These breakout charts explain the numbers behind the ranking, which is exclusively available in the September 24 issue of Maclean's, found on newsstands now.

For a complete explanation of the methodology behind the rankings, CLICK HERE

Graduate quality

ELITE FIRM HIRING

Maclean’s measured the number of associates at leading Canadian law firms—as determined by Lexpert—per each school’s first-year class, using numbers from the Law School Admission Council.

NATIONAL REACH

With a look to which law schools are able to place associates outside their region and outside a short list of firms, Maclean’s used data from Elite Firm Hiring and counted the number of grads per school at leading firms other than the three that hired the most grads from that school.

SUPREME COURT CLERKSHIPS

Supreme Court clerkships involve spending a year as an assistant to the judges of Canada’s highest court, and those selected are generally seen as the country’s top graduating students. Maclean’s counted the number of clerks from each law school hired over the past six years.

Faculty quality

FACULTY JOURNAL CITATIONS

This indicator measures the number of citations, as recorded in the Quicklaw database of 33 Canadian legal journals, per number of tenured and tenure-stream faculty members at each law school.