Law Schools in Canada: 15 Best Law Schools You Must Know
For aspiring lawyers, starting law school is a major turning point. Before selecting the ideal program for your career launch, you must prepare and perform your homework. Knowing which institutions have excellent reputations if you’re considering enrolling in a prestigious law school may be helpful. Enrolling in one of Canada’s best law schools should be your top goal if you’re a law student or aspiring lawyer.
This is because you will be prepared by these esteemed Canadian law schools for a rewarding legal profession following graduation.
Continue reading to find the best law schools in Canada.
1. Best Law Schools in Canada
Most of Canada’s top universities offer dual degrees that prepare students for both the Canadian and American judicial systems. Canadian universities are ranked among the best professional schools in the world by QS World Rankings due to the welcoming people, magnificent scenery, and continual academic advancement of the country.
Many other universities in Canada also offer legal courses, even though the preponderance of academic institutions that do so are located in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.
Law schools in Canada consist of ongoing rule and regulation changes, which lawyers must pursue. The role of a modern lawyer has undergone numerous changes lately. It started as an outdated, dusty desk used for various discussions about corporate employment, legal issues involving celebrities, legal counsel for politicians, and so forth.
As a response, law graduates now have access to many more occupational options. The extreme need for attorneys to examine various legal difficulties in crucial roles at top companies across many sectors has increased significantly.
1.1. University of Toronto
This law school is the first on the list of the finest law schools in Canada for 2022. One of the University of Toronto’s distinguishing qualities is its reputation for academic excellence, which explains why school ranking groups continually rank it higher than other law schools.
The University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s students are incredibly diverse, exceptional legal thinkers, well-educated, and strongly committed to protecting justice in their home countries and around the world. The University of Toronto continues to be recognized for generating some of the nation’s best legal experts and currently ranks first in Canada for legal education. As the University of Toronto frequently ranks higher than rival institutions in the study of law, academic excellence is important to the university.
The University of Toronto Law School offers seminars on a broad range of topics, including criminal law, business law, health law, and others. The institution’s health law LLM program has been ranked as one of the top ten in the world by several people. Students at the University of Toronto’s law school are well-educated, diverse, and passionate about promoting justice both within their communities and beyond.
1.2. McGill University
Another excellent law school in Canada that accepts both domestic and foreign students is ranked second in the 2023 QS Ranking of Canadian law schools and the following year. Due to its excellent reputation, the McGill University Faculty of Law, the oldest in Canada, is frequently referred to as the “Harvard of the North.”
One of Quebec’s three universities, McGill, provides a few English-language programs. Undergraduate law students at McGill University must be (at the very least) passively bilingual in both English and French. This university offers a variety of legal courses, such as comparative law, environmental law, air, and space law.
1.3. University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia‘s Allard School of Law has consistently trained students, civic leaders, and practicing attorneys for more than 70 years. Now, foreign students can continue their education in Canada in Vancouver, a picturesque city on the west coast of the nation and home to UBC.
Students in the institution’s law degree receive the fundamental training and assistance in completing the necessary steps to practice law across Canada. Three institutions in Quebec provide English language programs, with McGill being one of them. At McGill law University, law students must be passively bilingual in both English and French. This university offers courses in comparative law, environment law, air and space law, and other topics.
1.4. University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law rose two spots in the 2023 QS Ranking of Canadian law schools from seventh place, where it was ranked in 2017. There are several fantastic law courses at Canada’s oldest and biggest bilingual institution; some are in English, some are in French, and others are mixed.
The University of Ottawa provides classes in topics like global sustainability and environmental law, notarial law (only in French), international trade and investment law, and more. The fact that students can study law in the nation’s capital city at the University of Ottawa opens up a wealth of networking opportunities in both business and government.
1.5. York University
The esteemed York University law school, Osgoode Hall, is ranked sixth on the 2023 QS Rankings for Canadian Law Schools. The Osgoode Hall law school offers a broad, challenging, and forward-thinking curriculum that equips students with a variety of legal vocations.
This law school was founded in 1889 and has continued to rank among the best legal schools in Canada.
Consequently, the community college offers a wide range of disciplines, including Business Law, Common Law, and others. Osgoode Hall Law School at York University is among the nation’s top ten schools for academic achievement in property rights law and alternative dispute resolution to the LLM Guide.
1.6. Queen’s University
The Queen’s University School of Law in Kingston, Ontario, has offered premier universities background for a variety of professional degrees. The 2023 QS Ranking for Canadian law schools came in at number seven.
The full schedule can be completed in three years whereas the part-time program requires six years to complete. Graduates in the LL.M. program have had the opportunity to do some of their studies at an English castle.
1.7. University of Alberta (Alberta Law Reform Institute)
The third oldest and top-ranked law school in Canada was founded in 1912 at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Law.
