Last year I had the unique privilege of being part of Mark Holthe’s awesome podcast. For those that don’t know Mark, he’s an incredibly warm-hearted, passionate lawyer practicing in Alberta and I would argue is among the “go-to’s” for business immigration matters in this country (caveat: outside of our Firm’s lawyers of course!)
Since recording the podcast and sharing my experiences with Mark, I have had a lot of law students, NCA’s, and even young lawyers looking to transfer practices ask me about practicing immigration law. I an humbled that they enjoyed listening to my podcast appearance. I have also had several months (during my social media hiatus) to think about what I was doing with my practice.
In this post I just wanted to add a few more reflections from the Mind of a Young Lawyer looking to make a big impression in the deep sea of very competent practitioners. No short order and indeed a very daunting task!
I also wanted to share with all of you a few areas of my practice I am hoping to grow and expand. I’d love to chat with young mentees and indeed I am engaging a few to assist me on some projects. Over the next little bit, you will see my blog develop into a stronger Hub for discussion. In addition to being a safe place for immigrants to chat, I want to better highlight some of the immigrant narratives and tackle the ‘elephant-in-the-room’ topics such as racism and diversity.
Without further ado, here are a few more lessons from my last year in practice:
Lesson 1: Building Client Relationships
I want clients that work with me to know they are getting someone who is literally stepping into their shoes. For couples, I’m an immigration third wheel. For individuals, I become a trusted advisor and mentor. I want you to call me when things aren’t going right or you have questions. Both uncertainty and overcertainty are terrible feelings that could lead to terrible consequences. I like providing that middle ground, where a client is certain of the possibilities and have their pathways and back up plans drawn out, yet at the same time are aware and are educated in the often tumultuous, discretionary landscape that is Canadian immigration.
For me, building client relationships is also about learning life stories and engaging head-on in cultural conversation. There is some narrative underlying every application, every individual, and every business. Clients bring their cultural expectations and cultural assumptions into the mix. I need to set aside my own preconceived notions but appreciate the gaps that can exist and counsel them accordingly.
I often here my lawyer colleagues (some of the at bigger firms) complain about no face time. I can assure you immigration law, and particularly handling individual client files is the complete opposite reality.
Lesson 2: Learning to Manage Emotions
Emotion is not bad. I’m an emotional guy. It’s part of what makes me do what I do for a living. I have used pleas to emotions in at least two key moments I can remember, both involving oral submissions made to CBSA officers, to secure positive results.
However, mismanaging emotion or turning real-life immigration into some sort of a pass/fail course is not useful. Understanding client emotions, means paying attention to their words and their communications. Knowing their likes and dislikes. Similarly, when dealing with immigration officers, bureaucrats, and other professionals, it is important to be adaptable to the circumstances.
It is important to know that emotions can only go so far. In an appeal process you can play to emotions, but ultimately you can focus on it to much and forget to cross your i’s and dot your t’s.
From a practitioner standpoint, keeping level-headed helps develop a longer-term, more sustainable practice. I have been grateful to learn this, especially from colleagues such as Steve who seem to thrive under pressure and be wholly unfazed.
Lesson 3: Knowing Your Stakeholders
I think knowing how to escalate, knowing when to escalate and when not to escalate, and knowing how to navigate the world of stakeholders is so crucial. I look at some of my mentors (Steve, Ryan, Peter, Chantal, Raj, Peter E, Mario B, Ronalee, just to name a few) and I believe this is one of their greatest traits.
They are able to streamline processes to ensure employers, applicants, translators, family, members of parliament, CBSA, IRCC immigration officers, hearings officers, Department of Justice, IRCC program managers, overseas program managers, and litigation experts etc. all are coordinated on challenging matters. Especially on the more difficult cases this is incredibly important.
Lessons 4: Knowing to Be Concise
This is was one of the hard lessons I learned. I would have to say it was a two-stage lesson. Law school taught me a bit about being concise. I did my Bachelors in International Relations, but primarily History. I learned how to craft narratives and research from limited sources. However, a lot of history was in turning a small historical moment or a short period of time into a large thesis or paper. In Law School, I was taught at an early stage by one of my big sister mentors Jules, that marking was a bit of a video game. You had to hit the points.
