October 3, 2024
Entrepreneurial spirit has always been a professional driving force for Kim Gale.
A fierce advocate for herself and others, this trait shone through during her transition to the Canadian legal industry after graduating from law school in the U.K. Faced with challenges, she took decisive action and founded the NCA Network. Named after the Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s National Committee on Accreditation, this non-profit organization supports internationally trained lawyers (ITLs) and law students as they navigate the re-qualification process in Canada.
Reflecting on the struggles faced by ITLs, Kim says it can be a “difficult and lonely experience.”
“You’re not on the same schedule as everyone else and there has traditionally been a stigma associated with people who did their legal training outside Canada,” she adds.
A primary strategy used by the NCA Network to reduce this stigma, Kim explains, is through employer education.
“Part of our job is to educate employers on the process and the timelines because many of them are hesitant to take on law students who studied abroad, or even seasoned lawyers from other countries,” she says.
The NCA Network, now boasting thousands of members and dozens of sponsors, hosts online and in-person events and has even developed a parallel on-campus interview system for ITLs. The network also features a podcast, Legally Abroad, hosted by Kim Gale and Sam Allan, with a rotating cast of legal professionals as guest speakers.’
The NCA Network was not the first (or last) time Kim showcased her creative instincts. Although she was raised with a lawyer in the family, Kim initially chose a different path. After graduating from Western University, she utilized her business and marketing skills working for a start-up media company. At the same time, she launched her own university-focused online marketplace: Who’s Your Class LLP, which provided a platform for members to discuss various aspects of student life, including tutoring, and networking.
During her time in the shipping and logistics sector, Kim’s interest in law deepened, eventually leading her to enroll in the LLB program at City, University of London.
“I thought it would be an amazing experience to go abroad and study in a place where I could also travel and explore,” she explains.
In 2015, Kim joined Norton Rose Fulbright’s London office as a paralegal and jokes that her initial interest in structured finance stemmed from her binge-watching of the television series Suits as a university student.
Kim soon realized, however, that her true passion was in helping individuals:
“I quickly recognized I’m more of a people person,” she says. “I enjoy dealing with real people and their problems more than the complex transactions I was handling there.”
After returning to Toronto in 2016, Kim articled at Socken Law and honed her litigation skills at another firm’s estate and commercial litigation group. In January 2019, at just 30 years old, Kim founded her own practice, Gale Law Professional Corporation. Today, she leads an all-female team in handling a variety of trusts and estates matters.
It was also in 2019 that Kim rekindled her interest in OsgoodePD. While she initially enrolled in the General Law LLM as part of her plan to reintegrate into the Canadian legal market, she switched to the Professional LLM in Dispute Resolution after developing an interest in mediation as part of her burgeoning estate litigation practice.
Kim emphasized the appeal of the Dispute Resolution LLM’s intensive format, where courses are condensed into 2.5 to 5 full days of instruction and activities instead of weekly classes. She explains that this flexibility allowed her to balance full-time work while engaging deeply with course content and fellow students through immersive experiences like simulated mediations or arbitrations.
“It’s a big commitment, but if you have the resources, the ability and the time to do it, it’s a wonderful program. Pretty much everything you learn can be implemented in practice,” she says.
According to Kim, her classmates –who included lawyers, mediators, and other non-legal professionals – were a major highlight of her LLM studies. Since graduating in 2023, she has maintained strong connections with many of them, collaborating on research papers, delivering presentations, and organizing conferences.
Kim fondly recalls a memorable trip to Newfoundland in July 2022 with 11 of her close-knit cohort members to celebrate the end of their studies during the challenges of the Covid era.
Summarizing her experience at OsgoodePD Kim says: “I loved my class. We had such a good bond together,” adding that they were planning another trip to B.C to catch up with one another.
Beyond her Dispute Resolution LLM and various continuing legal education commitments, Kim’s involvement with the NCA Network has solidified her role as a valued member of the OsgoodePD community over the past few years.
She regularly speaks at the annual Osgoode Internationally Trained Lawyers Day which brings together legal employers, lawyers, and law graduates from around the world to celebrate ITLs in Canada. Additionally, she is an active participant in numerous alumni events, highlighting her dedication and connection to the OsgoodePD alumni network.
Ultimately, Kim Gale’s journey is a testament to her resilience and innovative mindset, as she continues to set an example for young women in law and create opportunities and support for ITLs in Canada.
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