OLSAS - Lincoln Alexander School of Law (Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly Ryerson University)

The University has changed its name. Read more about the renaming of the Ryerson University.

About the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University

At Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), our tradition is innovation. Situated in Canada’s largest urban area and financial centre, we are known for our dedication to meeting societal needs through career-relevant education and practical learning. In recent years, we added a focus on entrepreneurship to our academic teaching and research to better prepare our law students to meet evolving societal needs.

Lincoln Alexander Law builds on this distinctive history. We designed a different kind of law school to create a different kind of lawyer – one who is innovative, nimble and well equipped to meet the evolving technological and social challenges taking place in society and the marketplace.

The overriding purpose of the Lincoln Alexander School of Law’s Juris Doctor (JD) program is to train career-ready legal professionals who possess the diversity of skills required to innovate the legal profession and to expand the reach of justice for all Canadians.

Like all common law programs in Canada with either full or preliminary approval, the Lincoln Alexander Law JD program is subject to the FLSC annual review process. Full accreditation approval was secured by the FLSC’s Canadian Common Law Program Approval Committee in spring 2023.

In addition, the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) unanimously approved the designation of our JD program as an Integrated Practice Curriculum (IPC). That means that if you graduate from Lincoln Alexander Law, you will not be required to article or complete the Law Practice Program (LPP) to be licensed as a lawyer.

The 4 Pillars

Legal Innovation Zone (LIZ)

Program Information

Lincoln Alexander Law’s Juris Doctor (JD) Program

We prepare and empower the lawyers of the future. The overriding purpose of our JD program is to train lawyers who can adapt to new trends by concentrating on practice-readiness in all its forms.

To do this, we leverage our distinctive strengths as a hub for entrepreneurial innovation and as a leader in equity, diversity and inclusion to develop a fresh educational perspective that combines theory, skills and practice.

First Year

Second Year

Third Year

Admission Requirements and Supporting Documents

Our assessment is grounded in 3 of our key pillars:

Increasing access to justice
Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship
Promoting equity, diversity and inclusion

To ensure that our student body represents the fullest possible range of social, economic, ethnic and cultural perspectives, the Admissions Committee considers many factors. The goal of the Committee is to evaluate your potential by completing a holistic review of your application through a diversity lens, without setting a minimum grade point average (GPA) or Law School Admission Test (LSAT) requirement.

The Committee considers:

All postsecondary studies
Best LSAT score
Personal Statement (School Submissions)
Reference letters
Resumé or curriculum vitae (CV)
Autobiographical Sketch
Online interview (completed through a separate link that will be sent after we receive your application from OLSAS)

Any information provided is considered in a manner consistent with the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Academic Requirements

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Applicants with Fewer Than 3 Years of University

Documentation

The following documentation is required to complete your application:

Official transcripts from all postsecondary institutions you attended, including those as a visiting or exchange student or study abroad program
Official LSAT score(s) and the dates of any 2024 or 2025 LSAT to be written
Personal Statement
Letters of reference (1 academic reference strongly recommended)
Resumé or CV
Online interview
Proof of English-language proficiency (if applicable)

It is your responsibility to ensure that all documentation is submitted by the published deadlines. We will not consider incomplete applications.

Official Transcripts

Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

Personal Statement

Your Personal Statement (School Submission) is a critical part of your application. It will be reviewed by the Admissions Committee in conjunction with the responses to the mandatory online interview and the other application components.

Note: If you are applying in the Indigenous category, you will also need to include an outline of your relationship and connection to your community, which could include the impact of colonization on your family, or your connection to Indigenous culture in Part B of your Personal Statement.

The statement must be authored entirely by you and it must not exceed the maximum character length, including spaces. The statement has 2 parts:

Part A (maximum 5,000 characters)

Tell us why you want to attend law school and, more specifically, why you want to attend the Lincoln Alexander School of Law.

How does attending Lincoln Alexander Law tie into your long-term goals? Refer to our vision, values, curriculum and/or programming in your response.

You must touch on at least 2 of our 4 foundational pillars in your response.

