Some info from a JFCY volunteer...
This post
was written by JFCY PLE Team volunteer Lina Maria Sanchez. The views and explanation of the NCA process
are those of Lina Maria and not JFCY.
Lina Maria is 26 years old. She is from Colombia , South America and she came to Canada
Lina Maria is a lawyer in her native country and she
also studied two post-graduate degrees (procedural and contracts law). Despite
this, she has had difficulty in finding a job in her educational field.
She applied for an equivalent study in an
International Credential Institution and she got as a result that her studies
in Colombia are equivalent
in Canada to a bachelor
degree and two post-bachelor degrees, but it is not enough because the law
system in Colombia is Civil
Law and in Canada Canada
Lina Maria, cannot believe that she studied for eight
years and now she can feels like that time spent is a waste. Consequently, she has been looking more
information and she found another option.
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INFORMATION
The Federation of Law Societies of Canada (http://www.flsc.ca/) offers an option to practice in the legal profession
in Canada , for the
individuals with a legal educational credentials and professional experience that
was obtained outside of Canada
The Federation of Law Societies of Canada has a
standing committee, called the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA), which
assesses the credentials and experience of foreign-trained lawyers and can award
a Certificate of Qualification, which is required for
most law societies in Canada to admit foreign-trained lawyers to their bar or law society.
The first stage is an assessment
which is done before one may apply for admission to a law society in a Canadian
common law jurisdiction. The assessment is based on the academic and
professional profile of each applicant.
Once a file is assessed by the NCA,
an applicant may be asked to complete one or more exams and/or attend and
complete specific law school courses within a prescribed time frame.
Is important to known that lawyers
from any country can apply for the assessment, but there are differences between
credentials from civil law and common law countries. The lawyer does not have
to be a Canadian resident or Citizen.
People with credentials from common
law countries and those people can apply directly for the NCA assessment and
then, depending on the professional profile they may need to submit and pass
some exams or attend and pass some law school courses.
On the other hand, lawyers such as a Lina Maria, who
studied in a country with civil law system, need to take some courses in a law
school, such a Canadian Constitutional law, criminal law, administrative law,
tort law, before applying for the NCA assessment. There are some universities
in Ontario
After reviewing an
application, the NCA will issue an assessment report to the applicant listing
the subjects and/or legal education that is required to ensure that the
applicant’s legal education and training is equivalent to that provided by an
approved law school in Canada.
If Lina Maria obtains
the NCA assessment and wishes to obtain an NCA Certificate of Qualification,
she could be required to demonstrate competence in a number of subjects.
Lina Maria may
demonstrate competence in one of three ways:
- successful completion of NCA
examinations;
- by registering as a special student
in a Canadian common law degree program and successfully completing the
assigned subjects as part of your program of studies;
- a
combination of (1) and (2).
After an applicant has
successfully completed the NCA requirements, the applicant must request a Certificate of Qualification.
Common Law societies in Canada
In conclusion, although it has not been easy for Lina
Maria to practice her profession in Canada and it may take her around three
years to complete the requirements (complete law school courses, NCA
assessment, NCA exams and/or completing the assigned
subjects as part of the program of studies in a law degree and the NCA Certificate of Qualification), she feels
the extra effort is worth it and certainly better than wasting the eight years of
study that she already completed her native country of Columbia.
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| Image source: http://decottamckennaysantafe.typepad.com/.a/6a010536f0d59b970c011168d275ac970c-800wi |
For more information go to http://www.flsc.ca/en/
This post
was written by JFCY PLE Team volunteer Lina Maria Sanchez. The views and explanation of the NCA process
are those of Lina Maria and not JFCY.
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