Doing MBA as an international student is quite expensive, any associate thinking of immigrating abroad is in his/her mid twenties, doing an MBA is 2 year and then paying off the loan and the added responsibility of marriage and all. Will someone end up paying his/her student loan till at least mid 30s because of that MBA.

I have heard that its a long road and requires patience and willpower to power through it but I have also heard that firms are now more open to foreign trained lawyers than they were before. As a person who is going through the process is that true at ground level?

Secondly can you also please throw some light on whether there is a resemblance of some work life balance for associates working in law firms/ law field in general? The primary reason for considering moving to Canada is having a work life balance. For me that is, my personal time should be respected meaning, people shouldn't expect the draft reviewed and marked up and in their inbox first thing in the morning when the document was received on Friday evening/saturday. I will work on the weekend as there is work but I don't want to disturb my personal engagements all time because of it. I have started to feel that asking that much is also asking over the line at times here.

I would really appreciate if you could throw some light on the ground realties. Thank you so much for your time.

Done with the NCA exams. The NCA exams aren't the challenging part - its what comes after. The market is not keen on foreign trained lawyers. It is a long and winding road which requires immense willpower. Unless you are okay with working in a small town on a meagre income, be prepared to face a ton of rejections. Canada is great if you have transferrable skills such as an engineer, doctor or a pizza chef. For law, not so much.