"Returning to being a student": The Reality of Internationally Trained Lawyers (ITLs) in Canada
Guest post by Kateryna Gorbatenko
I’m committed to using this platform to share the stories of others.
For many of the upcoming articles, we’ll be sharing first-person stories from Internationally Trained Lawyers (ITLs) in Canada.
Today’s article is by Kateryna Gorbatenko.
Kateryna reached out to me after my LinkedIn post talking about how ridiculous the existing bar exam process is in Ontario and how I’d fail the bar if I had to write it today.
She messaged me about some of the ridiculous barriers she had to go through to continue practicing as a lawyer in Canada and some of those frustrations.
I felt her story - and the story of so many other ITLs - was worth sharing.
Here’s Part 1.
Returning to being a student (Part 1) by Kateryna Gorbatenko
It has been 12 years since I litigated my first case. Just one month after graduation, I was a fresh and ambitious lawyer who joined a boutique corporate litigation law firm as a first-year associate.
Back then, mentorship and professional guidance in post-Soviet countries were quite different. It was more of a "do-it-yourself" approach, and the consequences of making a mistake were crystal clear – you could easily lose your position.
On my very first day, I was given a corporate file consisting of around 200 pages, with a deadline of submitting pleadings in 2 days and a hearing scheduled in a week. The guidance I received from the supervising lawyer was, "Try your best, as you are going to be the lawyer of record." In that corporate culture, saying "I cannot do it" was simply not an option. Despite a few attempts to seek clarification, I realized that preparing the pleadings by myself was the best way to meet the deadline. The case involved the invalidation of a shareholder's agreement.
After two sleepless nights, I completed the draft. I spent a total of 46 hours (with only 2 hours for sleep) on legal research and drafting the pleading (an amendment to the lawsuit with new grounds for the judge to consider the agreement invalid). On the morning of the submission day, I showed my draft to my mentor, who spent just 15 minutes reading it and then said, "Okay, you will stay here for a while. You can submit now."
During 2012-2013, there was no electronic document exchange with courts in Russia. All files had to be personally delivered, signed by a court registrar, and then returned to the company with confirmation of submission. Dressed in high heels and full makeup, I presented myself at the Court as if this submission was not the first one in my life.
Reflecting on the harsh start that I had, it felt like learning to swim by being thrown into deep water. It was both refreshing and rewarding.
Now, 12 years later, I find myself in Canada, browsing job postings for 2L Summer Student recruitment, which is set to begin next year. The words that stand out in most of those postings are "mentorship, guidance, and supervision." The only thing I find difficult to comprehend is how I can fit into a student role again.
Of course, the first advice I hear is that I should not limit myself to only looking at BigLaw deadlines; there are many other places to start anew. Perhaps that is true, perhaps not. My mind drifts back to my decision to move to Canada four years ago and the reason behind it – feeling unchallenged in any work after practicing law for more than 10 years. Now, my challenge seems to look like a "2L Summer Student" position next year when I am no longer a 2L, not a JD student, and certainly not 21 anymore.
To be continued.