Towfique Ahmed

Hey ! Hope this forum members hlp me out !!

I have accomplished BPTC, LLM and LLB from the UK. Assumably I need to through NCA exams with 5 courses, however would CA BAR accept my Call to the bar, England and Wales? Seems I need to sit for CA BAR exam followed by NCA exams.

Siouxie

Hello and welcome to BE!

We have a couple of Legal eagles as members and hopefully they can assist you in this

In the meantime, something to look over..

You will need to check the Provincial Law Society of the Province you hope to move to, as to what you will be required to have (check under 'requirements tab' for Provincial links) https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketrepo...ments/15815/ca
For example - Ontario: https://lso.ca/becoming-licensed/law...ion#career-map
BC - https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/becomin...aining-course/

It appears you may be able to apply for an exemption for part of the requirements for the call to bar.. but I believe you will have to sit the 5 NCA exams, regardless.
https://nca.legal/process/self-assessment/ >

MelVan

Yep - the first place to start is at the NCA. You have to apply to the NCA to have your credentials assessed, and confirmation of the number of exams you'll need to sit. The minimum is the 5 mandatory subjects. I have a vague recollection when I was researching this for myself that English qualified lawyers were sometimes being assessed as needing to do more subjects, depending on their academic credentials.

Prior legal experience comes into play in seeking a reduction of articling requirements and practical legal training requirements. Each province has slightly different requirements for admission and licensing to practice. This is where being called to the English bar might come into play, but if you have a look at the "experiential training" requirements in Ontario (for example), merely having completed the BPTC and being called to the English bar (without having substantial experience in practice) is unlikely to satisfy those requirements.

My own story is this: I'm an Australian barrister and solicitor and English solicitor with an LLB and nearly 30 years in practice in Australia and England, with 15 years as a principal in a large partnership). The NCA assessed me as needing to sit the 5 mandatory exams. In BC (where I live), once I'd done the NCA exams I'd need to do a minimum of four months of articles of clerkship (assuming the BC Law Society gave me the full reduction from nine months to four months, and a waiver of the practical legal training component). After I had my credentials assessed by the NCA, looked at the syllabus for each exam I'd have to write and started studying for the first exam I intended to do (Foundations of Canadian Law), I decided to retire instead! Fortunately I was in a position to be able to do that.

Towfique Ahmed

Thanks very much for your response. Sorry for reply in late as I was suffering from COVID.

Do you know whether ECA- Educational Credential Assessment (Canada) accepts external Master of Laws (LL .M) with full equivalency of CA Masters/LL. M? I unlocked my LL. M fronm University of Derby in Business Law however from Bangladesh.

MelVan

So sorry to hear you've been ill. I hope you're getting better.

The name of your degree and conferring body is not what the NCA (which assesses legal credentials) is interested in (to some extent). As I understand matters, it's the subjects you've studied, whether they map to a Canadian law degree such as a J.D. or LLB, and whether the NCA thinks you know enough common law and equity to be exempted from Canadian legal knowledge requirements.

Have a close look at the NCA requirements and compare them to the subjects you studied in getting your legal qualifications. If they map closely, you may be more likely to be exempted from some exams (not the 5 core subjects though - nowadays it seems everyone has to do them).

Good luck!

Towfique Ahmed

Thanks for your kind concern. I am now back. Lucky me !

Much obliged to your every information. However I was asking regards to the external LL. M matter in respect of my potential PR application to CA, It is for the ECA (Education Credential Assessment) rather the NCA requirements. I wonder whether you know that CA ECA accepts British external LL. M with full equivalency of Canadian Masters/ LL. M; It is to gain PR points.

christmasoompa

A Masters should get you the extra points, if it was definitely equivalent to the Canadian qualification i.e. it was full-time etc. But all you can do is include it in your ECA app and see what the provider says.

What are you scoring with and without the points for a Masters?