Becoming a lawyer is a long journey that starts with a passion for justice and a deep respect for law and order. Most students develop a fascination with the law long before university starts, perhaps because they know or respect someone that is a lawyer or are fascinated with the job. By high school, they may find themselves participating in law and politics related activities, such as debating or the model UN. Many provinces also offer law courses in high school where they will participate in a mock trial and learn the essentials related to the study of law!
Of course, graduating secondary school is just the beginning of your law education. You must first complete an undergraduate degree in an area you are interested in - which may include a law related field, but could also involve business, science, or the arts. Then, you must write your LSAT test to be considered for admission in one of Canada’s law schools. At this point, you will embark on another degree program that will end in a Bachelor of Laws degree or a Juris Doctor.
After completing law school, you are not a lawyer yet! In fact, you must then be called to write your bar exam and spend time working or “articling” with a licensed lawyer. In this phase of lawyer training, the bar exam can be one of the biggest challenges. Because passing this test is an essential requirement for becoming a lawyer, you will want to ensure your success.
This article is all about taking the bar exam, and what you can do to prepare effectively for it. Let’s take a closer look at what the bar exam will actually be like, and some strategies you can take to be as prepared as possible when you are called to write.
Law school is a significant investment of your time and resources. Make the most of your time in law school by hiring a law tutor to help you with your courses and the bar exam!
What will the Bar Exam be Like in Canada?
The bar exam will vary from province to province, but it generally involves a written examination and a practical skills evaluation. The exam will test your knowledge of legal principles and procedures, and may include multiple choice and essay-style questions. The test is long, stressful and will require you to sit for hours at a time. In Ontario, for example, each test (the barrister exam and the solicitor exam) is seven hours long each. You must pay for the required study materials, which are hundreds of pages long.
While the pass rate for the bar exam is relatively high (reportedly 90%), it is important to understand that it is challenging both mentally and physically so you will want to take the time to write your answers efficiently and quickly.
Preparing for The Bar Exam
Bar exam preparation will be time consuming and challenging, so it is important to know the options that are available to you as a student. Let’s review a few of them.
Independent Study
Much of your preparation will happen independently, especially in the early phases of study. This may involve simply reading through the materials provided to you by the law society in your province, reading summaries you find on trustworthy internet sources and updated manuals, and asking questions of others who have written the bar. You may find it helpful to create a schedule or plan for your study, carving time out every day to ensure you are reading regularly.
Bar Exam Courses
There is no shortage of bar exam courses offered by private institutions that will make a plan of study for you and provide you with opportunities to practice. This is an excellent option if you do not want to feel alone when studying for the test, and prefer the idea of having a plan pre-made for your test preparation.
Private Tutoring
Private tutoring can support both independent study and exam courses, or be a standalone support if you are interested in meeting with a tutor frequently. Having a personal tutor for the bar exam is not unlike hiring a personal trainer to reach a fitness goal. They will work with you based on your individual needs and strengths, and help you develop a strategy and plan of study that aligns with your schedule. Private tutors can also provide you with valuable individual feedback on your test answers, give you strategies for test writing, and time you on your question answering.
It is a good idea to get a tutor: when you consider the amount of time and investment you have put into your law studies, it makes sense to have someone to support you in the final steps of your licensure.
Whatever it is that has made you interested in a law career, you will likely pursue a path of study that involves an undergraduate degree, law school and a bar exam. Learn all about getting through law school and the bar exam in Canada.
Will Law Lessons Canada be Hard?
You can expect law school to be challenging, but nothing that you will have difficulty handling. After all, you will already have finished an undergraduate degree, so the academic and writing expectations will be familiar to you. You will be learning alongside other bright and ambitious students, so you can also expect the learning to be stimulating. Law school will be an important period of networking and learning about what kind of career you see yourself pursuing.
Initially, your law school classes will be broad and expose you to a variety of legal fields. As you progress in you studies, you can specialize in the areas that interest you most. Here is a summary of some popular areas of law.
As an experienced student, you likely have a better awareness of what your strengths and weaknesses are as a student, and what solutions you can use to optimize your learning. One solution many students take is hiring a tutor for study help.
Business or Corporate Law
This type of law is all about the formation, dissolution, and all other legal aspects of corporate administration. Your area of work will encompass mergers, acquisitions, reorganization, disputes between corporations and individuals, and international law.
Civil Rights Law
Civil rights law is focused on the competing interests between government institutions and individuals. You may work on cases involving discrimination and unfair practices that infringe on the rights and freedoms of individuals, such as those outlined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Criminal Law
Criminal law, as the name suggests, focuses on the behaviours and actions of individuals that are defined as illegal. Criminal defence lawyers represent clients accused of committing crimes, while prosecutors will typically be on the side of the Crown, sanctioning illegal activities.
Entertainment Law
This area of law centres on the rights and royalties issues of media in the arts, music, television, cinema, or athletics. With so many changes brought about by technology in media, this is an exciting field that is constantly changing.
Environmental Law
Lawyers in this field focus on cases involving natural resources, pollution, and land disputes. You will be concerned with statutes, treaties, regulations and conventions based in provincial, federal or translational law. Your clients may include individuals, advocacy organizations or government agencies.
Family Law
Family lawyers work in smaller firms and specialize in areas that range from divorce to adoption and child abuse.
Immigration Law
Immigration lawyers work with individuals at all stages of the naturalization process. Yo may work with refugee or asylum seekers.
Labour Law
Labour law encompasses the relationships between workers and their employers on matters ranging from compensation to discrimination based on gender, disability or age. You may work with unions on collective bargaining processes. Labour attorneys may represent individuals, a union, government regulatory agencies, or an employer.
Personal Injury Law
The area of law deals with the intentional or unintentional wrongdoing that impacts individuals physically or psychologically. You may work on cases that involve medical malpractice, car accidents, product liability, workplace injury or wrongful death.
Real Estate Law
This area of law is all about land or construction ownership, development, litigation, tenant rights and landlord disputes.
Tax Law
Tax law is a field that deals with local and international transactions. Tax law can be complex, as there are many different codes and policies that guide changes. You may also help clients reduce fiscal liabilities.
A tutor is an excellent solution to turn to if you are anxious about getting through law school, are in law school and struggling to stay on top of your learning, or are starting to prepare for the bar exam.
How do I Prepare for Law Classes?
You can prepare for your classes on a regular basis by ensuring you are keeping up with your readings and clearing up any confusion or misunderstanding of new concepts as they arise. Law classes require a lot of reading not only of the law, but of case studies and legal documents from other cases.
Having a law school tutor is an excellent way to keep up with your studies in law school classes. You may find it reassuring to know you have someone you can go to to provide you with feedback on assignments, and to ask questions of any confusing concepts or processes you are learning in class.
Considering a career in law, but not sure where or how to start? Your dreams of becoming a lawyer may be closer than you think. Learn everything you need to know about becoming a licensed lawyer in Canada.
Where Can I Find a Law Tutor?
Finding a tutor is easy thanks to Superprof Canada. Superprof is a site that connects students with tutors at all different stages of learning. To find a law school or bar exam tutor (or both) on Superprof, use the search tool on the site to read through profiles of law tutors near you. You can contact them directly through the site.
Make the most of your education and hire a tutor on Superprof today!
Did you like this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
