Law School

[rslater]

For those who are in law school, or have gotten in, in the last 5 years would you care to share your LSAT scores and your GPA, and what school.

As well, what is your advice on LSAT preperations.

[forgamez]

you should go to www.lawstudents.ca. Tons of people posting their GPA and LSAT.

[SiNzz]

^+1, it also varies alot. I know right now UBC is admitting 82% as a median average, with a 163ish on the LSAT.

[Ax2-Y]

my GF had a CGPA of 3.7 @ SFU doing a joint major in Criminology and Womens studies. Her LSAT score is 163 and she is on the waitlist for UBC.. she has gotten into every other school she applied to, but her first choice is to stay local...
schools she has been accepted to are:
U of Alberta, U of Calgary, Dalhousie, Queens, Osgoode Hall (York), U of New Brunswick, U of Ottawa, U Vic, and U of Western Ontario (she didnt bother with U of Toronto)

To prepare for the LSAT she took a Kaplan course 2 nights a week for like 3 hours at a time.. she said that it is totally worth it to take a course, even though they are pricey. They teach you how to pick out the parts of the questions that are most important, and frame them properly so you can finish all the questions in time.

Hope this helps

[Delish]

Wow very nice. Osgood and UVic are excellent schools (Not saying the rest aren't). Can't believe with a GPA and LSAT score like that she's still waitlisted. I'm looking into taking Kaplan too eventually. I think it's worth the investment.

[SiNzz]

Originally Posted by Ax2-Y

my GF had a CGPA of 3.7 @ SFU doing a joint major in Criminology and Womens studies. Her LSAT score is 163 and she is on the waitlist for UBC.. she has gotten into every other school she applied to, but her first choice is to stay local...
schools she has been accepted to are:
U of Alberta, U of Calgary, Dalhousie, Queens, Osgoode Hall (York), U of New Brunswick, U of Ottawa, U Vic, and U of Western Ontario (she didnt bother with U of Toronto)

To prepare for the LSAT she took a Kaplan course 2 nights a week for like 3 hours at a time.. she said that it is totally worth it to take a course, even though they are pricey. They teach you how to pick out the parts of the questions that are most important, and frame them properly so you can finish all the questions in time.

Hope this helps

Wow, good info. I thought somewhere like Osgoode Hall would be harder to get into than UBC. If you don't mind answering, was her 3.7 SFU's 3.7, or the converted 3.7 based on UBC's grading system?

Nice to know those kaplan courses are good though. I'm thinking that will be my plan if I'm able to get the grades to even bother applying.

[will068]

Originally Posted by Ax2-Y

my GF had a CGPA of 3.7 @ SFU doing a joint major in Criminology and Womens studies. Her LSAT score is 163 and she is on the waitlist for UBC.. she has gotten into every other school she applied to, but her first choice is to stay local...
schools she has been accepted to are:
U of Alberta, U of Calgary, Dalhousie, Queens, Osgoode Hall (York), U of New Brunswick, U of Ottawa, U Vic, and U of Western Ontario (she didnt bother with U of Toronto)

To prepare for the LSAT she took a Kaplan course 2 nights a week for like 3 hours at a time.. she said that it is totally worth it to take a course, even though they are pricey. They teach you how to pick out the parts of the questions that are most important, and frame them properly so you can finish all the questions in time.

Hope this helps

wow.. she got in UVic Law but only wait listed at law school at UBC? Weird. UVic Law school is supposedly the best in Western Canada.

[vancitylove]

i'm also surprised she wants to go to ubc over osgood or uvic. to get onto bay st. (where the real money is) i don't think ubc will cut it.

[rslater]

Uvic law is 70% gpa, 30% lsat. That is why she got in their.

[Ax2-Y]

Originally Posted by vancitylove

i'm also surprised she wants to go to ubc over osgood or uvic. to get onto bay st. (where the real money is) i don't think ubc will cut it.

she has no desire to get onto bay street.. she is more interested in international law and stuff to do with human rights. Also, she has many contacts with law firms around vancouver, so i dont think she will have any trouble getting on with a firm when/if she graduates...

for those wondering, Osgoode said they only accepted 3 people from BC for the coming year, she was one of them but she declined them (too conservative for her liking).. So far she has accepted Queens (apparently more liberal minded thinkers) and will be going there next year if she is not accepted to UBC.

Her 3.7 GPA is on SFU's Scale. UBC ranks each applicant based on a formula combining your GPA and LSAT Scores. you can find the formula at the website posted by forgamez... the first cut off for acceptance was an index rating of 91, she has is between 89.4 to 89.8 (there are two formulas posted, not sure which is correct). apparently the final cut off for accepted applicants last year was 89.5... so there is still hope.

any more questions and i am more then happy to ask her for you guys.

[Demosthenes X]

One of my housemate's sisters is going to Queen's Law in September, she's very excited. She's from Ontario, though, so she was deciding between local schools, not UVic/UBC.

FWIW, Kingston is a nice place to live. If she really likes the Vancouver nightlife and whatnot I would avoid Kingston, but it's a pretty chill place to live and study. And it's not like we have NO clubs...

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

50g cash, you'll get the answers text to you during your 10-15min break during the LSAT. guarenteed top 98 percentile.

