It is officially six months since I was called to the bar. These six months have gone by quite fast. From both a practice and personal perspective they have been eventful, thrilling, devastating, and all feelings in between.
Perhaps the best way to ‘reflect’ (or over-reflect, as I am prone to doing) on my last six months is to ask myself some inner questions. So here we go.
- What have been the successes and challenges so far?
Successes
Purely from an immigration perspective, the biggest successes so far have been gaining positive client results, particularly in a litigation or contested application context.
Immigration law is so fascinating as it is one of the few areas in law where the practice is really a hybrid between barristers and solicitors work. I think my most memorable moment in practice was seeing my client call his wife in Africa and tell her they won their appeal, both of them near tearful in their joy. A close second when Justice O’Reilly of the Federal Court summarized a subsection of my memo of argument in Jewell v. MPSEP 2015 FC 1046 in ruling in our client’s favour on a difficult case.
Overall, I think the success of my blog and article writing has been the most unexpected but surprisingly. I remember that I really caught a break – with the CIC training guide on ‘sham marriages,’ an issue that really affected me personally. I was very lucky that a social media connector and writer, Marco Campana, recommended that I write for New Canadian Media which eventually turned into this piece. I am very grateful that I have been able to become an advocate for several immigrant groups through my writing and I look forward to doing more writing and presenting moving forward.
Challenges
The biggest challenge has been dealing with the business of law. I think all junior lawyers find practice management, billing, and filing to be very tedious parts of their work. I am grateful in that I have amazing support staff at my firm that has been great in assisting me in these regards. However, as a lawyer (as opposed to an articling student I am not the first (and often times only) eye and line of communication with clients. I have come to learn that as much as clients are very concerned about the overall result, they are also very keen on the process. Lawyers must be accountable for this process.
The most unexpected challenge that I have had to deal with is the role of administrative delay and processing times in my work. Clients often want guarantees and success rates and daily updates. This is not always possible and, in fact, providing false guarantees or even predictions can be very negligent
2. Do you regret choosing just one area of the law to focus on? Do you regret joining a small firm?
I do not regret choosing just one area of the law. I think, if anything, I would have ended up in immigration given the way my academic career and personal interests aligned. I am happy I had this happen to me earlier rather than later. I think the fear that it is impossible to transition from one area of law to another or one type of firm to another is largely man-made. I have seen many cases of individuals who have started new practices and transitioned new practices very successfully. I think what is important for me is that I am doing something I am passionate about and that I wake up every morning and genuinely look forward to doing. At this point in time, I have yet to find anything like immigration that quite as inspires me.
As someone who as seen big firm culture and small firm culture I could not be happier to be at a small, boutique firm. I think that having a small physical work environment where it is easier to take two steps and have a face to face discussion with an assistant or lawyer is so valuable. One of the things I love is that when I am in a client consultation on an issue I have not handled before I can within one minute call up a colleague to come join and share his/her expertise. It is really a beautiful set up.
3. How does being an Asian-Canadian lawyer affect your practice?
I take it as a chip on my shoulder. Many times the first thing people think when I tell them I am an immigration lawyer is that I must have a strong Chinese practice. Truth-be-told my clients come from all over the world (and all over a very diverse China) for that matter.
I think also having been a product of immigrant parents myself and having interacted with so many immigrants gives me a window into their lives and their concerns. I think I may have an advantage in relating to my client’s situations and cultural perspectives and use that mutual respect to harness their trust. Without trust, I don’t think any client relationship can be successful and without that relationship applications themselves cannot present the necessary story to convince visa officers, tribunals, and judges.
4. What are your strengths and weaknesses so far? What one area do you most want to improve?
I think my strength has been in analyzing complex client cases to see where the deficiencies lie and how to address them while emphasizing the strengths of the case.
I think where I can be better is in tightening up and strengthening my communication with and on behalf of clients. With the uncertainty, layer of discretion, and constant change that exists in immigration lawyer, it is too easy to step in the shoes of the client and panic and worry. I think immigration lawyers have to be the voice of reason, confidence, and patience at all times. We also have to learn to step away from certain cases emotionally and objectively analyze and criticize – even if it is to challenge our clients on their positions on certain issues.
