Gina Alexandris, LL.B. – Assistant Dean, Student Services, Osgoode Hall Law School

Stephane Emard-Chabot, LL.B. – Assistant Dean, Academic Affairs, Faculty Of Law, University of Ottawa

Virgina Shea, LL.B., - Director of the LL.B./J.D. program at the University of Windsor

The session was moderated by John Richardson.

It was a fantastic morning. All the presenters were generous and open – giving the attendees lots of opportunity for question and answer. Attendees were afforded a rare opportunity to hear about law school application files from an "admissions committee point of view."

The presentation underscored the large number of applicant categories and joint degree programs available for Canadian law school applicants. The opportunities are incredible and getting better all the time.

One of the most interesting parts of the morning dealt with comments about the LSAT. According to Mr. Emard-Chabot, the University of Ottawa gave serious thought to discontinuing the use of the LSAT in the admissions process for the English L.L.B. program. After lengthy consideration and deliberation the school decided to retain it. Mr. Emard-Chabot commented that:

"With respect to the LSAT, there has been considerable discussion at the Admissions Committee over the course of this past academic year. You are likely aware that the accuracy of the LSAT as a prediction tool for success in law school has been debated for some time. Furthermore, McGill and our own French Language Common Law Program do not require the LSAT and the quality of the student body is not adversely affected.

In the end, the Committee decided to retain the LSAT as a mandatory admission requirement because it is of some use. For example, a very high LSAT score will help students with good (but not exceptional grades). Conversely, when the LSAT score is very low, other factors
will be looked at more closely to determine an applicant's ability to succeed. Furthermore, the writing sample is of great use to determine a student's writing and reasoning abilities.

Our web site (the update will take place this summer) will now state the following:

"All applicants must write the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). The University of Ottawa does not set a minimum LSAT score for applicants, but rather looks at the LSAT as one component of an applicant's profile. Please note that if you have written the LSAT more than once, the University of Ottawa will consider your highest score for admission purposes."