Farukh Bhatti graduated with an LLB (Hons) in Law at BCU in 2015. Hailing from Toronto, this was his second degree and provided an alternative path into a career in law outside of the hyper-competition for the limited number of places for law school in Canada. Since leaving BCU, he has passed the exams and articling period needed to be called to the bar in Ontario and has set up his own law firm that is going from strength to strength.
Choosing BCU: a strategic and cultural decision
“I’d wanted to be a lawyer for almost as long as I can remember, probably since the age of 7, and realising that you could study abroad as a route into this was really appealing. The competition is so severe in Canada, I already knew it was going to be tough to do law at grad school at home. I started to consider alternatives and looking into going to law school abroad.
“I did my research and found which places were the ‘go-to’ for Canadian students and purposely chose one that wasn’t the ‘go-to’! I wasn’t going to go halfway across the world to just hang out with a bunch of Canadians; I could do that at home! I wanted to meet people from other parts of the world and to be a little out of my comfort zone. That's how I came to BCU and it's a decision I've never regretted.
My time at BCU
“At BCU I met Professor Sarah Cooper, and she had such a huge influence on my involvement and success at BCU, and the love I have for the experience I had. Things just clicked. She's a great professor, an incredible academic and I really enjoyed her teaching style. I also remember Ewan Kirk, who is a wonderful professor and human being. The staff at BCU didn’t treat me like I was just a dollar sign or a student number. I was held accountable for not coming to class and the professors cared about your success. They would work with you on how you could improve your grades.
“During my second year I got involved in the Mooting Society and was President in my final year. We had a tournament that we won against Cambridge in the final round. That was cool and then that led to the opportunity of doing some research to help Sarah Cooper write a textbook, Preparing to Moot, with Routledge, which was truly a privilege to be part of.
“Socially, I enjoyed the Christmas Law Ball. I don't remember much of it, if I'm honest with you, but I never missed it! It wasn’t like my undergraduate years though; I was a bit more mature and able to say no to going out sometimes! So, while I did enjoy quite a few pub crawls, I’d also happily sit in the library for hours and read something mundane and enjoy doing it because I was at BCU for a purpose.
“To me, studying in the UK at BCU was the best thing ever. The experience enabled me to leave the nest and experience the world on my own without my family support system. I think that's important for anyone if they want to understand what is to be an adult in this world. I credit BCU for all of that. For me, Birmingham is a second home. I have friends to this day that I keep in touch with and we’re very close. We have regular video calls as a group, which is nice.
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Back home in Canada
“In the UK you can do a course to be either a solicitor or barrister and then you do your training contract or pupillage to be one or the other. In Canada, though, it’s both; I'm a barrister and a solicitor. I had to write my bar exam, which consists of a barrister exam and solicitor exam, pass them, and then do 10 months of articling under a senior lawyer (similar to a training contract), according to the policies of the Law Society of Ontario. Only then could I get signed off and called to the bar. Things have changed in Canada over the last ten years, and you will find people with law degrees from the UK in senior positions at big law firms but, at the time, there was a lot more suspicion of UK law degrees, so I knew it was going to be tough when I returned home. I didn't know it was going to be that tough to find someone willing to give me a shot.
“Then I heard about an employment agency that catered specifically to law firms. They were hiring people for a boutique immigration firm that had just merged with Deloitte and had so much work that they were extremely backlogged. I called the contact, interviewed with the partner, and the rest is history. They brought me in on a temporary contract as a legal assistant. The managing partner took a liking to me because I was putting in so many hours my billables were through the roof! I was there for about five years in the end. I articled and got called to the bar. Eventually, the senior leadership changed, and I wasn’t as happy there, so I left and started my own practice.
“Here I am, five years later, and I’ve never looked back. The real estate market at that time was erupting so I jumped right into that. I had friends who were mortgage brokers and realtors and that really helped, sending work my way. I now have a conveyancing clerk and a litigation clerk. I'm quite busy and I'm growing – and it's all because of encouragement I've had, lessons I've learned at BCU and my drive to be the best that I can be.
The future
“As for the future, they say it takes 10 years to become an overnight success. I'm in my fifth year of my firm. I've grown leaps and bounds both personally and professionally. The goal is to grow this firm into a well-oiled machine where I don't need to be here all the time because I have the aspiration to teach one day. I’d love that to be at BCU at some point if that opportunity ever arises. If it's not at BCU, then somewhere else. Certain people have this ability to connect with students, like Sarah Cooper and Ewan Kirk did with me. They’re people I respect so much. They've had a huge influence and impact on my career and where I am today, so I’d love to be able to give that back to other people.”