How Ramanuj Basu set himself up for success in Canada with an International Business Law LLM

A little bit of luck and a lot of hard work is the formula for a successful transition to legal practice in Canada, judging by the career of internationally trained lawyer Ramanuj Basu, a graduate of Osgoode’s Professional LLM in International Business Law.

Ramanuj’s legal journey started in serendipitous fashion in his home country of India, with a helpful nudge from his father.

“To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do after finishing high school. I enjoyed reading and language and my dad said I should be a lawyer,” Ramanuj explains.

After moving to compete his LLB at the University of London, Ramanuj first demonstrated his knack for impeccable timing when he stayed on in the U.K. to pursue an LLM focused on competition law.

By the time he graduated in 2009, the global financial crisis had taken hold, freezing up the legal job market in Europe and beyond. However, Ramanuj’s skills were in high demand back home, where Indian law firms had embarked on a hiring spree to meet the needs of clients dealing with the country’s fast-developing competition regime.

“I ended up working for one of India’s largest, most well-established law firms on corporate finance matters,” Ramanuj says.

Later, after graduating from Osgoode’s Professional LLM in International Business Law in 2014, Ramanuj again put himself in the right place at the right time after investigating and enrolling in an immigrant mentorship scheme that partnered him with a local lawyer at a major Canadian bank.

Ramanuj’s contact helped him land a short-term contract in the bank’s anti-money laundering compliance division, but the temporary role soon became a permanent one as Ramanuj developed his AML expertise at a pace to match the field’s explosion in prominence among the banking community. Meanwhile, Ramanuj filled his spare time outside the office completing the requirements of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s National Committee on Accreditation and sitting his bar exams.

In 2019, Ramanuj kept himself ahead of the game when he moved to an in-house role at a recently formed FinTech firm specializing in funding for e-commerce businesses. He is currently senior counsel for digital payments company Balance, where he puts his compliance and corporate law experience to use helping the firm navigate the financial services industry’s swiftly evolving regulatory landscape. 

“I was a little fortuitous to get in on the ground floor. We’re doing well and the whole sector is taking off,” Ramanuj says. “It’s challenging work, but it’s also very enjoyable to be in an environment defined by constant innovation and problem-solving.”

According to Ramanuj, internationally trained lawyers enrolling in an Osgoode Professional LLM program should prepare themselves by developing a clear plan for what they want to achieve during their studies and beyond.

“Leverage whatever resources are available to you,” he says. “And then work hard. It makes a difference, because if you get good grades, you get better exposure and better opportunities.”

At Osgoode, International Business Law Professional LLM candidates have all the support they need to be successful, Ramanuj adds.

“You can get advice on your individual situation, feedback on your resume, help on how to network, find jobs and navigate the cultural nuances of the legal market,” he says.

When he moved to Canada in 2013 with a view to re-qualifying as a lawyer in this country, Osgoode’s extensive career services and other resources were a big part of his attraction to the International Business Law LLM. The program also allows internationally trained lawyers a head start on their accreditation via NCA-approved elective courses.

“Another thing I really enjoyed about the course was interacting with professors who were also practising lawyers. It was great to be taught by experts in the field,” he says.  

Ramanuj was also able to take advantage of Osgoode’s connections with major employers in the legal sector, securing a summer internship with Bay Street giant Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.

“I wanted to get some sort of exposure to the legal job market and also get a little bit of Canadian work experience,” Ramanuj says, adding that he hopes newer graduates will have an easier time establishing themselves here.

“The Canadian market has changed significantly in the last decade. It seems much more open to lawyers with international training and experience,” Ramanuj explains.