[blindlaw] Law Study in Canada

[Blaine Deutscher]

I'm not sure if this goes directly to the list as I'm new to the list. 
Thanks for the welcome and it's wonderful to hear a little of the history 
between the United states and Canada. usually when you attend Law school 
after your two years you do a year of articling to gain hands-on experience. 
Most Lawyers that I've spoken with have said that this is where they learned 
the most practical knowledge. I was speaking with my great uncle who is a 
prosecutor in Toronto and he said that the Laws are the same except Montreal 
Quebec. Montreal in a way is separate from the rest of Canada. The reason he 
mentioned this to me is I asked about if you take the bar in one province 
and move to another for some reason are the laws the same so that you only 
have to take the bar for that province as the Federal Law hasn't changed?

I've considered going down to the states and going to Law school there and 
staying there to practice, not sure where I'd live though. Maybe Texas, 
Kentucky, Chicago, Washington ... Maybe somewhere close to B.C Canada so 
that I could go across the boarder and visit family on holidays, if you get 
such things as a lawyer.

I'd like to get into corporate Law and travel but the only thing that I see 
with that is if a head office was in Texas with satellite offices in Canada 
how would that work if the CEO'S were in the states with the Law being 
different from Canada to the U.S? That's something to consider as I know 
that some corprit lawyers travel to different corperations. Talk to you 
later.

Blaine
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elizabeth Rene" <emrene at earthlink.net>
To: <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 2:26 PM
Subject: [blindlaw] Law Study in Canada


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





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