a requirement for admission to the bar of any province, although the period of time varies slightly from province to province.


Everett Zufelt
http://zufelt.ca

Follow me on Twitter
http://twitter.com/ezufelt

View my LinkedIn Profile
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ezufelt



On 2010-06-23, at 4:26 PM, Elizabeth Rene wrote:

> Hi, Blaine,
> 
> My name is Elizabeth René.
> 
> I am a naturalized American from Canada, with relatives in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, B.C., and the Northwest Territory.
> 
> Welcome to the group, and good luck in your pursuit of law study.
> 
> I never regretted the choice to go to law school, and have found that it has stood me in good stead no matter what I've done since then.  I got my law degree in 1978 from Saint Louis University here in the U.S.
> 
> While studying International Law at SLU, and later again while visiting family in Ontario and chatting with Crown Counsel about the differences in criminal trial practice in Canada and the States, I checked into the possibility of practicing law up there.  You may know that a Canadian born national doesn't automatically lose citizenship when naturalized somewhere else, and I thought, regardless, that it would be great to have international legal ties.
> 
> I learned that the road to admission to practice in Canada is different from that down here.  For one thing, one has to "article" in a Canadian firm either before or during law study, and was given the impression that one didn't get into law school without having had that experience.
> 
> Secondly, of course, the legal systems are different.  Canada, being part of the British Commonwealth, though independent from England, didn't break away as we did, and has a different relationship between the provinces and the government in Ottawa than we do between the states and the Federal government in Washington D.C.
> 
> Then, of course, there's Canada's second national language, French, and all the history, tradition, and political dynamic that this implies.
> 
> It's amazing what happens once you cross a border.  We Canadians and Americans have so much in common, Yet, we are two different countries with two subtly but distinctly different cultures, and legal systems.
> 
> All this is to say that I, for one, will be very interested to hear of your experiences and perspectives from time to time as you launch your legal career.
> 
> If there are any other Canadian lawyers or law students on this list, why don't you too throw in your comments?
> 
> And are there any blind immigrants from Mexico, other parts of Latin America, or other parts of the world wanting to practice law here?
> 
> I recently heard a commentary on NPR about an English-speaking, legal immigrant to El Paso, Texas  from Cuidad Juarez, who'd practiced Law in Mexico and was shocked to learn how different things are here.
> 
> Again, Blaine, welcome.
> 
> Elizabeth
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> blindlaw mailing list
> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/lists%40zufelt.ca




More information about the BlindLaw mailing list