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What does law school cost in Canada?
Maclean’s magazine has the stats:
Common Law Schools Tuition Canadian Students Tuition International McGill $2,068 /$5,668* $21,600 Moncton $4,920 $8,343 Dalhousie $7,883/$8,905* $16,426 Saskatchewan $8,070 $20,982 Victoria $8,341 $22,182 Manitoba $8,619 $19,667 New Brunswick $9,032 $15,782 Alberta $9,943 $28,037 UBC $10,135 $20,510 Calgary $11,977 $39,806 Windsor $12,891 $21,888 Queen’s $13,170 $24,895 Ottawa $13,391 $29,829 Western $14,326 $19,930 Osgoode $17,631 $17,631 Toronto $23,508 $32,635 Civil Law Schools Laval $2,068/$5,668* $12,394 McGill $2,068/$5,668* $21,600 Montréal $2,068/$5,668* $17,453 UQAM $2,068/$5,668* $14,462 Sherbrooke $2,068/$5,668* $12,394 Ottawa $7,000 $18,042
Now if only they can explain why anyone would pay this just to become a rat?
The Law School Onion
The Onion has finally hit law school admissions:
NEW YORK—A growing number of law schools have begun requiring applicants to specify in writing whether they do, in fact, have some desire to attend law school, or are just using it as a predictable last resort. “We want to separate those who actually see themselves becoming attorneys from those who just want to put off joining the adult world for another three years,” Fordham Law School director Bruce Green said Thursday, showing reporters an application that asks students to check boxes marked “Really?” and “Seriously? You’re really that into this?” “We want prospective students to know that they will actually have to study the U.S. legal system. As in, the whole thing.” Word of the new requirement has already reportedly caused a 450 percent spike nationwide in applications to graphic design schools
My LSAT Experience
With less than a month to go before the October LSAT administration (and little to do other than read course summaries and hunt for a year’s worth of gainful employment), I’ve decided to offer up an honest recounting of my own test experience. I wrote the LSAT in December of 2009, and while I won’t disclose my exact score, I will give you a range and mention that I am a one-time writer. I am often asked to describe my own LSAT experience, so I have compiled some answers to the questions most frequently posed to me.
What was your worst test section?
I won’t say “worst,” but I will say most challenging. Analytical reasoning (logic games) was the toughest section for me. It requires adjusting to a new way of thinking, coming up with an analysis process that works for you and honing your technique to the point where you can quickly identify and attack various game structures. It was also the most psychologically daunting section, as it was the one that I faced with the least amount of confidence.
What was your best test section?
In practice tests, reading comprehension was my best section. I also found the relatively new section on comparative reading to be very straightforward. I’m a pretty fast reader, and it served me well here. On my actual LSAT, my reading comprehension and logical reasoning sections were pretty equal. Reading comprehension was the section that I enjoyed studying for the LEAST. Some of the passages are dense, dull and abstruse. Logic games – when not timed – can actually be (dare I say) fun.
How long/hard did you study?
It’s hard to say, as I had been studying on and off for the LSAT for the past five or so years. I really got serious about it in the summer of 2009, when I purchased an LSAC book of official tests as well as the Powerscore Logic Games Bible. I studied over the summer and in the fall months leading up to the December test date. I tried to do one test section per day while doing recommended exercises to sharpen my logic game skills.
What books/study methods did you use?
The Powerscore Logic Games Bible, an LSAC book of practice tests (10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests), and some random tips & tricks & sample questions found online. I also purchased some Kaplan LSAT prep books a couple of years ago; I referred to these periodically as well.
Where did you write the test?
I wrote the LSAT at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, which wouldn’t be odd except for the fact that I live in Toronto. To make a long story short, I registered too late (October?) and while I might have been able to get a seat closer to home, my mother offered me some Aeroplan points & I booked a plane ticket to Thunder Bay.
How long did you have to wait for your score?
I wrote the test on December 5th 2009, and my score was posted online sometime over the Christmas holidays (after Christmas but before the end of the year).
How long between the score reporting and your first offer?
My score report was not immediately sent to OLSAS (the centralized Ontario application service). I remember checking my LSAC account several times per day throughout late December and early January, waiting for confirmation that they had been reported. There was probably a delay over the holidays, and I believe the score reports were sent in early January. I received my first offer on January 22, and the second offer came in March. U of T sent me a rejection sometime in late February or early March.
