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NCA hiccups

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ameek

Joined: 30 Apr 2008
Posts: 2
NCA hiccups
Thu May 01, 2008 03:10 PM
i have a foreign llb degree and the NCA has asked me take i 9 challenge xamz. i plan to take 4 this august and the rest 5 in january. now my problem is that of lookin for an articleship..i know i have to apply before june 30,2008 for gettin an articleship for the year 2009/10 but will the law firms consider me for interview since i have not even taken a single exam right now?
Secondly, since im studying at home i dont know what are the firms out there, where all should i apply. In short i have no guidance. Can anyone please help me?

Thirdly, what are my chances of getting an articleship ?
I will be grateful for any guidance and advice.
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Jai1

Joined: 01 Jun 2007
Posts: 43
NCA hiccups
Sun May 04, 2008 12:43 PM
Hi ameek,

I am not a person who can advise you efficiently concerning your query. But you can find the relevant information on the webpages of the big law firms such as Gowlings, Bereskin & Parr, BordenLadner Gervais, Davis, Osler, Miller Thomson etc. You can browse Careers page of the website to view requirements of the firm for hiring associats or articleship.

Since you have already received response from NCA, could you please let me know how much time NCA usually take to respond after submission of evaluation application. I am planning to apply for evaluation in next couple of months.

regards
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ameek

Joined: 30 Apr 2008
Posts: 2
NCA hiccups
Sun May 04, 2008 05:59 PM
Thanks jaideep!

NCA approximately takes 2 months for evaluating the credentials. so my suggestion would be to apply right now instead of wating for couple of months. neways, u can browse through the official NCA website, its got complete details of the entire process:

www.flsc.ca
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englishbarrister

Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 2
NCA hiccups
Fri Aug 29, 2008 01:22 AM
Hi - I have posted a similar message in another thread 'Moving to Canada'. I am looking for other people in my situation.
I plan on writing challenge exams in January 2009. Is there any one else out there who has to write the following subjects:
criminal law and procedure;
civil procedure;
evidence;
family law;
administrative law;
professional respopnsibility.
Any notes / outlines, tips or advice are welcome. are there any websites where I can get outlines or condensed noted, as i believe the exams are similar to those of the law faculty of University of Ottawa.
ps I have passed constitutional law and corporations already.
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tanushree.tiku

Joined: 13 Nov 2008
Posts: 3
NCA hiccups
Mon Jan 05, 2009 08:14 AM
has anyone given these exams already? please do let me know how many exams can one person give at a time.
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tanushree.tiku

Joined: 13 Nov 2008
Posts: 3
NCA hiccups
Mon Jan 05, 2009 08:17 AM
Also does any one have an idea whats the validity of the NCA recommendation. I am getting married this year in oct and then moving to Canada. I am an indian qualifed lawyer so I am assuming that I would need to write about 8-10 exams. Will be applying to NCA around June this year for an evaluation.

How r all of u preparing for these exams i.e how did u go about colelcting the material. I believe that the exams r open book.
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dhalc2

Joined: 10 Apr 2009
Posts: 7
NCA hiccups
Sat Apr 11, 2009 01:01 PM
Hello everyone.

I have some questions for the people who have taken NCA challenge exams:

(i) its 11 April 2009 and I am just about to submit my application to NCA. Hopefully they will respond soon regarding which challenge exams I will need to take. Do you think this will give me enough time to revise for the exams in August 2009? I have two years practising experience at a City law firm so expect I will need to take around 5 exams.

(ii) does anyone have any tips about the revision process and exam technique? It sounds like they make it very difficult for you to pass.

(iii) should I start applying for articles now? I spoke to a recruitment agency and they said to wait until I had taken the challenge exams, but I'd prefer to start sooner rather than later.

Thanks in advance!
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averma

Joined: 16 Jul 2006
Posts: 3
NCA hiccups
Sun Apr 12, 2009 01:51 AM
Hi there,

I have a foreign law degree from Australia (with no legal practice experience) and wrote 8 NCA exams and now awaiting my results.

i) On the website, they say it will take about 3 months for the NCA to assess your application so you may be okay. Your Aug 2009 exams will likely be in the first or second week of August. The number of exams will vary depending on your experience practicing. 5 seems appropriate and accurate but you never know with the NCAs.

ii) I believe as of March 1, 2009 you can challenge the number of exams - refer to their website - this will delay your potential for writing in August. With respect to exam technique, buy the books, get outlines and read them, tab them, highlight them - be mindful of how much time you will need to study for each course and get through the material and the rules regarding what materials you can bring into the exam - the guidelines are posted on the FLSA website.

iii) If you write all of your exams in August and pass them, you'll get your certificate as early as November 2009. If you intend to article immediately after, I would suggest you wait until your results before you apply. It is my understanding you cannot article without your NCA certificate. There may be an option of applying for abridgement of your articles - see the LSUC website - but there is no guarantee that the LSUC will abridge part of your articles.

Best of Luck!
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dhalc2

Joined: 10 Apr 2009
Posts: 7
NCA hiccups
Sun Apr 12, 2009 12:13 PM
Averma - many thanks for the detailed response, that's really useful. Good luck with the results! I thought it would be a bit tight applying now with the exams in August, so I'll just have to wait and see how soon FLSC revert.

Could you give me an idea about how many hours of study are required for each exam? I suppose its basically a case of reading and committing the important parts of each course textbook to memory. I was thinking of setting aside about a month just for revision, no distractions, just prior to the exams.

Additionally, are these exams the type where a lot of people walk out thinking "that was really, really hard" or were they more straightforward? I know this is subjective, but I was also considering whether it would be better to split the exams up between August and January.
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accreditassist

Joined: 13 May 2009
Posts: 1
NCA hiccups
Thu May 14, 2009 07:51 PM
I took the exams a couple of years ago and they aren't too bad, but Admin was, and based on anecdotal evidence remains, the most challenging because the exam is poorly written.

I started a website called accreditassist.com. I will print and provide all of the cases needed for the exams for a low fee if you are interested. I am a terrible web designer but the site is legit. I recommend taking the exams all at once. If you fail you can always take them again. I took the summer of 2007 off and studied full time for 4 exams, which I passed easily.
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alpha24

Joined: 25 Feb 2009
Posts: 7
NCA hiccups
Tue May 26, 2009 11:59 PM
Hello everyone,

i have a question for all those who have applied and those who are going to apply to the NCA for credentials. Have you submitted also a description of the courses taken along with your transcripts? and if yes did you just fill out the application form H or you attached along to it a document where you mentioned the courses taken and the description? i m sending my application and i m not totally sure about what it s meant by "description" of the courses taken.

thanks
c
a

looking forward a
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dhalc2

Joined: 10 Apr 2009
Posts: 7
NCA hiccups
Thu Jul 09, 2009 06:20 PM
Sorry for the delay replying, I havent been on the board for a while. You may already have the answer to this question, but I seem to remember the NCA website indicating that the course prospectus and other course information provided by your law school would be sufficient.

I know that my law school has lots of this documentation on hand going back a good few years as they have a constant stream of students who need to pass this information on to accreditation bodies.
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alpha24

Joined: 25 Feb 2009
Posts: 7
NCA hiccups
Sun Jul 26, 2009 03:44 AM
Hi everyone this is a question for those who like me plan to take the bar exam in Ontario and in State of NY.
i have a civil law law degree and last year i took the Business Law LLM for international students provided by Osgoode.
Now i m applying to the NCA however the question is once will have passed all the challenge exams by the NCA will I be eligible to write the NY Bar? and what about the California Bar?
If anybody could help me i would really appreciate it

cheers
a
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