From Our Alumni: Q&A with a Canadian Graduate

Growing up in Fort Erie gave me a fond affinity for the Buffalo community. The opportunities in Canada, beyond Canadian law schools, being either U.S. or European, can be daunting.  In a border town, you begin to realize that the city of good neighbors carries a lot of Canadian tendencies, the legal system is no different. As a matter of fact, Canada, having the younger legal system, has had the guidance of the U.S. system for many years. When deciding to be an international student, there are a lot of items to consider, mostly, what do I want to do after my legal education. Mainly, where do you want to be? I knew that I wanted to have cross-border experience to serve my border community to the best extent possible. That’s what motivated me to choose UB Law. I now have two licenses and some experience with both sides of Lake Erie which helps me guide my clients to the answers they need. If you want to be in Canada, and for whatever reason, are not attending a Canadian law school, an American education is the next closest thing and can actually lend some depth to your career. Digitally and physically, the legal world has started to spill over into global practice. Having a diverse education has only been a benefit to my career.

I always had, in the back of my mind, a desire to practice in my small hometown in Canada, but it didn’t exactly fit with my desire to fulfill my goal of “helping people” through an immigration lens. Later, after trying out immigration law and not exactly loving it, I realized that helping people in small-town Ontario may be just what I needed to feel fulfilled in my legal career. Don’t get me wrong, I could have stayed in Buffalo as a Canadian working as a lawyer (and if you’re in this position you’ll need the help of a good immigration team) but I just decided to try something new. If practicing in Canada is a goal for you, then the NCA process will be a necessary one, but with your legal experience from UB, you’ve got a head start on completing the process successfully. 

The NCA process is a series of requirements. Once you graduate, or whenever you decide to transition back to Canada, you submit your transcripts to the NCA accreditation board. That board reviews your coursework and experience and compares it to Canadian education and legal experience requirements. That’s when they inform you on what you need to do to fulfill the requirements that will make you eligible to sit for the Ontario Bar Exam. Most students with a US legal education, get evaluated similarly and thus get assigned five competency exams. Some students will be assigned less, others more, and some students will be assigned coursework instead. Generally, the NCA assigns these five core common law subjects:  Canadian Constitutional Law, Canadian Criminal Law, Foundations of Canadian Law, Canadian Administrative Law, and Canadian Professional Responsibility. It sounds scary, but if you’ve written even one UB Law exam using the IRAC principles for responding to essay questions, you are prepared to sit for these exams. 

Unlike the U.S., there is no mandatory bar prep. Both the NCA and the Bar exam are open book in Canada. The questions come directly from the material provided to you and thus self-study is the route most people go when studying for these exams. Nonetheless, there are many courses and tutors out there that are available to help you prepare for these exams. I found the use of tutors and substituted notes from those tutors were extremely beneficial to the successful completion of the NCAs for me and I’d be happy to share the names of the resources I used if you are reading this and are interested. 

This was one of the things I was most stressed about, and then someone showed me the ability to apply for abridgments and exemptions. I had been working as a licensed NY attorney for 2 years so I decided to apply for an exemption - depending on where your education and experience are from, a team evaluates whether this experience is comparable to what you would have gained in an articling position. Luckily, I had a lovely partner at my firm write me a letter of experience to go with the letter I had written myself, and the articling requirement was waived. 

It is my understanding that the best thing you can do is apply for an exemption because even if the committee does not feel it is comparable, they can offer you an abridgment or “lessen” the requirement of articling by a few months. 

I have heard that articling positions can be difficult to find but I truly believe that if you market yourself correctly and find positions that you are particularly interested in, firms will take that into consideration and will be glad to hire you for an articling internship. In addition, if you article after the bar exam you’ve got that credential to bolster your application to any Canadian firm. 

Do your research. In Canada, you find that a lot of the schools are viewed in the same light by potential employers and what is important is the specific programs. In the U.S. there are many more schools to choose from which makes some of the schools less appealing to potential employers. Look into the school’s programs, and make sure that you fit with their extra-curricular clinics, concentrations, etc. because that is what will set you apart for future employers. 

Think seriously about your plans for after graduation. If you want to be practicing in Canada, then be prepared to go through the NCA process. If you want to be practicing in the US, you should know where. Each state has its own requirements and depending on where you write the bar exam, you may be limited on where you can practice. 

Recognize the time commitment if you want to practice in Canada. As with students who go to Europe to study law, it does take time to qualify for the bar exam (either through comparable course work or the NCA examination process) and it takes a lot of work. It isn’t something that can happen in a few months. The evaluation from the NCA accreditation board takes a month or two. You should consider if you will be working or studying only as that will factor into how long it will take you to complete the process. 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. There are plenty of international connections (like me) and plenty of UB faculty/staff who know about this process. Don’t be afraid because we are willing to help!

• National Committee on Accreditation
• From Our Students: My UB Law Experience as a Canadian