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TOP FEATURES 1 Career services 3 2 Reputation in the job market 3 Opportunities to get involved University of Toronto, Faculty of Law F or anyone looking for the true big-city expe- rience, the downtown location of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto has a lot to offer. Being in Canada's most multicultural city, every student responding to our survey said the school does well in representing a wide and diverse range of individuals. One alumnus of the school remarked on how the mix of interesting life expe- riences among the students helped to enrich their legal education. With 500 students (undergraduate and gradu- ate), the school boasts 57 full-time faculty mem- bers and 25 short-term, visiting professorship posi- tions. One student referred to the school as having "world-class faculty." The school is the only one in our survey to have career services assistance ranked as a defi ning fea- ture of what the faculty has to offer potential stu- dents. This may be linked to the its reputation in the job market, which was also ranked highly by students. U of T places a high degree of emphasis on public interest programs and clinical ex- periences. "It's an unspoken assump- tion that we will all do community service in at least two or three ven- ues throughout our tenure at the law school," said one fi rst-year student. It offers several legal clinics, including Down- town Legal Services which sees about 130 students per year participate in some way with providing public interest services to low-income individuals. "The legal aid clinics were great ways to give stu- dents practical legal experience while at the same time giving something to the less fortunate mem- bers of the community," said an alumnus of the school. "Students were exposed to real-life issues from the perspective of the less fortunate." University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law (London) W ith 491 students enrolled in the LLB pro- gram, the faculty has 31 full-time faculty TOP FEATURES 1 Small class sizes 2 Engaging professors 3 Reputation in the job market 3 members, and 45 adjuncts. The average entrance LSAT score is 161, with a GPA of 3.8. The law school operates on a unique trimester system. With a reg- ular 13-week fall term, and a condensed 10-week spring term, students also have a four-week term in January (with 14 visiting professors) when they enroll in a single intensive course. Several respondents commented on the sense of community that the school has to offer. "Western has an extremely collegial atmosphere. From the outset, you feel like a part of a special community. Everyone is willing to help, professors and upper- year students included. The dean teaches a class and opens the discussion to fi rst-years about issues that the legal profession is facing. It is an extremely open atmosphere with warm and professional staff who are willing to help." That students would rank Western's reputation in the job market at the top of the list is likely no surprise to the law school's dean, Ian Hol- loway, who explains that fi rms across the 44 JANU AR Y 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com world have been recruiting students from West- ern. "We have among the very best placement rates in the country, both in the large fi rms in Toronto, and in fi rms across Canada," he says. "We regularly place graduates in Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancou- ver, as well as throughout southern Ontario. And in recent years, we have seen students and recent graduates go to the U.S., and the U.K., and, most recently, Dubai." Western gets students started in the international market right away, through international exchange programs. "All law schools in Canada now have ex- change programs, but none matches ours," says Hol- loway. "In fact, we have the largest student exchange program of any law school in North America. About one in fi ve of our students now spends a semester outside of Canada in the course of their law degree." The law school distributes more than $1 million annually through scholarships, bursaries, and other forms of student aid. Holloway says they also offer the Western guarantee, which says no stu- dent will ever have to leave the law school solely because of fi nancial diffi culty. TUITION: $20,155 TUITION: $12,282