What was your score?
>80th percentile and >160. So, while I was above the (unofficial) cut-off for most schools, I was <170 and <90th percentile. I knew pretty much immediately that I wouldn’t be getting an offer from U of T unless I re-wrote. With intensive studying, I feel that I could have improved on my first score significantly. However, with offers under my belt and a less-than-ideal undergrad experience at U of T, it was easy to kiss it (and its $20K+ tuition fees) goodbye.
Did you consider re-writing?
Until I received the first offer, I was prepared to re-write the test in February.
What would you do differently?
Register early (or earlier than I did). Flying up to Thunder Bay worked out fine in the end, but it also heaped some unnecessary stress on me. I had no idea where Lakehead University was in relation to my hotel (and no idea what hotel I would be staying in until I arrived). I had to sacrifice precious final studying hours for packing/commuting/flying time. Plus, Thunder Bay is awfully cold and a bit scary if you don’t know where you’re going. The test room was freezing BUT that could have happened anywhere. Advantage? We probably got underway faster since there were only about twelve people writing at Lakehead.
A final word of advice? Bring an extra sweater/scarf or wear layers. Trust me, you won’t need the additional chill to stay alert! You’ll be wide awake the second you pick up your pencil.
Keep in mind that you will probably never feel 100% prepared for the LSAT – give it a go anyway. Many, many successful applicants have more than one test score. If you have to re-write, most schools won’t hold it against you.
And one more thing? I did a lot better on the test than I thought I had after writing. Think positive & have faith in your brain.
Happy studying, and best of luck on test day!
2010 Student Blawger of the Year
In light of our recent collaboration with The Court, we’ve decided to pick someone from outside the Law is Cool community this year for our annual recognition of the Student Blawger of the Year.
This year’s award goes to Ahsan Mirza, Senior Contributing Editor (2009-10), at theCourt.ca
Ahsan Mirza recently completed his J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School (2010). He is the recipient of the Osgoode Student Honours Award, the F.W. Minkler Prize for Integrity and Scholarship, and the Osgoode Hall Law Journal Prize.
During his final year, he was a Senior Contributing Editor at www.theCourt.ca where he wrote on a number of relevant legal issues and developments in the form of general commentary and more specific SCC case comments.
Besides working for theCourt.ca, Ahsan was also Managing Editor at the Osgoode Hall Law Journal which became one of Canada’s only Open Access Law Journals under his leadership. Ahsan was also the founding President of the Muslim Law Students Association. He revived this student club which had extinguished several years earlier to create a social network for muslim law students and to bridge any gaps between muslims and non-muslims at Osgoode. Notably, he co-wrote an article in the Toronto Star with his counterpart at the Jewish Law Students Association, advocating cooperation and dialogue as opposed to the chest-thumping and fist-pumping common at YorkU during Israel Apartheid Week.
Prior to law school, Ahsan studied Political Science and Economics at Carleton University in Ottawa. He was awarded the Senate Medal for Academic Achievement and the Millennium Excellence Award for Leadership. Ahsan is the co-founder of the International Policy Forum.
Ahsan is currently articling at the Toronto offices of McMillan LLP.
Ha-Redeye and Yap — Piedra v. Copper Mesa Mining Corp
In the spirit of increased collegiality and collaboration within the Canadian legal blogging community, LawisCool.com and TheCourt.ca have set aside their heated rivalry to bring you their first ever joint posting. What follows is a commentary on the interesting case of Piedra v. Copper Mesa Mining Corporation, 2010 ONSC 2421.
Commentator for LawisCool.com: Omar Ha-Redeye, Juris Doctor, University of Western Ontario; founding contributor of LawisCool.com
Commetator for TheCourt.ca: James Yap, Juris Doctor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University; former Senior Contributing Editor, TheCourt.ca.
The Facts
Copper Mesa Mining Corporation is a Canadian company based in British Columbia who planned through one of its subsidiaries to build an open pit copper mine in the Intag cloud forest just south-west of The Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve, an area of the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. The company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), but it does not have significant assets or operations in the province of Ontario aside from two of its non-management directors residing in the province.
The Plaintiffs in the case are local activists in Ecuador who have opposed the mine, on the grounds that it will create major deforestation and desertification in the area and threaten more than a dozen animals with extinction. They allege that Copper Mesa through its agents used armed assaults and death threats to intimidate the local activists. Due to a perceived inability to hold Copper Mesa accountable in their country, the Plaintiffs brought a suit in Ontario against Copper Mesa, its directors, and the TSX.
