The past 18 months has been quite
challenging, an eye-opener but most of all it has shaped the person I am and
the person I am becoming. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would
end up in Canada living 8304 miles (13,330km) away from my family and friends.
Having the privilege to move to another country is not always an easy task and it
comes with many obstacles, but one thing is for sure, I am resilient, love
change and adaptable to any situation that I am faced with. It is worth
mentioning that this did not happen overnight but through several experiences good
and bad alike.

Being a South African
practicing lawyer and moving to Canada posed many obstacles which took a while
to overcome. My journey to becoming licensed in Canada would be an 18-month
process even in the shortest amount of time. Was I ready for this? Am I okay
with being an articling student again? These are things that ran through my
head while considering moving to a new country. The legal world is so diverse
and there are a vast number of opportunities and career paths that stems from
here and it was these thought processes that convinced me to tackle the
licensing process no matter what happened.  

Every individuals journey
will be a unique experience although many of us are required to complete the
same licensing process. This piece aims to highlight my personal journey
through this process. As mentioned above, I am a South African trained lawyer
and started my NCA process in 2019. We (South Africans) are required to write eight
NCA exams, and I had elected to write four in the first diet and the remaining four
in the second diet.

The NCA’s can be a very
daunting experience as you are not familiar with the material and do not always
have access to the prescribed materials due to location or even finances as
shipping costs are crazy! Having said that, I managed to write the first four
(Professional Responsibility, Constitutional, Torts and Administrative law). I
was incredibly nervous and thought I had no clue of what was being asked. Much
to my surprise I passed three out of the four. The Torts exam (which I thought
I knew) was what got me. Failing an exam can make you despondent but I knew I
had to look at the bigger picture and keep prodding along. 

I had planned to take note of
the mistakes which I thought I had made with Torts to ensure that I pass the
next four which were in May 2019. Around eight weeks prior to this, I had lost
my sister suddenly through suicide. I had absolutely NO idea that this was
going to happen and was merrily planning my study schedule. Of course, this had
thrown all my study plans out the window and before I could even digest what
had just occurred, it was the May diet. I was so confused on whether to write
or cancel and after much debate with myself I chose to write all four. With
zero studying, I had no option besides to just “wing it”! I passed three out of
the four (I still do not know how). I could not believe it as I anticipated
having to re-write every single one again. I managed to clear all the
outstanding NCA’s in March 2020.

My experience through the NCA
journey has been an incredibly tough one in all respects, but it has been an
amazing learning experience too. It taught me to think on my feet, trust my
instinct and that its okay to fail too. The most important thing is to make
sure you pick yourself up and keep looking forward.

Having moved to Toronto in
January 2020 and cleared the NCA’s in March 2020, you would think that your
life is finally moving in the right direction. I was totally wrong yet again
and had to work around covid-19 which is keeping many of us with a lot of
uncertainty. Last year required of me to jump over many hurdles and cross
barriers unexpectedly and covid-19 is no different. You must learn to adapt and
adjust with the ever-changing environment you find yourself in.

The bar exams are yet another
hurdle to jump, and I am so ready for it. There have been numerous people who
have shared some tips and advice on how to tackle these and I am thankful to
them (too many to mention). The best advice I can give considering I have not
written them yet, is to network with people who have written and have
experienced this. Be mindful also of having too much advice as this can lead to
confusion and perhaps some conflicting views.  

Due to covid-19 there have
been changes in the job market, and there is no better time than now to
reinvent yourself, look at your weaknesses and try to explore different avenues
to improve yourself. I decided to look at the brighter side of the pandemic and
use the time that I have at home to address the above. Articling positions are
scarce and summer programs are on a freeze, which leaves you with not really
knowing when you can progress. Brighter side, I decided to do the LPP which
commences in August 2020 and this is how I managed to get around the delay in
the progression of my career. There are always solutions to problems, you must
be active and push yourself to the next level. No one is going to do this for
you!

Network, network, network! I
cannot emphasize this enough. I have been doing this throughout covid-19 and it
has been extremely beneficial. Reach out to people, connect, and ask questions.
Join as many networks and memberships as you can. I did not realize the benefit
of this until I started doing it myself. It has been through networking that I
have managed to overcome my 2020 hurdles thus far and have found solutions to
move forward.

Do not ever give up! Yes,
this may be trying times for many of us but there is always a lending hand out
there and all you need to do is reach out. Keep jumping over those hurdles and
you will reach your goals. It is the mindset that is the problem generally. We
focus too much on the problem and not on finding the solution. You are in
control. To squeeze in some Bill Gates here, please “don’t compare yourself
with anyone in this world, if you do you are insulting yourself”. Each person
is unique and so is their experience. Time is a commodity, and it is in your
hands what you make of it. If you need that push or lending hand, I am more
than happy to assist, and you can contact me through LinkedIn (@Sonia Naik).

I hope the above has inspired
you, got you thinking, helped you find a solution, changed your mindset, or
even just assisted into pushing you to take the next step. Whatever it may be,
remember, that this is your journey and you can create whatever it is that you
want.

You have got this!

About the Author

Sonia Naik is an internationally trained lawyer from South Africa. Prior to her arrival in Canada, she practiced as a tax lawyer, with most of her work relating to Objections, Appeals, Customs, Excise and Tariff classification matters. She is currently a licensing candidate in Ontario and will be writing the Bar exam in the coming months.