Becoming a Lawyer in Ontario
Before you embark on your journey into the legal profession, it’s essential to understand the basic qualifications required for studying and practising law.
You should familiarize yourself with the minimum academic requirements, which include obtaining some years of undergraduate education before pursuing law school.
What is a Juris Doctor (JD)?
The JD is the first level of a professional law degree. The Canadian JD is an undergraduate common law degree, similar to a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), that provides the legal education to qualify to practice law in Canada.
With the foundation of a JD, you can go on to pursue subsequent graduate law degrees, such as a Master of Laws (LLM) or a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD), depending on your academic or professional goals.
Length of study?
Our JD program is structured as a three-year, full-time, in-person commitment. However, in rare and special circumstances, if you're an admitted full-time student, you may request permission to complete the program on a half-time basis.
Courses are offered exclusively during the fall and winter terms, with no summer term available. In-class attendance is mandatory, as we do not offer online, long-distance, or weekend/evening versions of the program at Jackman Law. Your active, in-person participation is a vital part of the program, as you’ll be expected to engage in class discussions regularly.
When do classes begin?
There is a single entry point into the JD program each year. As a first-year student, you will begin classes in mid-August, while upper-year students start their classes in early September.
Learn more about our JD program
We deliver an extraordinary learning experience at one of the world’s best universities for research, teaching and innovation.
The only factor we consider when admitting students is merit. To that end, our rigorous admissions process does not consider anyone’s ability to pay for tuition—that is left exclusively to our financial aid program, which only assesses need.
Participate in a dynamic, inclusive community committed to helping you thrive in all aspects of your student life. Through our programs, services, and clubs, we offer comprehensive support for your academic success, personal wellness, and social well-being.
Core Competencies
At Jackman Law, we are dedicated to teaching a distinctive way of thinking about the world, equipping our immensely bright and diverse students to understand complex social challenges in the context of a free and democratic society.
We believe that legal education is a project of collaborative pedagogy, of thinking and learning together. Through critical dialogue, reflection, and engagement in the classroom and community, students are elevated by their teachers and peers to become outstanding lawyers and leaders. The JD program requires full-time residency in Toronto, which offers students the chance to learn from one another and take advantage of the academic resources of our research university.
Our extraordinary levels of classroom and community engagement in the J.D. Program are supported by our policy on mandatory attendance. Discussion amongst students and professors is critical to developing the ability to understand, explain, and challenge doctrinal knowledge. Most importantly, in class, students are prompted to respond to direct challenges to their own understanding. In preparing students for a profession focused on advocacy and on the adversarial context of competing for specific outcomes, students must observe and participate in exchanges based on a changing landscape of facts and ideas.
As the practice of law is a regulated profession, the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law’s curriculum and learning objectives are designed to be consistent with or to exceed the requirements set out by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. The Faculty also requires students to meet a set of particular graduation requirements, which are also implemented as part of its role in training members of a regulated profession. Because of the vast array of course subjects, teaching styles, and class formats that are on offer at the Faculty, not every course will involve each of these requirements. Nonetheless, our expectation is that all students in the JD program will benefit from multiple and repeated opportunities to practice and develop these skills. The JD program requires full-time residency in Toronto, which offers students the chance to learn from one another and take advantage of the academic resources of our research university.
Our pedagogy and programs are designed to enable each student to achieve the following learning objectives and competencies:
- Knowledge and understanding of substantive and procedural law;
- Aptitude for legal research, analysis, and reasoning;
- Aptitude for academic research;
- Proficiency in the use of critical thinking and written and oral advocacy skills, including through persuasive writing, oral presentations, problem-solving, and real-time debate;
- Ability to engage respectfully with others, consider diverse perspectives, and collaborate effectively;
- Knowledge and understanding of the ethical and professional responsibilities required of members of the legal sector
Students are required to demonstrate these learning objectives and competencies across a range of courses covering different areas of law and using a range of pedagogical techniques. Students in the J.D. Program are required to:
- read and engage with a range of sources;
- express their ideas in writing;
- conduct legal and academic research;
- engage in problem solving during class, through a question-and-answer format;
- actively and respectfully listen to, and participate in dialogue with students, faculty, and other members of the community;
- attend classes and participate in in-person class activities;
- interact with classmates with different perspectives;
- present their ideas orally;
- take timed evaluations; and
- submit work to meet deadlines and requirements.