Distance no barrier to a Professional LLM in Canadian Common Law for Natalia Johnston

When Natalia O. Johnston made her dream move from Brazil to Toronto in 2011, she thought a career change may be in order.

As a junior lawyer in her homeland, she had already acquired significant experience in commercial litigation, but with Osgoode still a couple of years away from launching its Professional LLM in Canadian Common Law as an option for internationally trained lawyers seeking to satisfy the requirements of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s National Committee on Accreditation, Johnston decided to put her burgeoning legal career on the back burner.

“The NCA process was quite new and the options for requalification were very limited. The only programs that were offered were full-time and in-person and we didn’t really have the resources to do that, so my partner and I decided to focus on his masters and PhD,” Johnston says.

More than a decade on, Johnston was living and working in B.C. when she was ready to revisit possible routes to accreditation in Canada. And this time, neither her location nor her life circumstances would be a barrier to her enrolment in Osgoode’s Professional LLM in Canadian Common Law, where she is currently a student in its part-time stream, attending classes remotely.

“Doing classes online makes more sense for my lifestyle,” Johnston says. “I’m a mother of two, so it was important to have some flexibility. I use evenings and weekends to prepare and complete assignments and my employer has been very accommodating, allowing me to take a few hours out of the day when I need to attend classes.”

As a newly qualified lawyer in Brazil, Johnston had little prior connection to Canada before signing up for an intensive course to improve her business English language skills taking place in Toronto.

“I wasn’t expecting to fall in love, but when I came to Toronto I had a very natural connection and I just felt as though I had found my place. It’s a very multicultural city, which resonated with me,” she says. “I moved back to Brazil at the end of the course, but I was determined to find my way back to Toronto. Then it was just a matter of organizing my life to fully immigrate.”

Since her arrival in Canada, Johnston has gained a foothold in the local legal community, working in a variety of roles for corporate legal departments over the last decade – most recently as a media law litigation paralegal for the CBC.

“As a paralegal, I work very closely with lawyers and I get to see them work, which has made me feel much more confident about making the transition,” she says.

Despite living some 4,000km from OsgoodePD’s downtown Toronto headquarters, Johnston says she feels deeply connected to the school community and has taken full advantage of Osgoode’s extensive career services and other resources during her Professional LLM in Canadian Common Law studies.

“The amount of information you have to process can be overwhelming, but everyone at Osgoode is very helpful. I have other colleagues who are doing the program in-person and I think many of the challenges we face are the same,” Johnston says. “We’ve been able to organize study groups, which helps to give you that social connection with fellow classmates. Since I’m in B.C., I try to focus on students who are in the same time zone, just because it’s easier to coordinate.”

Scheduled to graduate in 2025, Johnston says her extensive experience in media and litigation will provide the perfect foundation for a practice in entertainment law, intellectual property or contracts law after she has obtained her NCA Certificate of Qualification.

Johnston says she would have no hesitation recommending Osgoode’s Professional LLM in Canadian Common Law to any internationally trained lawyer hoping to establish themselves in Canada.

“Just do it. There is never a perfect time and it’s not going to be easy, but if I can do this LLM while working full-time with two kids, then anyone can,” she says.