Before I can write any provincial bar exam I have to be accredited by the NCA as having equivalent legal education as a Canadian law student. One of the factors the accreditation committee looks to is Bar entrance/license to practice. Once accredited I can write the Alberta bar or whatever bar I want, but I still have to find an articling position after (which I'm really worried about). When they accredit you they either recommend challenge exams in Canadian areas of law or require you to attend Canadian law school for 1-2 years (which would be a nightmare). To put it in perspective they approved 45/103 American applicants last year and 60/90 the year before so its kind of a crapshoot. The people they dont approve can appeal but basically are screwed.
Canada in general is brutal about letting foreign trained lawyers in. I scored a 162 on my LSAT (87th Percentile) and still couldn't get into a Canadian school (I had crappy 2nd year marks, amazing how it still haunts me academically). Ideally I want to come back to Canada right after I graduate, but the employment prospects down here are probably better for me and I wont have to deal with the accreditation head ache. Sorry for the rants, just wanted to provide some background.
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