We also have to be honest, something I take a huge pride in and I think will be the basis of my success moving forward. I would very much tell a client the truth – that it depends on our hard work together and the discretion of an officer then offer an arbitrary percentage success rate. I think clients that are lawyer shopping should be concerned if a firm (lawyer or consultant) starts offering specific percentage of success rates.
5. How do you balance law with other commitments in your life?
It is difficult. Very difficult. Particularly when work becomes one of the more stable things in your life. I am grateful in that I have a very flexible arrangement as a contractor rather than an employee. When family matters arise or when I need to work from home this is absolutely facilitated and often times even encouraged.
I think that maintaining a health body and healthy relationships is absolutely key. Work stress tends to affect a lot of individuals in making them more prone to sleeping less, working out less, eating more, and detaching from family and friends. I think it is absolutely crucial that there needs to be time away from work and work email. I have not quite yet gotten to the point where I can ditch my cellphone on weekends (particularly given the number of overseas clients or working clients that only have time to work on their immigration on weekends), but I recognize the needs to take a step back sometimes.
6. What are three things you recommend law students/articling students to do to facilitate the transfer into practice?
A) Obtain great mentors.
Find mentors in your work place. I have been fortunate in having great partners and Larlee serve as my mentors. Peter teach me everything about immigration litigation and handling difficult clients, Ryan teaches me everything about how to be attentive and diligent, Steve teaches me how to be a well-rounded practitioner and to write and argue effectively. My colleagues, Vivian, Dan, Jeevyn, and Darren always and I mean (ALWAYS) say yes when I have a question or need to share their insight. Importantly, as human beings (not just lawyers) they have been great mentors on how to balance work and life through turbulent waters.
Find mentors outside your work place and outside your profession. I have had the privilege of having great mentors outside of work. Jenn Lau and the FACLBC exec crew and John Kim as Faskens are two names that come to mind. Also, I have been lucky to be mentored by several great, outstanding leaders outside of law. Getting involved in the City of Vancouver’s Cultural Communities Advisory Committee has been a huge blessing, as I meet many individuals who I look up to for their ability to fight and achieve social change. My old university colleagues, Adrian and Carlos Vonarx have been great as a model of success. All my best friends are also great mentors for many of the periphery issues that we as lawyers need to take care of in order to thrive in practice.
B) Find something or someone you love outside of the law.
I find that every lawyer/practitioner that is genuinely loving and thriving at their work has something or someone outside of work that gives an extra raison d’etre and level of support when things go down south.
Law has this reputation for soul-sucking, depriving individuals from pleasures of their previous life. I think a lot of this occurs because we try to fight against old habits rather than integrate law into our existing habits. It is funny how the moniker that “whatever got you into law school, will get you out of law school” goes out the window in private practice.
I find lawyers that are able to find a creative outlet for their legal work are often also able to use that passion for the creative work to draw in clients. Potential immigration clients in Vancouver, these days, be it study permit applicants or intra-company transfers are often directly involved in or one degree separated from the creative industry. Being able to connect with them may be the difference between signing them on.
C) Clients don’t grow on trees or behind computer screens.. You need to go out and meet your future client and referral base
I think that in this technology age it is easy to fall into this tendency to try and flash market or quick market your services. In our industry of immigration law, we tend to find that it is the Firm’s that make the public presentations. write papers, or get involved in professional organizations that tend to be the most trustworthy. In fact, often times overly ‘cheeky’ advertisements can give rise to suspicion.
Referrals do not come out of the dark. Usually there is someone who will call you or connect you. Particularly in immigration, clients themselves can also be hesitant to make the first call. That intermediary – often lawyers, community leaders/volunteers, corporate staff – is crucial. You can only meet them if you get involved in community events.
Try and attend a variety of community events. Personally, one of my favourite organizations that I got involved in as an articling student was a cultural business group that was not even in my own cultural background. However, I have been able to connect and learn so much from them – and now that group represents one of my largest client basis.
Conclusion
I can’t wait to see what the next six months have in store for me and for my practice. It won’t be easy and I won’t take anything for granted.