Part B (maximum 2,500 characters)

Tell us how you plan to contribute to the Law School and to the practice of Law as a whole. You can discuss any of the following considerations that are relevant to your application: Lived experience, work or volunteer experience, and equity and diversity considerations.

This section of the Personal Statement offers you a chance to reflect on how you intend to contribute to the Law School and the practice of Law as a whole. This can include your distinct experience and point of view.

You may want to address the following suggested topics:

Tell us what you feel your relevant experience (e.g., lived experience, work experience and/or volunteer experience) can contribute to the program and student life at Lincoln Alexander Law.
Share how you have been impacted by the law and/or access to justice. How will you work toward providing access to justice on your law journey?
Reflect on your identity and its intersections (including, but not limited to, race, gender, socio-economic status, disabilities, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation, etc.), demonstrating how they have shaped how you will contribute to the law.
Tell us about the challenges you have faced and how they shaped you to be able to contribute to the program and student life at Lincoln Alexander Law.
If you did not pursue postsecondary education or have been out of an academic environment for at least 5 years, how do you feel your background has prepared you for success in law school, and how has it prepared you to contribute to the Law School?

If you are applying under the Access category, you may speak to the basis of your sub-category application in this essay.

If you are applying under the Indigenous category, we ask that you speak to your relationship and connection to your community in this section.

Letters of Reference

Resumé or CV

Autobiographical Sketch

Online Interview

English-language Proficiency

More About Our Admission Requirements

Admission Categories

There are 3 applicant categories:

General
Access
Indigenous

You must choose the General category unless you feel you qualify for the Access or Indigenous category.

Through your application to any category for the JD program, you must show that you:

have strong potential to complete the rigorous JD program;
have the ability to reason and analyze;
can express yourself effectively orally and in writing with professionalism and civility; and
possess the skills and attributes necessary to cope with the demands of law school.

Meeting minimum standards does not guarantee admission.

General Category

Access Category

Lincoln Alexander Law is built on 4 foundational pillars, including access to justice and equity, diversity and inclusion. In addition to the protected grounds listed in the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Admissions Committee considers serious illness or injury which impacts academic success, and severe economic hardship, to be barriers to education. Mature students are also considered under this application category.

The Admissions Committee will consider those who fall into the following subcategories:

Identify as:
- a 2SLGTBQ+ person (includes Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Trans, Bisexual, Pansexual, Queer and additional identities reflecting gender and sexual diversity such as non-binary, etc.)
- a Black person (includes African Canadian, Afro-Caribbean, African American, etc.)
- a person with a disability (includes physical, sensory, learning and mental health disabilities, as well as chronic health conditions and persons who identify as neurodiverse)
- a racialized person (sometimes referred to as “people of colour” or “visible” or “racial minorities” in Canada or the US)
- part of another historically disadvantaged group and/or underrepresented group
Mature student – to be eligible to apply, you must:
- be at least 26 years of age by September 1 of the year of admission; and
- have a minimum of 5 years of uninterrupted non-academic experience, after any full-time study, in a significant employment capacity and/or some combination of volunteer work, significant life skills and experiences (as of September 1 of the admission year).
Significant injuries or illness
Socioeconomic status

You must still show evidence of potential to succeed at law school. GPA, where applicable, and LSAT are still considered for this category and essential components of the holistic assessment.

If you wish to be considered as an Access candidate, select the Access category and all relevant subcategories. Provide an explanation in the text box identified for this purpose in your OLSAS application. You may also speak to your Access application in Part B of the Personal Statement (in the School Submissions section of your application).

Additional or corroborating documentation can be included where applicable. Upload any documentation supporting your Access application through Secure Applicant Messaging (SAM) in your application.

Indigenous Category

Admission Information

Application Communications

Tracking Your Application

Timelines

Late Applications

Deferrals

Additional Information

Scholarships and Financial Assistance

Fee Waiver

Contact Information

Direct all application submission and documentation receipt inquiries to OLSAS using Secure Applicant Messaging (SAM) in your OLSAS application.

Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University
Email: lawadmissions@torontomu.ca
Telephone: 416-979-5000, ext. 557762