#DYK: Kate is an avid adventurer – knowing all the good spots in and around town!
Hello Heron Law Followers! My name is Katie – I’m a new lawyer at Heron Law Offices and I thought I’d take a minute to introduce myself to you all. I’m really excited to be working with Will, Candy, Xiaoyi, and Jessye (who will be introducing herself next week!) and to hopefully meet some of you lovely readers.
I’ve been at Heron Law Offices for about a week and a half now, and before I started here I worked at a non-profit organization that helps migrant workers. We did a pretty wide variety of things – work permit applications, permanent residency for workers, H&C applications, temporary resident permits, misrepresentation letters, the whole gambit – and I’m looking forward to bringing my temporary foreign worker experience to a new firm. I’m super passionate about migrant labour law, and will be focusing my practice primarily on helping temporary foreign workers navigate the immigration system. With that being said, I’m also a big fan of immigration law more generally, and more than happy to step outside my little practice area to assist with other matters as well.
The big question I always get when I tell people I’m an immigration lawyers is “how did you decide that’s what you wanted to do?” or simply “why?”. It’s a fair question, one that I often ask other lawyers who work in other areas. To make things simple, I thought I would save you the trouble of asking and lay it all out here! I did my undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia and majored in political science. During my degree, I found I was writing a lot about labour migration, people moving to different countries to work and support their families. I also wrote a number of papers about the mistreatment of migrant workers that is so pervasive across the globe. At the time I hadn’t really realized that this was an area of law that I could practice in – it was just something I felt strongly about and felt the urge to write about.
When I started my law degree at the University of Victoria, I learned about immigration law, and was fortunate enough to listen to a panel where one of the speakers talked about her experience working as a migrant labour lawyer. It sounded so fascinating, and was exactly what I hadn’t realized I was looking for. I then began volunteering with the migrant labour law organization I would eventually article at, and now here I am!
It’s been quite the journey over the past 10 years, trying to figure out what I wanted to do and getting through two degrees to finally be able to practice law in an area I’m passionate about. Dealing with immigration matters can be incredibly stressful, and I know coming to see me with an immigration issue might not be the most fun way to meet. However, I am here to support you as best as I can, walk you through this often complicated system, and work through your immigration issues with you.
Thank you so much for the welcome, I’m very excited to be here! I will likely be coming back with more blog posts in the next little while, so instead of goodbye I’ll leave you with a see you soon!
