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Last Updated: March 16, 2021

How to Become a Lawyer in Canada

In Canada, if an international student wants to practice or teach law, the student needs to obtain a law degree first. An international student can take admission to any of the law schools or universities in Canada to get a degree in law. The process of getting admission to any one of the colleges is lengthy but not very much difficult and definitely worth it for a future in the field of law.

For the purpose of making international students' tasks a bit easier, we have prepared this short guide to tell prospective students about all the processes and tests required to get a law degree in Canada. Read this to the last to get a basic idea as to what all you have to do to get admission in one of the law colleges in Canada to get a law degree.

Step 1: Complete High School

This is necessary to complete your basic education which is compulsory for applying to gain higher education. During your schooling days, you can join a debate club or trial teams related to the law if your school provides such facilities.

Step 2: Complete your Graduation by undertaking a Four-year Bachelor's course

You can do a major from any subject you wish since there is no requirement by law schools of any particular undergraduate courses for getting admission in them. So, you have total freedom to choose from BS, BBA, BA, or any other degree. Here are some tips for you -

Try to choose a subject for getting the degree you like. This will help you keep your interests and get higher grades, better marks, and all this will help in maintaining a reputation among your professors. They can write a strong letter of recommendation for you to get admission to a good law college.

Choose a subject or course that will force you to out-of-the-box thinking. Something you are interested in but also requires great analytical and thinking skills. These practices will help you a lot during your law course.

You must have good knowledge of English, history, economics, government, philosophy, and sociology regardless of your subject to excel in your law school and career. To get good and higher grades during the under-graduation course. Students with undergraduate GPAs between 3.5 to 4.0 are more likely to get admission to law colleges with the average GPA being 3.9 at some more selective schools.

Step 3: Take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test)

LSAT can be taken anytime among the four times it is held every year. LSAT consists of five sections of MCQ questions each of 35-minutes plus a writing section. LSAT is a test where a student's analytical, reading, and logical skills are put to the test.

The score of LSAT is evaluated on a scale of 120 to 180. Students have required an average of 160 or more score to get admission into a Canadian law school.

Students can take the test several times to improve their scores and get admission to a better college. Different schools have different policies regarding the evaluation of LSAT scores for admission - some look at the average marks while others look at the highest marks. Most of the students prefer to give their first LSAT test during the summers immediately after the third year of their university program. Some of them also give the test for the first time during the first term of their fourth year.

Preparing for LSAT

To prepare for the LSAT test, multiple resources are available. It is advisable to rely on the resources and begin preparation for the LSAT as soon as possible, as the process can be quite overwhelming. Multiple resources are available to help students, which are listed below:

Exam content

The LSAT is a time-consuming exam, which can exhaust a student. It is good to know the pattern and content of the exam beforehand. Below is the general structure of the exam, to give students an idea of what is to be expected.

The LSAT exam is divided into three sections - Reading comprehension, Analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning.
  1. Reading comprehension: the reading comprehension section of the exam has long and complex passages which are stimuli to what a student may experience at law school or in the profession. This section tests the student's ability to act upon the situation while checking how well they have grasped the concepts.
  2. Analytical reasoning: This section of the exam tests how students can draw conclusions based on their observations. Moreover, understanding relationships is checked in this section as well.
  3. Logical reasoning: The logical reasoning section of the exam tests the student's ability to understand an argument (given in the exam) and determine the strengths and weaknesses of the very argument or situation.


Please keep in mind that LSATs also require a written sample, which would be on a topic that will be provided to the students. This section is not scored but is equally important as it is sent to the law schools of Canada and takes a big part in considering several candidates as potential students.

How to apply?

All applications are accepted and sent through the online application form. After the application has been sent, students will receive a center , where they will have to go to give the exam. There are several centers in the country any student wishes to give their exam.

Scores

As mentioned above, the scores of LSAT are presented between 120 to 180. The scores will be sent by email to the students who attended the exam after three weeks of the exam. The ideal score to get into a good law school is determined to be at 160. If it is more, then it is better. However, the LSAT scores DO NOT guarantee a place in any of the law school. The written essay on the given topic, the transcripts, and other additional documents are also considered before a student is given an offer letter.

Step 4: Apply for one or more of the Law Schools in Canada

After passing the LSAT test, students can start applying to any of the 25 law schools in Canada for getting a degree in law. But, before the applications start, the most important thing that students need to check is whether their LSAT score comes in the demand range of the school or not. They must also consider other factors while choosing the law school's degree, which could be the location, size, facilities, and prestige of the school.

We are listing the names of all the law schools in Canada along with some basic info regarding them below.

Types of Law schools

Schools teaching Civil Law

Schools teaching Common Law



After getting into law school

After getting into the desired law school, it is recommended that students keep in mind the Bar exam or Bar Admission Course and Articling. The reason being that even after completing law school with good grades, it does not qualify any student to start practicing law professionally. Hence, in order to grow in the field of law, it is important to take the Bar exam as soon as possible.

Every university has different rules and information regarding the bar exam. It is advised to all students to gain enough information from the law school while they consider giving the bar exam.



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