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OP, do you speak French? Since you are asking in the Montreal forum instead of the general Canada forum, presumably you specifically have Quebec in mind, so you might find this recent post about immigration to Canada helpful: https://www.city-data.com/forum/cana...l#post58393255
Just a note that it is impossible to work in the legal field in Quebec (where Montreal is located) without a pretty advanced knowledge of French.
This might present a stumbling block to the OP, but it's not the only one.
When the OP states, "I work in the legal field..is it truly difficult to find a job...," it would depend on exactly what one does in the legal field. Assuming a good knowledge of French, I'm pretty sure that a legal assistant's skills, such as typing, filing, booking appointments, and answering the phone, would transfer pretty easily.
A paralegal? Depending on what kind of paralegal, some additional courses might be required. For example, a wills and estates paralegal might need additional courses to make sure that they understand how wills and estates work under Quebec's Civil Code. A title searcher who has only ever worked with a Torrens title system might need additional courses to understand a deed registry system.
A lawyer? That would be impossible. Because of Quebec's Civil Code, lawyers in Quebec typically need a civil-law degree, which is only available from Quebec law schools. A law degree from a California school (or from any other law school in the US and Canada, outside Quebec) would be a common-law degree, and thus would not allow one to practice in Quebec.
I think Quebec has a few other jobs in the legal field that don't exist in the common-law provinces (Acajack, can you explain notaires and any others I may have missed?), but as I know next-to-nothing about those, I cannot comment on them.
A lawyer? That would be impossible. Because of Quebec's Civil Code, lawyers in Quebec typically need a civil-law degree, which is only available from Quebec law schools. A law degree from a California school (or from any other law school in the US and Canada, outside Quebec) would be a common-law degree, and thus would not allow one to practice in Quebec.
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I wonder if equivalencies would exist with Louisiana, which also AFAIK has a civil code of law? Though of course most people would still have the language barrier.
I think Quebec has a few other jobs in the legal field that don't exist in the common-law provinces (Acajack, can you explain notaires and any others I may have missed?), but as I know next-to-nothing about those, I cannot comment on them.
Yes, the legal profession in Quebec is split up between "avocats" and "notaires". Technically, both are lawyers or attorneys as they both have law degrees. For example they both have "Maître" in front of their names, similar to how doctors have "Doctor".
In practice though when translating to the anglo world, "avocats" are considered equivalent to lawyers by most people.
For 99% of people, the notaire is the person you deal with when you buy your house and have to sign papers, and they also write up and certify your will for you. But they also do a whole bunch of other things with respect to contracts and agreements.
Yes, the legal profession in Quebec is split up between "avocats" and "notaires". Technically, both are lawyers or attorneys as they both have law degrees. For example they both have "Maître" in front of their names, similar to how doctors have "Doctor".
In practice though when translating to the anglo world, "avocats" are considered equivalent to lawyers by most people.
For 99% of people, the notaire is the person you deal with when you buy your house and have to sign papers, and they also write up and certify your will for you. But they also do a whole bunch of other things with respect to contracts and agreements.
Thanks, AJ. You deserve reps for this, but since I cannot give you any, my thanks will have to do.
One further question, if I may: are avocats et notaires the same as we think of in the common-law provinces as barristers and solicitors? It would seem so, based on your explanation, but do Quebec lawyers have to make a conscious choice at some point to become an avocat or a notaire? As you undoubtedly know, we in the common-law provinces tend to be granted licenses as both barristers and solicitors, regardless of whether we argue in court or spend our careers drafting wills and contracts and doing real estate deals, so I'm curious as to whether Quebec lawyers have to make a conscious choice when they get their licenses.
Regarding "barrister and solicitor", I know that's what you see on signs in the common law provinces. With the usual implication that it's a single person. In francophone towns outside Quebec but which operate in common law, like Hawkesbury or Caraquet, the signs will typically say "avocat et notaire".
In Quebec in my observation it's extremely rare for a legal professional to be both an avocat or a notaire. Though you occasionally see law offices that have both avocats and notaires working in them, but these are different individuals.
In Quebec in my observation it's extremely rare for a legal professional to be both an avocat or a notaire. Though you occasionally see law offices that have both avocats and notaires working in them, but these are different individuals.
I agree with that. After 3 years in law school the students get a bachelor’s degree in law, and then in the 4th year students choose between the two tracks.
It is indeed rare for someone to be both. I have lawyers and notaries very close to me and both groups have a different skill set (or at least different personalities — or maybe they just self-selected into a stereotype).
From what I gather, a big difference between the two professions is that the Civil Code imposes significant legal responsibilities to notaries, especially with respect to third parties such as the State. Many contracts which by law have to be handled by notaries can affect people that are not a party to the transaction (real estate is an obvious example — the notary is responsible for making sure the buyer does not think he is buying something that belongs to a neighbor, knows that the neighbor has a right-of-way etc). As a result, the notaries I know spend a large amount of time ensuring no stone is left unturned (are past contracts related to the property still valid? and so on), and afterwards worrying about what could go wrong. Maybe my perception is biased by the fact that many of the notaries I know have ultimately left private practice and are now in positions where they can use their legal expertise without having to carry the weight of that personal responsibility. But still, my feeling is that a typical notary will ensure every contract is exactly how it should be, and will avoid grey areas as much as possible.
On the other hand, some of the lawyers I know spend more of their professional time in grey areas — what does this provision really imply, could we argue X and therefore we could do it, should we push the envelope on this, would this be upheld in court, and so on. So while notaries will spend more time ensuring conformity to official procedure, lawyers will spend more time on case law, comparing situations, figuring out whether small differences between two situations are actually substantial, and so on. In the end, perhaps lawyers’ greater exposure to conflict situations generates more self-confidence to defend one’s legal opinion without fear of conflict, so that makes them more likely to move into areas where such legal opinion is more likely to be challenged. Of course that doesn’t apply to all situations a lawyer may be involved in or to all fields, and many lawyers work in environments where conflict rarely ever arises.
But again, maybe my perception is BS or driven by selection bias. But compared to other professionals that are also subject to a code of ethics and to legal requirements surrounding professional practice, the notaries I know have the most acute sense of personal responsibility, to the point that I have come to view it as a defining feature of their field.
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