Tag Archives: NCA guidelines

Interesting: @SUNYBuffaloLaw offers 2 year JD for foreign law grads

All the U.S. law school market may be recovering, U.S.law enrollments are still below what they once were. For law schools: students mean revenue and revenue is needed to prosper.

The law school at SUNY Buffalo is offering a “Two year J.D.” for graduates of law schools outside the United States. This program may be of interest to SOME “foreign law graduates” who are navigating the “NCA Route” and seeking bar admission in Canada.

Information about the program is here.

The program description includes:

If you hold a law degree from a non-U.S. jurisdiction (a J.D. or its equivalent), you may qualify for our Advanced Standing Two-Year J.D. for Internationally-Trained Lawyers program.

The Advanced Standing Two-Year J.D. for Internationally Trained Lawyers is intended for students who:

already hold a law degree from a jurisdiction outside the United States;
would like to earn a Juris Doctor degree from SUNY Buffalo Law School;
and wants to take the New York State Bar.

In this new and innovative program, they can receive advanced standing, and therefore can finish the J.D. degree in just two years.

Speaking of the “Two Year JD“:

How to become a lawyer in Canada by attending law school in the UK – No #LSAT

Updated – July 30, 2015

I had actually forgotten about this post. What’s interesting is that more and more people are attending law school outside of Canada and returned to Canada to practice law. In fact, I would say that it has reached the point where any Canadian resident who wants to attend law school can attend law school. The question is whether you attend law school in Canada or outside of Canada. Some people attend law school outside of Canada because they believe they are getting a better legal education. Some people attend law school outside of Canada because they have not been accepted to one of the few Canadian law schools.

Nevertheless, more and more people are attending law school outside of Canada and are being admitted to the legal profession in Canada

This is a topic that is becoming more and more relevant for university students in Canada.

Simply put: Because there are no private law schools in Canada, the demand for spaces  in Canadian law schools exceeds the supply. As a result, many Canadians seek  law school opportunities in the U.K. and the U.S.

The rules  for how  to be admitted  to the bar in Canadian provinces are determined by the National Committee  on Accreditation “NCA” which is a standing committee of the Federation of Law Societies. The rules are subject  to change. Your first  step should be to review  of the rules.

The linked  article  was  written in May 2010. It  should be used as as “starting point” in your inquiry. The rules can, do  and will continue to change. In January of 2015 the National Committee on Accreditation changed the guidelines for how non-Canadian law school graduates can earn a “Certificate of Qualification” which is necessary for them to enter the lawyer licensing process.

Those interested in discussion on the topic might find the Facebook page: “NCA Exam Preparation and Tutoring” to be of interest.

Do NOT attend law school outside of  Canada without reviewing the current rules  (which extends far beyond this introductory post) for  how  to return and achieve  bar admission in Canada.