Strategic UK “2 year LLB + 1 year LLM Legal Specialist Combo”
The Canadian legal field is becoming ever increasingly competitive. The bar for entry-level legal career positions is being raised. As is the case with comparable professions e.g. medicine, there is a decrease in demand for general professional degree graduates. There is corresponding increase in demand for ‘specialists’ with expertise in a niche area.
Canada Law From Abroad strongly recommends that you choose the strategic UK 2 Yr. + 1 Yr. ‘Legal Specialist’ Combo (LLB+LLM) Degrees for these reasons:
This route gives you the edge in opening career doors since you’ll return to Canada in 3 years with both a general law degree and a ‘legal specialist’ graduate degree and designation. (Contrast this with students who attend a Canadian law schools and only obtain the one degree, the LLB/JD, in the same three year period.)
With 3 years of legal education from the UK you also write fewer NCA challenge examinations for your Canadian accreditation.
In the UK you have the advantage of applying for an LLM degree at any point during your LLB studies.
Another UK advantage is that you have the option to choose the best-fit LLM programme that matches your legal career interests and aspirations in any law school in the UK.
A few Canadian law schools have introduced 3.5 year ‘combined JD/LLM’ programmes. However you must apply for the entire combined JD/LLM programme in your initial JD application. The major disadvantage is that students must make a decision on an area of specialization before they have started their legal education.