The most novel aspect of the suit is the claim against the TSX for approving and listing Copper Mesa on the exchange, resulting in an influx of capital that would allegedly be used for further intimidation and violence against opponents. Local politicians in Ecuador and environmental supporters in Canada had brought the human rights allegations to the attention of the TSX before its listing. Further, the final prospectus filed by Copper Mesa’s subsidiary to the TSX acknowledge the existence of the conflict,
“[t]ensions surrounding potential exploration and mining work on the Junin property have risen, creating the potential of further escalating violence unless steps are taken to diffuse the situation,” and goes on to report a specific incident in which members of an “anti-mining group” felt “threatened”;
The liability, according to the Plaintiffs, flows from the failure to take any steps to avoid the violence, and that the Defendants knew or ought to have known that violence would ensue if the Copper Mesa subsidiary was financed through the TSX, and should have taken measures to ensure funds raised were not used for improper purposes. The project was highly dependent on funding from the TSX, with over 80% of the US$26.7 million raised by the Copper Mesa subsidiary raised on the TSX alone. According to the Plaintiffs, it was a brokered private placement of shares approved by the TSX that raised US$4.5 million that allowed Copper Mesa to hire the private security forces allegedly responsible for the armed assaults that form the basis of the claim.
The TSX is considered a specialized exchange for mining, and over 60% of the world’s mining companies are listed on the TSX and related exchanges.
363 Days to Go
Last week, I made a difficult decision.
I requested – and was granted – a one-year deferral of my admission to Western Law.
While I toyed with the idea of christening my inaugural blog post “The Thrill of Admission & the Agony of Deferral,” it eventually struck me as a bit maudlin. After all, I still get to go to law school. I don’t have to re-write the LSAT or tango with OLSAS ever again. I know exactly what I’m going to be doing between September 2011 and June 2014.
And really – what’s a year?
But I had already read the pre-law books, and received the O-Week schedule…
I’d started looking for a place to live…
I’d gotten to know a few of my future classmates through Facebook and law student forums…
In my head, I was already there. Perhaps it was making the decision so late in the game that really hurt. After all, deferral had always been an option. I mused about it on my personal blog shortly after being accepted in January. There were always advantages to working for another year.
Nevertheless, on the eve of what would have been my first week of law school, at the start of what has always been very favourite month of the year, I find myself wrestling with the decision already made, trying to convince myself that it was the “right” one. Out come the lists:
The Good
- Time flies
- I can learn a language or pick up an instrument (I haven’t enjoyed a year off school in a long time)
- I can get a jump-start on the readings
- I’ll have lots of 2L friends from whom I can borrow notes & get advice
- I can save money – possibly quite a bit of money (and pay off my last credit card)
- I can go to Welcome Day in March again and eat awesome purple & white cake
- I can get excited about 1L all over again – and blog about it here!
The Bad
- I’ll be one year “behind,” and I already feel “old” (having spent the better part of the last decade in school)
- Time flies the slowest when you are most anxious for it to pass
- Having to explain the decision to everyone, including the people who would have become my classmates
In the final calculation, this decision probably won’t make a lick of difference in terms of my career goals. It’s a year, not a decade. It’s not like a span of 12 months is going to render me an old maid, weaken my motivation or dull my enthusiasm for learning.
My goal of making the most out of this year will begin here. This blog will allow me to keep a few irons in the law-fire, and hopefully help warm me up for the type of analysis that will be required of me in law school.
363 days. I can wait anxiously for them to pass me by, or I can embrace them.
So I will cease the pointless pining for my lost spot in the class of 2013, and look forward to my future place in the class of 2014.
And as my father pointed out, “Class of 2014″ sounds a lot better than “Class of 2013″, anyway.
So. Things you can expect from me here:
- Commentary on legal aspects of public health issues (i.e. food safety & tobacco)
- Musings on international/human rights legal issues in the news (especially those that involve public health issues, i.e. access to clean water, refugee camp conditions, treatment of political prisoners & health status of prisoners)
- LSAT advice (including, perhaps, a recounting of my 48-hour trip up to Thunder Bay in the dead of winter to write the test at Lakehead after registering too late to write it in Toronto)
- Thoughts on the application process & the importance of personal statements
Onward! Thanks for having me.
