Fil-Can lawyers group builds bridges of opportunity

Fil-Can lawyers group builds bridges of opportunity

FCLN President Alicia Natividad

SPECIAL REPORT: DEPROFESSIONALIZATION OF IMMIGRANTS

By Michelle Chermaine Ramos
The Philippine Reporter

The Filipino Canadian Lawyers Network (FCLN) officially launched on June 1, 2021, with the goal of uniting Filipinos across Canada who are working in the legal field.
The non-profit is building connections between legal professionals, students, Philippine-licensed lawyers and other organizations to provide resources, workshops as well as mentorship and articling opportunities to support more Filipinos in legal careers in Canada.

Heading the organization is Alicia Natividad, who became the first Filipina lawyer in Ontario in 1983. She runs her own firm, ASN Law Professional Corporation, in Ottawa and specializes in business law, real estate and land development, employment law, wills, estates and trusts, all while also generously giving her time to mentor students and new lawyers.

Here, she shares her observations of how the licensing process has improved over the decades and the resources made more available to immigrant lawyers. Due to the wealth of information she shared in our conversation, this is just part one of our interview to be continued in a series of articles in future issues.

The Philippine Reporter: What major differences or developments in the process of licensing and accreditation have you observed since you started in the 80s versus now?

ALICIA NATIVIDAD: 1. No more quotas for women entering law school

When I was going to law school from ‘78 to ‘81, there was a quota of having only 25% female applicants. Now, there are no quotas. Social norms were such that at time that women were still fighting for equal rights. I mean, that’s why I became a feminist even when I was at law school. I joined a feminist group in Ottawa and we were all calling for equality in all aspects of life. In fact, there are more women that have gone to law school than men.

AN: 2. Formal mentorship now exists

The second major difference is that mentorship was not formalized when I went to law school so it’s either sink or swim. If there was a mentor, it was somebody that would just take you under their wings informally, and it still happens today. But the difference today is that the Law Society of Ontario has a mentorship program. It’s something else in the sense that it’s beyond just talking with somebody. It’s also assisting them throughout their career. I was a member of the mentorship programs at the Law Society, but it’s really not necessary. I’ve mentored a lot of women law students, Filipino Canadian women, students who attended the University of Ottawa, because they would just contact me. And I’m involved in the university in the Faculty of Law activities as it relates to empowering or encouraging more women.

AN: 3. More Filipino Canadians are studying law now

When I went to law school, I was the only Filipino Canadian that was…well, I think that just went because there weren’t very many Filipino Canadians actually in Ottawa that time. So, when I graduated, or when I was called to the bar in 1983, I was the only Filipino Canadian woman that was called to the bar at that time. Nowadays, there are more Filipino Canadians who are going to law school. In fact, the women law students who contacted me at the University of Ottawa are now practicing law primarily in Ontario. In fact, two of them are members of the Filipino Canadian Lawyers Network – Richel Castaneda and Carina DelFrate. One of our objectives is to mentor these law students who want to be mentored.

AN: 4. The licensing process is more flexible now

When I was called to the bar, you had to do your undergrad, then your law degree, and then a year of articling or apprenticeship, and then six months bar admission – meaning again, six months of schooling. That has now been commuted. So, the articling can be done I think over two periods. Over two years, you could do your bar exam. It’s much more simplified than when I was called to the bar. And there were two exam periods when I was called the bar. We had to do it with all of the courses that were required which was far more than two. So, that’s a significant change. And the reason is that the Law Society of Ontario realizes that financial resources are needed, and that people that are called to the bar can’t spend another six months in school. Our intention is to assist Philippine trained lawyers in going through the process of being accredited in Ontario primarily.

AN: 5. The ITLNCA (Internationally Trained Lawyers Network) helps foreign trained lawyers find placements

We will refer because they do placements. Our interest is primarily to assist Filipino Canadian lawyers. We have our network and we’re all volunteers on the board. So, we’re not charging anyone and we’re doing this pro bono, so to speak, and maybe some of the Filipino Canadian lawyers will offer apprenticeship to those.

AN: 6. Besides financing, the second toughest challenge is completing an articling period but it’s easier now

That’s not just for Filipino Canadian foreign-trained lawyers. It’s all lawyers in Ontario. I can speak for Ontario, that the most difficult part to complete in being accredited or being a lawyer is really getting an articling position because I get many requests by lawyers from different ethnicities and lawyers who are doing the exams for articling. But again, the Law Society has been flexible in saying that many different law firms can join in to give so many months for this person to be articled with another law firm and it doesn’t have to be a law firm. It could be any organization that has a legal department and has an Ontario-trained lawyer who will sign off on the apprenticeship program. My law student did six months with an organization that had a legal department and it was outside of Canada as well. So, he got approval for that and then he did four months with me.

So, I signed off for four months of his articling and he was able to complete his articling and then he did his bar exam. When I was called to the bar, you had to do a year. But now, I think it’s even less. You had to do it with one law firm and you had to get approval if you were going to move to another law firm to complete your articling. But now, you just have to be creative and really dig deep into who can administer your articling position. Even the bar exams are so simple, it’s pass/fail. When I did my exams, it was numeric, you know, 80% or 90% and so on. So, it was much more difficult then than it is now.

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Look out for Part 2 in our next issue. To learn more, visit the Filipino Canadian Lawyers Network: http://www.fcln-rapc.org/
Law Society of Ontario Lawyer Licensing Process https://lso.ca/becoming-licensed/lawyer-licensing-process

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Are you a Canadian or foreign trained lawyer or law student? Got questions, comments or want to share your experience/expertise? E-mail at pitchmichelle@gmail.com