Ed.
note:
This
is
the
latest
installment
in
a
series
of
posts
on
motherhood
in
the
legal
profession,
in
partnership
with
our
friends
at MothersEsquire.
Welcome
Ruth
Kalnitsky
to
our
pages.
Click here if
you’d
like
to
donate
to
MothersEsquire.
Whether
it’s
for
a
different
lifestyle,
political
climate,
or
healthcare
system,
an
ever-increasing
number
of
families
are
looking
to
leave
the
United
States
for
what
they
perceive
to
be
greener
pastures.
Social
media
groups
dedicated
to
becoming
an
expat
are
booming,
lawyers
(and
other
professionals)
are
looking
for
alternative
career
paths
and
routes
to
legal
residency
abroad,
and
many
are
looking
to
Canada
as
a
potential
place
to
resettle
thanks
to
its
physical
and
cultural
proximity
to
the
U.S.
This
is
a
challenge
for
lawyers
who
are
geographically
bound
by
their
license
and
do
not
want
to
give
up
the
practice
of
law,
and
an
oft-repeated
question
among
potential
emigrant
lawyers
is
“how
do
I
convert
my
license?”
So
what
does
it
take
to
become
licensed
to
practice
law
in
one
of
Canada’s
provinces
and
how
long
does
it
all
take?
To
some
extent,
it
depends:
when
I
launched
this
adventure
in
2017,
I
had
over
a
decade
of
American
practice
under
my
belt
and
have
since
walked
numerous
of
my
fellow
Americans
through
the
process.
Given
the
amount
of
inquiries
coming
from
south
of
our
current
border,
it
seems
a
ripe
time
to
put
a
handy
guide
together.
Without
further
ado:
those
with
many
years
of
experience
face
a
shorter
climb
with
fewer
relicensing
exams
in
their
future
and
a
potential
exemption
from
the
requirement
to
article
as
detailed
below.
The
quickest
path
is
described
below,
although
it
should
be
noted
that
receiving
a
license
to
practice
law
in
one
of
Canada’s
provinces
in
no
way
secures
an
applicant’s
immigration
status,
does
not
guarantee
finding
employment,
and
does
not
assist
in
obtaining
a
residence
permit.
Please
also
note
that
none
of
the
below
applies
to
the
province
of
Québec,
which,
like
the
state
of
Louisiana,
operates
under
a
slightly
different
set
of
rules.
On
that
note:
each
of
Canada’s
provinces,
like
each
of
the
American
states,
has
its
own
regulatory
body,
and
admission
to
one
Provincial
Law
Society
(the
bar)
does
not
necessarily
qualify
you
to
practice
in
another
province.
Caveats
aside,
first,
a
candidate
is
required
to
be
assessed
by
the
National
Committee
on
Accreditation
(NCA).
One
is
eligible
for
assessment
by
the
NCA
if
they
are
licensed
to
practice
law
in
any
state
except
for
Louisiana
and
attended
an
in-person,
ABA-accredited,
law
school
program.
The
NCA
Application
costs
C$400
plus
the
cost
of
ordering
and
shipping
transcripts
from
your
alma
mater.
Submit
an
application
to
the
NCA,
and
in
six
to
eight
weeks,
they
will
provide
a
list
of
“assignments”
or
tasks
that
need
to
be
done
to
qualify
to
take
the
bar
exam.
Relatively
experienced
lawyers
from
the
U.S.
are
generally
required
to
write
five
out
of
14
possible
law
school
equivalency
exams
(Canadian
Administrative
Law;
Canadian
Constitutional
Law;
Canadian
Criminal
Law;
Canadian
Professional
Responsibility;
and
Foundations
of
Canadian
Law)
and
to
take
a
short
legal
research
and
writing
course.
NCA
exams
are
offered
on
a
rolling
basis,
are
open
book,
and
each
is
three
hours
long.
The
cost
for
each
exam
is
approximately
C$500
plus
taxes
and
fees.
Assuming
a
requirement
of
five
exams,
budget
about
a
year
to
complete
them
all.
Once
the
NCA
assignments
are
completed
successfully,
a
candidate
can
apply
for
a
Certificate
of
Qualification,
which
entitles
them
to
write
the
bar
exam
in
any
of
Canada’s
provinces
except
for
Québec.
The
bar
exam
itself
is
offered
twice
a
year
in
two
sittings
that
are
two
weeks
apart.
In
order
to
receive
a
license
to
practice,
a
candidate
must
pass
the
Barristers
and
Solicitors
exams,
both
of
which
are
one
full
day,
multiple
choice,
and
open
book.
In
Ontario,
each
exam
costs
C$865
plus
tax,
with
an
additional
C$100
fee
for
the
study
materials.
Other
provinces’
exam
fees
may
differ
and
the
cost
of
the
exam
is
admittedly
more
challenging
to
find
on
the
respective
provincial
law
society
websites,
but
should
be
obtainable
from
there.
While
self-study
seems
sufficient
for
most,
various
courses
are
offered
to
help
test
takers
prepare
for
the
bar
exam.
Each
province
has
its
own
rules
for
admission:
in
Ontario,
test
takers
have
three
chances
to
pass
and
must
apply
for
special
permission
to
take
exams
four
or
more
times.
The
exams
are
broken
down
by
subject
matter,
with
some
crossover
questions
that
morph
a
substantive
subject
with
professional
responsibility.
Unfortunately
for
those
who
are
undergoing
this
process,
that’s
not
it.
Most
provinces
also
have
an
articling
requirement
to
become
a
licensed
lawyer.
Articling
can
be
an
incredibly
valuable
experience
to
learn
to
navigate
a
new
legal
landscape
and
make
connections
in
a
new
jurisdiction,
but
opportunities
can
be
hard
to
come
by
and
often
constitute
an
eight-
to
12-month
commitment
at
a
significantly
reduced
salary.
Many
experienced
lawyers
are
eligible
for
an
articling
exemption,
which
is
applied
for
separately
and
decided
by
the
respective
provincial
law
society.
Once
all
of
these
requirement
are
met,
you
can
sign
up
for
your
Call
to
the
Bar
(the
swearing-in
ceremony)
that
can
be
done
in
person
or
administratively.
The
ceremonial
call
must
be
attended
in
person
and
is
a
lovely
reminder
of
the
highlights
of
the
practice
of
law,
while
an
administrative
call
is
efficient,
albeit
lacking
in
pomp
and
circumstance.
Those
attending
a
call
in
person,
or
with
intention
to
litigate
thereafter
should
gird
themselves
to
be
in
costume
as
Canadian
courts
still
require
lawyers
to
wear
robes.
Mercifully,
we
no
longer
wear
wigs.
Ruth
Kalnitsky
Roth
is
a
partner
at
Torkin
Manes
LLP
in
Toronto,
Ontario,
where
she
brings
nearly
20
years
of
experience
to
her
family
law
practice.
Ruth
began
her
career
in
San
Francisco,
California,
where
she
obtained
her
law
degree
in
2006. In
addition
to
being
a
member
of
the
Law
Society
of
Ontario,
Ruth
is
a
member
of
the
State
Bar
of
California,
the
United
States
District
Court
of
the
Northern
District
of
California,
and
the
Bar
of
Washington
D.C.
She
is
also
a
Fellow
of
the
International
Academy
of
Family
Lawyers.