My situation is quite unique, I am doing time for the TN, my long term goals are in the US, and given that takes a good few years, I knew I must qualify here or go crazy!
So, I am hoping it will all be worth it,and as Almost canadian says, we just have to swallow that bitter pill!!!!!!!
Certainly I feel my lifestyle, once admitted to the Bar and earning good money will be far better than I had in England as a legal aid lawyer.

Hi all

I'm glad to see I'm not the only lawyer looking to leave the UK- I guess the system and the country fill us with so much joy we look elsewhere!

I'm currently preparing my application for NCA accreditation, hopefully I will receive a reasonable amount of exemptions. I've been at the Bar full time since since call in 1998, I hold an LLB and an LLM and hope to get the maximum exemptions. The guidance on NCA website seems to suggest 1 or 2 papers will be required, presumably Canadian Constitution and the like.

I applied to CIC in Sept 2006 as a skilled worker and wonder if others would share experiences of job hunting pre or post NCA exams.

Jamie

Hi Jamie!!!!!
I chose not to go down the Paralegal route pre NCA/School, would not have worked for me.
I found articles a year agao, the firm were prepared to wait for me.
What province are you coming to?
Feel free to PM me.
Almost Canadian is working pre NCA in calgary, he will probably respond and is very helpful.
If you get two exams, it will likely be Tax and Consituitional.
I have passed those two, so again feel free to ask questions.
Good luck

Hi there

As London7 has said, I have applied to NCA (they said they will inform me of their decision by mid-June) and I am working in a law firm at the moment.

I am "assisting" a litigator who was called less than 2 years ago at the moment and it is painful but something that must be done.

I am in Calgary so feel free to PM me if I can be of any assistance at all.

Perhaps you had a life before law but you know that you will not qualify as a skilled worker without some skilled work experience? Or do you have academic work experience? I don't know what your chances of scoring a work permit would be in the field of law, but the academic route is an option. The student visa would also be a possible option if you decided to study in Canada (again, I don't know the intricacies).

Jamie
Your yahoo account keeps bouncing back!
Send a PM to this account, may be easier!
cheers

Ditto - I have pasted my reply into a PM

possibly.
have i missed something. just having a trawl on a lazy sunday morning for an hour, as you do, and it seem to have all kicked off just because 2 people are discussing differences in their profession between the UK and Canada. i don't think i'm cynical or twisted enough to be on here sometimes, which is a surprise let me tell you.
anyway, are you prosecuting/defending criminally. i'm interested if the opposition, is going to be tougher or not over there or whether the version of the CPS does a better job?

I have academic work experience and will have more by the time I get to Canada, particuarly if I stay here to do some of the Ca. law exams.

Hi Jamie,

Can I ask why you are leaving the law in the UK?

I am also interested to know of employment experiences post NCA exams. I plan to go on a fact finding mission and talk to some ca. lawyers later in the year.

I don't know if holding an LLM will make any difference to the NCA exams. But LLM degrees do seem to be more highly regarded in N.America with respect to jobs - particularly if they are specialised.

Good luck with your NCA application - I am holding out till I have my PhD in the hope that I may have one less paper to sit!

I have never practised at the criminal bar, nor would I ever want to !!

I have no direct experience of the criminal bar here although a police friend of mine (he worked for West Midlands in the UK and CPS here said to me that the police over here would have real problems if a competent criminal defence lawyer ever came over from the UK - I guess that answers your question and just confirms what I said earlier about the competency of the advocates over here in comparison to what we are used to in the UK.

Hi
I am the criminal defence lawyer and very proud of it! I specialise in Juvenille law.
I cannot say yet as to whether their Crown Counsel (cps equivalent) do a better job, I start work in June so will know then once back in the court system, but the advocacy I have personally witnessed in the courts here is pretty dire.
I also get the feeling they are much softer than the UK, in sentencing.

hello Almost Canadian and everyone on the NCA conversion route.

How easy is it to get a job with a Canadian law firm pre-conversion like you've done? did you just go to Canada and apply or did you secure the job before you moved over? I would love to work and study the conversion exams because I have to write 11 subjects as I have a South African law degree so I've divided it to write 3 this august, 4 in Jan 2008 and the last 4 Aug 2008. it's a MISSION but I've swallowed the pill and had my cup of hot water so I'm ready. it would just be really nice to work and start gaining Canadian work experience in the legal field. I would appreciate any info you can give me.

To those who've written the challenge exams: I'm in Scotland and will be writing my first 3 NCA exams this August 2007 and I would like to ask those who've written before how best to read through these MASSIVE textbooks? Im studying for Admin law, Contracts and Torts. Im still only reading Admin law cos it's quite a bit to get through. Regarding the cases, is it enough to just grasp the ratio decidendi and leave out all the history and build up to the case conclusion? How intense are the actual NCA exams? I'm really struggling to see what to leave out or what to focus on more than the other bits and as a result i'm reading the textbooks page by page and will never get done in time for August at this rate. If anyone can help me and offer some guidance I would be indebted to you. I tried to contact the NCA for guidance and was told 'this is completely self-study etc'. ANY help would be really welcome.

I found it fairly easy to get a job, it's doing the job that is killing me, but that is because the guy I work "for" is a complete tw*t.

I have no idea how to answer the textbook issue as I have not taken any exams yet (I write my first in August). I have just decided to learn the entire book in as much detail as I did when doing the LL.B. in England. A huge undertaking but I see no other way around it. It seems to me that the NCA are determined to put foreign lawyers off but, as none of the Universities near me will allow "NCA students" to take courses, I have no alternative but to go down the NCA exam route.

Feel free to PM me if I can be of any assistance.

AC,
As a matter of interest, is it the NCA who sets the exams or would it be in your case (Alberta) UofC or the UofA law schools?

Cheers,
Hart