Updated: January 2023
I’m very happy to announce that I’ve officially completed all seven of my NCA exams! It’s been a challenging and insightful past nine months as I worked through these qualification requirements alongside full-time work in the United Kingdom. I’ve had quite a few people ask me about my experience with writing the NCAs abroad, so I thought I’d share what I learned in the form of an FAQ…
Why did you decide to complete the NCAs abroad?
After completing my two-year LL.B in London, England, I wasn’t quite ready to come home to Canada. Additionally, I wasn’t finding many legal work opportunities for international law students in Canada until I’d completed the NCA exams. So, since I still felt like I had a lot of the city and surrounding Europe to explore, and had a full-time job in The City, I decided to capitalize on the opportunity to spend one more year abroad while writing the NCAs.
Why did you decide to self-study?
I did consider completing the NCAs via a Common Law LL.M program in Canada, but after some research I opted for a self-study method for a few reasons: 1) I had a full-time job in the UK that I liked and wanted to keep to help with expenses, and 2) I’d rather do an LL.M in a legal focus area of my choosing (i.e. IP, or corporate law) than in general Canadian Law. Additionally, having been home-schooled as a child, I’m quite use to self-studying and was confident I had the skill-set to teach myself and stay on track.
Where can I write the exams abroad?
Now that the NCA is offering all exams 100% online, it’s easier than ever to write your exams from anywhere in the world. Just make sure you have a quiet and private space along with a good internet connection.
Are there practical challenges to completing the NCAs abroad?
There are a few challenges when you decide to write the NCAs outside of Canada, but they can be overcome with a little bit of planning and networking.
- Sourcing Study Materials - often it is impossible or extremely expensive to obtain physical copies of NCA recommended text books outside of Canada. That said, many of the publishers also offer e-book versions which can be purchased and downloaded online. These options don’t allow for printing, however, and you cannot take them with you into the exams so you will need to make very good notes.
There are plenty of other ways to obtain the information you need via one of the multitude of learning resources available to you online! I used the NCA Tutor™ notes for many of my exams with great success as well as University of Alberta professor, Peter Sankoff’s brilliant Criminal Law and Evidence Law videos. Lastly, The Federation of Law Societies publishes resources like course syllabi and practice exams to help you study.
- Loneliness - studying for the NCA exams can be quite isolating regardless of where you decide to write them. However, when you are abroad, it can be easy to feel like you are the only person in the world going through this process. To overcome this, I highly suggest joining one of the many NCA Student Facebook groups or finding a virtual study partner to keep you on track. I was lucky enough to have several ex-law classmates going through the NCA process at the same time and even though we weren’t all in the same country, or even in the same timezone, we would hold online study-sessions to discuss issues and share materials.
Are there any benefits of completing the NCAs abroad?
For all the challenges, there are many benefits to doing the exams abroad as well. Many of them will depend on your personal situation and goals (e.g. I wanted to continue working and traveling). So weigh the minor challenges against your personal situation to make your decision wisely.
Would you recommend writing the NCAs abroad?
Again, your decision to complete the NCAs outside of Canada will depend so much on your personal situation and goals that the answer to this question can’t be universal. However, for me, it was certainly the right choice as writing the exams abroad allowed me to take steps towards my overall goal of qualifying in Canada while also fulfilling some other bucket-lists experiences, travel, and financial goals.
Best of luck to you as you embark on this NCA journey!
-T
