I had the opportunity recently to sit down virtually with Diana Mojica, legal counsel at the Ontario Motor Vehicle
Industry Council, to chat about her career and what led her to the world of public sector law.
Diana is originally from Mexico. In high school there, she excelled in many subjects, but particularly loved working with numbers. She had never considered becoming a lawyer until one of her teachers, a Jesuit Priest, suggested that her analytical talents would be wasted in any other profession. Diana studied civil law in Mexico for five years and after graduation practiced for five years with a real estate development company. While she loved her work, her country and its culture, she observed that life in Mexico was often fraught with danger. As a result, she eventually decided to move with her young family to Canada. Diana explained that this was a difficult decision, and one she realized might regrettably lead to sacrificing her legal career.
Arriving in Toronto, Diana was determined to adapt and reconstruct her life. One of her first goals was to improve her communication skills. After receiving disappointing results from a language assessment, she dedicated herself to perfecting her English. She studied full-time at college, while continuing to work for her previous employer in Mexico. Once she completed her studies, Diana’s focus shifted to her ultimate goal of pursuing a legal career in Toronto. Unfortunately, she learned that as Mexico was not a common law jurisdiction, it would be particularly challenging to qualify as a lawyer in Ontario. She took a two-year detour from her legal aspirations, completing a degree at the Chef’s School at George Brown College. However, following graduation, Diana set aside her culinary interests and returned to her legal pursuits. Diana credits Osgoode Hall’s LLM Canadian Common Law program for internationally-trained lawyers with reigniting her dream of practicing law again.
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