1. How did you get started as an immigration lawyer? What are your primary areas of immigration practice? 
My interest in immigration law started when I was doing my Master’s degree. I wrote my thesis on the Safe Third Country Agreement. I then worked at the Immigration and Refugee Board, before going to law school. Two years after getting called to the Ontario Bar, I started working as Counsel at the Department of Justice, where I worked for over six years before co-founding a boutique immigration firm in Toronto. At Rashid Urosevic LLP, our primary areas of immigration law consist of temporary resident applications, economic immigration, including express entry, provincial nominations and LMIAs. We also do family sponsorships and Federal Court litigation.
2. What motivated you to join the OBA Citizenship & Immigration Law Section Executive?
One of our motivations for joining the Canadian Bar Association was to have access to the Listserv, which is a great resource to keep up-to-date on changes to immigration and citizenship programs as well as to know what issues other practitioners are experiencing and how others are dealing with them. I decided to get involved with the OBA Citizenship & Immigration section executive to expand my network and get involved in addressing some of the issues faced by fellow practitioners in Ontario. I currently hold the position of Secretary on the executive. For the two previous years, I was one of two CPD Liaisons. I enjoyed identifying relevant topics/issues to build CPD programs around to keep Ontario practitioners informed and up to date.
3. What do you enjoy most about practicing immigration law?
First, I am happy to be practicing with an amazing business partner, Jelena Urosevic. Together we built our thriving practice from nothing. We left the Department of Justice with no clients and could not start building a client base until day one of opening the firm.
Second, I am fortunate to have worked at the Department of Justice in the early years of my legal career. There, I worked with a great group of people and received excellent mentoring and the opportunities to develop my written and oral advocacy. As hard as it was to leave the DOJ, I was ready for a change. I wanted to provide top-notch immigration services.
Third, as an immigrant myself, whose immediate family immigrated to Canada in stages, I am acutely aware that the decision to move to a new country is not a decision made lightly. It brings me joy to know that I played a role in helping someone/an employer fulfil their immigration needs.
4. What do you find to be the biggest challenges for immigration lawyers?
It is becoming increasingly difficult to advise clients with reliable, cost-effective options due to the unpredictability of government action/inaction, extremely long wait times to receive a decision on an application, and technology issues.
Client services are impacted by our inability to communicate with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and receive answers in a timely manner. There’s a lot of uncertainty around communicating with IRCC via Webform. Oftentimes, the email response from IRCC is non-responsive to the reason the Webform was sent and/or no response is received and we are left to wonder when/if documents made it to a file. Also, the delays in receiving decisions from IRCC and in receiving responses to ATIP requests add to the frustration clients and practitioners are feeling regarding their interactions with IRCC over the last couple of years. These frustrations are heightened by the fact that the government is increasingly relying on technology (i.e., portals) that cannot withstand the demand on the system and is not very user-friendly. For instance, IRCC “lost” an online permanent resident application that was submitted in the early days of the PR portal. It took months and the engagement of the client’s Member of Parliament to sort out the issue.
5. Do you have any practical tips for those who are interested in practicing in your field?
Tips I might offer would depend on how one wants to practice immigration law. If you are going to be self-employed and are just starting out, I would suggest keeping your overhead as low as possible for as long as possible while you build your client base. If you are going to work in a firm environment, find a firm that has a culture that you are going to be comfortable with because that will make a huge difference in your quality of life. If you are switching practice areas or if you are a relatively new call and want mentorship, make sure you are going into an environment where you are going to get it. You need to know what you are looking for and ask yourself whether you will get it where you are going.
A piece of advice I received when doing my research to move to private practice was to not feel pressured to take every file that comes through the door. It's ok to be selective about the files that you take on and the people that you work with. You don’t have to have someone as a client just because they want you as a lawyer. Sometimes, working with a problematic client can be more stressful than it’s worth when it comes to the monetary bottom line versus your quality of life.
Last but not least, make sure you have a good network of people around you, particularly if you are new to immigration law. It helps to have people you can reach out to when you have questions that are file or business-related. Law school does not teach us how to run a business. When I was in the planning stage of returning to private practice, I reached out to people in my network who were sole practitioners or partners in small to mid-sized firms to get their input and ideas on how they do it. From there, I figured out what would work for me. There are Facebook and WhatsApp groups and the CBA Listserv that you can join. You can even set up your own group. Having a good network provides you with supportive colleagues, lets you know you’re not out there alone, and can be a referral source.
6. Please tell us about one thing that people would be surprised to learn about you.
I love to travel and take the opportunity to go to new places, try new things, and experience how people live in other parts of the world. I have travelled to over 50 countries so far. I am off to South Korea and Japan in a couple of weeks and in May, I am going to Croatia. I find trip planning a good de-stressor. It helps to have something to look forward to on those days when I get a nonsensical decision from IRCC 😊
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