Lawyers’ Journey: Belize to Canada to England
Photo of the author of this article — Jessica Habet, Head of Risk & Regulatory (Legal) at The Access Group
Please give an outline of your path to an international legal career and how you became the international lawyer you are?
I had no intention of becoming an international lawyer. Up until I was actually doing it, I had no idea how to become one. Research, networking, and mentorship have marked my journey.
I grew up in Belize City, Belize and always knew that I wanted to be a lawyer, but my knowledge ended there. Then and now, there are no law schools in Belize. I didn’t know any lawyers, but I was a teenager with access to dial-up Internet.
My parents did not go to university and had not lived away from Belize. Despite this, they placed enormous trust in their first-born to “figure it out.” I applied to a Canadian university which had affordable tuition for international students, Memorial University of Newfoundland (“MUN”) in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Once accepted, I worked on getting a study permit. My naivete emboldened me: I thought emigrating to another country would be as easy as completing a form and getting a visa. As immigrants worldwide know, emigrating is hard.
I completed two degrees at MUN, with one fully funded by a fellowship. Without a professor encouraging me to apply for the funding, I would not have considered doing a post-graduate degree. Throughout my studies, I researched law schools, focusing on how to get in and tuition.
I went to the Schulich School of Law in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I remember reading the admission report, breaking down where each student came from, for my incoming class. To the bottom of the report, I found my category: “Other – 1”
During my first year, I learned that Canadian law graduates had to complete a year of training, called articling, before being called to the bar. That “Other” marked my interviews for articling positions: Why this city? Why this firm? And many “Tell me about Belize.” In one interview, I spent more time being asked about Belize as a tourist destination than discussing my CV. As my colleagues began securing their articles, I grew worried. The reality was that if I did not secure articling, I would not be called to the bar. In my final semester, I secured an articling position at a regional firm in their St. John’s office.
One summer in law school, I worked as a research assistant for a professor. He introduced me to a woman at the law society named Emma. Emma played an instrumental role in my career and encouraged me to apply for a part-time position at the law society. I got the role, through which I met another woman, Sheree, who mentored me, and helped me secure an articling position. Without these two women, I do not know if I would have actually been called to the bar.
I met my now husband in St. John’s. He was on a short-term contract and due to return to England. He had extended his stay a few times as we tried to figure out how to be together. I began to look into the process of qualifying in the UK. I felt like I teleported to a teenage me in Belize, enhanced with heightened Internet speed and fears, and trying to “figure it out” again.
I spent several weeks researching the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme and the British job market but felt like I still knew nothing. I moved to England last summer, completed the QLTS, and qualified as a solicitor in April 2020. I now work as a solicitor in Bristol at Thrings doing commercial dispute resolution.
I moved to England last summer, completed the QLTS, and qualified as a solicitor in April 2020. That sentence is too compact to capture the challenges experienced by foreign lawyers entering new countries (which I will discuss more in the next question).
How can people stand out in a job application in Canada and/or in the UK?
Canada:
Part of my work at the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society involved working with Internationally Trained Lawyers (“ITLs”) and trying to help them find connections in the legal market. Although I was an international student at my law school, I did follow a traditional route, i.e. law school to articling to associate. My experience with ITLs made me understand that the most crucial part of getting a job was accessing a hidden job market, especially when searching for articles. As an ITL, this feels impossible. Many ITLs are new to the country, working full-time jobs, and undergoing a qualification process which varies depending on the country of qualification and experience.
My advice is what you have heard already: network as much as possible. To do this, consider doing the following:
Contact your local law society and let them know you are an ITL. Ask whether they have any initiatives for ITLs or workshops / CLE seminars you can attend.
If you speak other languages, research legal organizations who could use volunteer assistance in translating services.
Attend free legal events, whether these are hosted by local law firms, law schools, and the wider universities in your area.
UK:
Learning the terminology was my first step to understanding how to get a job. I had to understand where my Canadian experience fit in among the market. What was PQE? (Post-qualified experience) What was my PQE as a foreign lawyer recently called to the bar? Could I compete with local law graduates who had completed two years of training when my own training was only one year and in another country? What type of position could I apply for? What is an NQ lawyer? (Newly-qualified)
As I studied and sat the QLTS, I read thousands of ads for job positions. I applied for a few NQ positions before I qualified, hoping to secure an interview and minimize my unemployment period. I was worried that a law firm would not want to wait for me to qualify but later learned that most firms are willing to wait for three months as that is the usual notice period. When I did not receive any response, I felt that my CV was getting lost.
I researched recruiters and reached out to a recruiter named Nina on LinkedIn. Working with her was critical in helping me get interviews and my current job. I could tell her my experience and she could “translate” it for me into this job market’s language. She had connections with firms that would place my CV on their desks, instead of lost in inboxes.
What obstacles and difficulties have you faced on your path to becoming an international lawyer, and how did you overcome them?
The most challenging part of this journey has, without a doubt, been the endless waiting. I waited months at a time - for a visa, to sit exams, to get exam results, to qualify as a solicitor. The waiting was more challenging than every application.
Navigating immigration systems in both Canada and the UK has also been a real challenge and felt like a side job.
What advice would you give people who are seeking to work at a law firm in a different country.
Be proactive and patient. Even as an English-speaking Canadian-trained lawyer, adapting to the English legal system has not been easy. In Canada, I had years to familiarize myself with labels: names of courts, what judges are called, what civil procedure rules I would use most often, what a letter of engagement looks like. In England, I have had to learn the very basics like how to address a letter (Start with Dear Sirs, end with Yours Faithfully, and sign your firm’s name).
I still struggle to do this but reach out to strangers. People are so willing to offer their advice and time and can become an invaluable mentor to you.
Do not underestimate your experience.
What is the biggest lesson that you have learned by looking back?
Before moving, I was worried that my inexperience as a lawyer would prohibit me from qualifying and getting a job. I now realize that it takes much more than knowledge of the law to be a good lawyer. Applying to universities in another country, completing immigration applications, applying for jobs that fit within visa restrictions, understanding and passing the exams required to get into law school or admitted as a solicitor – these experiences have all helped me develop my problem-solving skills. They allowed me to move to another country as a foreign lawyer, qualify, and get a job within a year.
Your experience as a foreign lawyer has given you skills that will make you better at your job. The task is to identify them and tailor them to the relevant job market. Fortunately, employers are becoming more aware of the benefits of hiring candidates from diverse backgrounds.
This refers to the admission report highlighted above and is not an actual person marking my interviews.
*Note also that this is a republication of an old article published in 2020, please do your due diligence to ensure the up-to-date developments and changes related to anything discussed in this article.
