NCA Graduate Interview Series: Patrick Grzeszczuk
Hello NCA candidates! Today, we continue with our NCA graduate interview series. Today’s graduate is Patrick Grzeszczuk who was recently called to the Ontario Bar!
With the full qualification process under his feet, Patrick has kindly agreed to share his wealth of knowledge and experience with all of you…
Where did you go to Law School and what kind of program did you complete (e.g. 3yr LL.B, 2yr LL.B, etc.)?
I attended law school in London, England at City, University of London. I completed an accelerated two-year Graduate Entry LL.B program.
How many NCA Exams were you assigned?
Upon my return to Canada, I was assessed seven NCA exams. Five core exams and two electives subjects.
How did you complete the NCA process and how long did it take you?
Although there are a variety of ways a student can approach these exams, I chose self-study and put myself in a mindset that this process would be a so-called third year of law school.
By adopting this particular approach, I completed the exams in seven months. I made a conscious decision to fully immerse myself into each topic of study, an approach that I found to be invaluable. Upon my completion of all assessed exams, I was able to develop a rich understanding of specific areas of practice, along with a personal archive of detailed notes and reference material.
With that being said, my approach did take me longer to complete the NCA exams than some of my colleagues. The exams may very well be completed in shorter time frames. Some have been able to complete all seven in one exam sitting, it is possible. Nevertheless, how a student chooses to approach these exams is entirely up to them and based on their comfort levels.
What are you doing now?
At this moment, I’m an Associate Lawyer at a boutique Toronto based law office that provides legal services in areas of Real Estate, Wills & Estates, and Family Law. I’m also in the early planning stages to launch a law firm with another colleague in 2021. The idea behind this firm is to provide innovative and unique delivery of legal services to clients in the Greater Toronto Area.
What is something critical you learned through the NCA process?
Through the NCA process, I have learned that the examinations assessed are not designed for students to fail. This was a similar opinion shared by a lot of my friends. These exams are fair. If you take the time to make good notes, work on practice questions, and develop your strategy, you will be in a good position to do well.
In hindsight, would you do anything differently?
Not at all. I crafted my approach with the sole objective of truly learning about each area of law assessed. My recommendation is to find what works for you, develop your approach, and reach out to those who have completed the process.
That wraps our interview for this week! Join us next time for more perspectives from recent NCA grads!
- Tiffany
Tiffany is an LLM candidate at NYU Law. and a regular blogger for NCA Tutor™.