Afshin Yazdani for over 20 years and obtained multiple degrees in the field. In what ways did your practice change when you moved from Iran to Canada? Well, I moved from Dubai to Canada – Dubai was the second stop of my journey. Canada was a fresh start for me. I had to study law again and it took six years to get back to the field. I started from the scratch, but I used all my international experience to make it work. It was easy to figure out that there were many people like me who wanted Please tell us a little about your journey into law. When did you first decide to pursue a career as a lawyer? I decided to be a lawyer at age 16, then studied hard to pass the law school entry exam. There was not much support, as I lost my father and later my mother. I got my Bachelor’s degree in Law at age 22, then continued my education and obtained a Master’s degree in Law. Around age 24, I passed the bar exam in Iran when I was working at law schools as an instructor. Around age 28, I got married and moved to the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and started my career as a legal consultant and university instructor there until I immigrated to Canada with my wife in 2012. My journey into law is continuing and has never stopped. In all, I studied law My Legal Life The Life of an International Immigration Lawyer Afshin Yazdani is a Toronto-based immigration lawyer whose career has taken him across the world and demanded multiple fresh starts. His experience in North America and the Middle East has given him a wealth of insights on immigration law, which he shares with us in this feature. Below, Afshin imparts his unique perspective on this sector and on what less experienced lawyers can do to emulate his success. 26 LAWYERMONTHLYDECEMBER 2022
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