Whilst also being ranked sixth among Canadian law schools in the 2018 QS Ranking, the University of Alberta’s law school dropped two spots in the 2023 rankings. The school offers LL.M. degrees that include coursework and a thesis. Students who desire to study energy law at this college will find it to be a sensible choice because they get to do so in Canada’s oil capital.
The law school at this university is regarded as among the best in Canada. This university is a great choice for anyone seeking a degree in energy law because it is located in the nation’s oil capital. Students will therefore be exposed to various international exposure.
1.8. Dalhousie University
It is expected that students at this esteemed legal school will be enrolled there in the beautiful Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It’s not just Dalhousie University‘s aesthetic appeal that makes it one of the best; it was ranked among the top 15 Canadian universities in the Times Higher Education ranking for 2020. This suggests that the institution represents yet another academic peak.
The faculty of law is made up of academics who work together on multidisciplinary research and teaching projects. Archaeology, psychology, legal anthropology, law, political economy, mass communication, critical science, and sociology are some of these topics.
1.9. Carleton University
Having been founded in 1967, the undergraduate legal studies program at Carleton University is one of the oldest and largest in Canada. It has maintained a strong reputation since its founding more than 50 years ago and was the first institution in the nation to provide legal studies and other diverse academic areas.
There are about 2,000 students enrolled in the college of public affairs, and it now provides a BA (Honours) in law with a concentration in commercial law, human rights, and transnational law, among other things.
1.10. University of Victoria
The University of Victoria is another institution that belongs to the elite group of Canadian law schools.
Along with its approach to experiential learning, the depth of the academic curriculum, and commitment to civic participation and social injustice, the institution is well renowned for housing one of Canada’s most respected law schools.
Additionally, the university’s proximity to parks and beaches contributes to Canada’s mildest climate. It’s interesting to note that the University of Victoria’s law school offers the most clinical placements per student in the country.
1.11. Laval University
The oldest institution of its sort in North America that currently provides teaching in French is the law school at Laval University, founded in 1852.
Being among Canada’s top law schools for foreign students, the faculty annually welcomes more than a hundred students from different regions of the world.
Future jurists receive outstanding training from the faculty, which is also acknowledged as a center of excellence in research on a national and international scale. According to Laval University, there were 319,000 graduates from all areas as of the summer of 2020.
1.12. Lakehead University, Bora Laskin Faculty of Law
At Lakehead University, you can study law in a peaceful setting at one of Canada’s top universities. The Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, housed in the venerable Port Arthur Collegiate Institute (PACI), was established in 1909 and is situated in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Since the faculty’s founding, it has consistently offered legal education of the highest caliber, giving students both a solid theoretical understanding of the law and practical application.
The Bora Laskin Faculty of Law offers academic programs in Aboriginal and Indigenous law, Natural Resources and Environmental Law, and small firm practice using the Integrated Practice Curriculum that is all focused on the reality of working and living in the North (IPC).
1.13. University of Manitoba
One may say that the University of Manitoba‘s faculty of law serves as a passport to a career as a trailblazing lawyer both inside Canada and abroad. The law school has long been praised for its interdisciplinary and cutting-edge method of teaching the subject of law.
Being the only law school in Manitoba has many benefits for the university, including solid relationships with judges and attorneys who are currently practicing in the province and who may mentor and instruct students as they progress through their studies.
Mock trials and moot courts are events in which law students at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law participate. They cooperate in legal clinics, act as judges’ assistants, and represent actual clients in their chambers and courts. They contend in national and international negotiations as well.
1.14. The University of Saskatchewan, College of Law
In addition to being one of Canada’s top-ranked law schools, the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan, founded in 1912, is also the oldest law school in western Canada and exemplifies a heritage of quality in research, teaching, and innovation.
The college offers students a highly regarded mooting program, international exchange opportunities, and joint degree programs.
It has a long history in assessing justice, developing strength in dispute resolution, indigenous legal education, health law, commercial law, and leading scholars in constitutional law and criminal law.
1.15. Thompson Rivers University
The Thompson Rivers University School of Law offers one of Canada’s finest professional legal degrees. Due to its reputation as a premier Canadian law school for international students, the college receives applications from all around the world.
TRU, which ranked 20th out of the top law schools in Canada, has made a name for itself as a hub of scholarship and superior legal education.
2. Wrapping Up
Due to their reputation, attending any of the top law schools often ensures that you will have a job after you graduate. As an added bonus, Canada has some of the most beautiful cities.
For instance, McGill provides a wonderful balance between being in one of the most beautiful places to attend a school and having excellent resources, instructors, and other school-related things.
One of the best cities in Canada, Toronto has the best reputation. It is obvious that these institutions are moving very quickly to advance and increase their prospects of ranking among the top law schools in the world.
However, if you are still unsure about whether Canada is the place where you want to study law, you can compare the law schools on this list of the best law schools in Canada with those in Sydney, Melbourne, and Manchester.
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