Profile
Alyssa Bradley is from Edmonton, AB, Canada. She holds a B.Sc. in Environmental Biology
from the University of Alberta and a LL.B. from University of Victoria.
Alyssa is currently practicing law at a municipal law firm in Vancouver with a particular interest in environmental law.
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I was never one of those people who grew up wanting to be a lawyer. I guess you could say I kind of fell into it in a really round about way.
I did my undergrad in environmental biology. I have always loved being outdoors and studying and learning about wildlife. I focused my undergrad on the more global picture.
After the third year of my undergrad, I spent a summer at the Bamfield Marine Station on Vancouver Island where I fell in love with the West Coast and marine biology. I thought for sure I would continue on and do a masters in the area. After my undergrad, however, I got a job with the University of Alberta doing forest research in northern Alberta where I also fell in love with the boreal forest. I spent two summers and one fall at a research camp an hour and half away from the nearest town and the rest of my time in a lab at the University of Alberta and the Canadian Forest Services.
I had always considered doing a masters but I just wasn't sure what I wanted to focus on. I was looking for something that would give me the broader picture. That's when I kinda fell into law.
A friend of mine mentioned that I might be good at law because I was quite argumentative. I thought about it because I thought it would be a useful degree and would give me a fuller understanding of environmental issues.
I wrote my LSAT on a whim and applied to the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia (mainly because all the deadlines for the other law schools had passed but also because I had moved to B.C. and really didn't want to leave). My advice would be to apply sooner than later because law schools start accepting students before the deadline for applications. If you wait until the deadline, like I did, many spots have already been offered and you may end up on a waiting list. The deadline for applications for the University of Victoria is the beginning of February but a friend of mine applied early and was offered a spot in December.
I chose UVic partly because of the location but also because I had heard they had a really good program and in particular a good environmental law program and co-op program. I was happy with my choice but honestly I think it is the only law school that would have been suitable for me so I am a bit biased.
UVic is a very progressive school and really fosters a non-competitive atmosphere as much as that is possible in law school (all exams and assignments are written under code names and students are not ranked). I was quite involved in the Environmental Law Clinic which is the only one of its kind in Canada and provides great opportunities for students to be involved in local environmental issues.
I had also hoped on getting into the co-op program. Unfortunately, being the fair institution that UVic is, the co-op program is a lottery system where all interested students submit their names and the school randomly draws the first 30 or so to be in the program. I was number 72 out of 75- there was no way I was getting in. My word of advice would be not to choose UVic for this reason alone.
In summary, UVic law school is a great choice for someone who is looking for not quite a mainstream law school. If you are wanting a law school heavy on the corporate commercial law, the warm fuzzy feeling at UVic may not be for you. One should also bear in mind that the City of Victoria is rather small and I know many in my law class that itched to get back to a bigger City. I personally loved the place because there are tons of outdoor activities to do but again I am biased.
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