This is even truer today in practice.
In law, particularly immigration law from an application standpoint, I find that getting to the point is so crucial. Recently, as I am sure many of you have learned in the courses, judges at all levels of court are focusing on rendering shorter, easier to read decisions. Even at the Supreme’s, I find judgments are much less verbose (and arguably less academic) than years past. Practicality is a virtue.
I still have a long way to go in this area but it’s very important for Canadian immigration law. We forget that the Immigration Officers (and often even hearing officers) we deal with are not lawyers yet are trained to catch the A, B, C’s required for them to render their decisions or agree on consent. Trying to be too nuanced or too cheeky or trying to speak down to a decision-maker can yield undesirable consequences.
Lesson 5: Knowing Your Laws and Regulations Inside/Out
This is in my mind what separates the amazing practitioners from those who dabble. Immigration, from a conceptual level, is easy to understand. There are only so many applications. The website is full of instruction guides that purport to break immigration down to easy steps and checklists. It’s a system meant for the layperson. However, followed blindly or worse yet, inaccurately, mistakes can easily occur.
Members, judges, decision-makers, and border officers will all know the regulations or have their interpretation as well. Contrary to what it may appear, there is actually a whole lot of grey in Canadian immigration. One of my favourite parts of immigration is working through the grey area.
For example, I’m currently in litigation on two provisions of legislation and regulation relating to the definition of an ‘assignment’ and the working for a Canadian business abroad exemption to the requirement to for permanent residents to spend two out of five years physically in Canada.
This provision itself is a microcosm of the story of immigration. It was introduced as a good-will gesture to recognize the fact that some Canadian permanent residents needed to work abroad for Canadian companies and could not maintain their status. Later, this status was abused and misused by several Canadian ‘companies’ as a way to help permanent residents remain abroad while maintaining their status. Today, this exemption is one of the most difficult to establish. Contracts purporting to support valid transfers must be drafted to a ‘T.’ However, the case law has itself been in many cases in consistent. Decision-makers have taken cases which turned very much on facts to now stand as large, catch-all concepts. This area of the law is very much messy and ripe for the type of litigation my client is currently launching.
Similar parallels can be drawn in the realm of international student litigation, likely to the litigation that will arise from the new sponsorship processes, and likely with employer compliance (an area I’d like to develop greater core competencies in).
What Does 2017 Hold in Store for Me?
This year I hope to work to be a more patient practitioner. I want to pay more attention to detail and also be better at streamlining processes and providing clients with more accessibility but more effective advice and communication, particularly in a virtual setting.
In terms of areas, I am really trying to challenge myself to be a better litigator. I really enjoy immigration litigation but I can’t purport to be blessed with natural talents. I need to spend more time in the trenches, particularly reading case law and the laws/regulations, to carvel out stronger more, novel arguments in Federal Court. In my appellate work, I want to be better at organizing documentary evidence to support my client’s cases. Often times, it’s documentary nuances and details that make or break appeals and I want to become an expert at decoding and predicting issues. I would also like to add a human rights/Charter component to my practice but I know that will take time.
Overall, I want to continue to ensure my practice is client-focused. As many young practitioners I face the dilemma of building a business that is volume driven and building a client-base and set of experiences that is results driven. Overburdening on volume negatively impacts results UNLESS time is better managed, processes better handled, and ultimately more effort is put in as an input.
I also want to develop closer relationships with my clients. I’ve started a new tradition of having lunch or dinner with clients who successfully obtain permanent residents after my help and I want to continue this trend. I see clients through some of their darkest moments. Being able to share a meal at the end of a long journey, once they are carefree, is simply my definition of happiness.
As I tell all my clients, I cannot guarantee the results or predict the future (too much has happened in practice and in my greater life for me to even believe I have that power), but I believe in leaving it on the line. I was never a good athlete, but this is one sport I am determined to thrive to be better in.
With love,
Will