[asian_XL]

being a lawyer is bitter. We did a break down analysis after class and put in all
the possibilities that will happen to us. We came up with a conclusion that unless you
are ultra smart, or you are powered by parents, and have a family friend who can write
you a reference letter to work at a bigger law firm, otherwise you are one broke ass
lawyer until you are 32 or something. Your salary or average number of customers
doesn't double once you finish your articling, but the work load triples immediately lol

[forgamez]

Originally Posted by asian_XL

being a lawyer is bitter. We did a break down analysis after class and put in all
the possibilities that will happen to us. We came up with a conclusion that unless you
are ultra smart, or you are powered by parents, and have a family friend who can write
you a reference letter to work at a bigger law firm, otherwise you are one broke ass
lawyer until you are 32 or something. Your salary or average number of customers
doesn't double once you finish your articling, but the work load triples immediately lol

What is the typical career path like in the Hong Kong law market and what is the salary difference between biglaw and mid/small law firms?

Have you heard of a Canadian law student practicing in HK? And how do firms in HK look at Canadian law schools, say U of T/McGill/UBC?

[IfUCare]

hk and canada has a different law systems.
you would have to take a whole slew of law courses in order to be able to practice there.

so, i'm guessing not many people take that route

[achiam]

Originally Posted by asian_XL

being a lawyer is bitter. We did a break down analysis after class and put in all
the possibilities that will happen to us. We came up with a conclusion that unless you
are ultra smart, or you are powered by parents, and have a family friend who can write
you a reference letter to work at a bigger law firm, otherwise you are one broke ass
lawyer until you are 32 or something. Your salary or average number of customers
doesn't double once you finish your articling, but the work load triples immediately lol

uhhh thats if you have crappy grades and get into a crappy firm. i have several friends working for big NY and London firms and although they work 80+ hr weeks, they are beyond happy because of their compensation.
My friends in HKG who got into magic circle brit firms there are also really happy although 80 hr weeks is seemingly the norm there too

And broke ass at 32?? My friend at freshfields was 26 and earning nearly $130K Canadian/yr before bonus.

[forgamez]

Originally Posted by IfUCare

hk and canada has a different law systems.
you would have to take a whole slew of law courses in order to be able to practice there.

so, i'm guessing not many people take that route

I was hoping to get an idea if many people from Canadian law schools are working in the Hong Kong offices at the big UK / US firm and if a school, say U of T, would hold any weight in name. I am guessing fields involving multinationals, such as corporate and securities law, would require assistance of a lawyer who is licensed in NY or the U.S.

It sounds like the HK offices are paying pretty similar wages as their London/US counterparts. Anyone know if they are offering housing subsidies like the ibanks do?

[Superstylo]

I am a 2nd year law student at the U of A right now. If you really would like to know my gpa and LSAT, you can pm me. (I am pretty sure that if I post it, I will probably get harassed).

Anyways, working in Hong Kong with a Canadian Law degree is fully viable and an easy transfer. I have no idea what people are talking about on this forum. Both places practice a common law system. In fact, Hong Kong law firms are constantly recruiting from the English, Canadian and US markets.

[Superstylo]

Originally Posted by IfUCare

hk and canada has a different law systems.
you would have to take a whole slew of law courses in order to be able to practice there.

so, i'm guessing not many people take that route

This is not true.

[JudeChow]

It is generally easier to get into the HK law market with a Canadian degree than vice versa. However, to practice in Hk you will need to complete the PCLL, which require any student with a foreign law degree to do some "top up courses". (assuming you have a common law degree), namely, HK legal system, etc etc, and recently people have been failing thesel. Apparently, there are too many ppl with foreign LLBs/JDs that want to practice in HK.

[W202 028]

Yes, if you hold a foreign law degree, you will have to write conversion exams before being able to do PCLL. Part of the reason for this as mentioned, is that there has been a significant influx of foreign law degree holders seeking jobs in HK.

I must say though, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for foreigners to enter the profession as most of our work now possess a PRC element. As such, firms are more inclined to recruit people with some level of Chinese proficiency (both written and oral). If you possess a good level of Chinese lingual skills, HK maybe a good place for u especially since the salary is quite competitive and does offer a vibrant lifestyle.

[JudeChow]

I'm not sure how Canadian schools hold up in Hk compared to others, but considering the grades needed to get into a Canadian school like USask, and Umanitoba, more reputable schools like London School of Economics, UMelbourne, Sydney, even Cambridge maybe within reach. Considering average GPA to most canadian schools is 3.8 ish..I would seriously consider others if you are going to work abroad. If you tell someone you went to USask, no one would know what you are talking about. Having said that, if you want to work in Canada, then going to a canadian school would save you from the NCA trouble.

[W202 028]

I agree with JudeChow entirely. If you do decide to work in HK, it would be more worthwhile to do your LLB at a more reputable UK/Australian school. If you graduate from an Oxbridge school or even LSE, its pretty much guaranteed that you will land a job at a cityfirm (provided that you get decent grades). Australian LLB holders are somewhat popular as well due to their double-degree studies. Most of them from UNSW, USyd and Melbourne Uni hold dual degrees in Law and Commerce. As for Canadian schools, most firms in HK will only know of UBC/UT.

[Superstylo]

Originally Posted by W202 028

I agree with JudeChow entirely. If you do decide to work in HK, it would be more worthwhile to do your LLB at a more reputable UK/Australian school. If you graduate from an Oxbridge school or even LSE, its pretty much guaranteed that you will land a job at a cityfirm (provided that you get decent grades). Australian LLB holders are somewhat popular as well due to their double-degree studies. Most of them from UNSW, USyd and Melbourne Uni hold dual degrees in Law and Commerce. As for Canadian schools, most firms in HK will only know of UBC/UT.

Or, you could graduate from any Canadian law school and work at any of the Canadian national firms. I think the Hong Kong firm's would recognize your experience there as well.

[wyattH]

newb Q - but how did you find out Uvic is 70% gpa, 30% lsat?
i dont want to go to uvic, but id like to find this stat for other schools... thanks