Based in Canada, Kaumadi Galagedara is Head of Legal and Documentation at Ardent Immigration Inc. Following her childhood ambition of helping others she says that she was one of those who found the right call a little late. We had a chat with her.

Q: Can you tell us what made you follow the legal profession – was it your childhood ambition?
I would say no, it wasn’t.
I believe I am a classic example of those who find the right call a little late. Initially I wanted to study business - to engage in a lucrative area driven by creativity. Something like marketing was what brewed in my mind. I don’t think I ever said “Lawyer” when someone asked me what I wanted to become in the future.

But my mother’s younger sister took Oaths as a Lawyer when I was about 7 - 8 years old. She, my extended family and my parents had an equal influence on my life, especially when it came to what I studied and where I studied. Thanks to them, I completed my schooling at Musaeus College, Colombo. I took part in a lot of extracurricular activities at school, especially during my Advanced Levels, including participating in debating competitions, functioning as a Senior Prefect and as the President of the Creative Circle of the school.

During this interval I realised the passion I had to help others and to stand up for others, sometimes even going beyond my capabilities. Though I started pursuing a degree in Business Administration soon after I finished schooling, I had to reconsider my career options against my qualities and capabilities. I finally decided that my call was in a profession which was more towards helping the needy - which did not confine me to a desk in a cubical. Then I decided to sit for the Law Entrance examination. From there onwards, the path was clear to me, I knew I wanted to build a practice and that I would excel at it.

Q: You have some impressive academic and professional qualifications – can you tell us about them?
I completed the three-year study period at Sri Lanka Law College and took Oaths as an Attorney - at Law in 2013. I am also licensed to practice as a Notary Public in both Sinhala and English languages, a Company Secretary and a Commissioner for Oaths. Again, during College, I functioned as the Unofficial Committee Member of the Law Students’ Union of Sri Lanka in 2011 and as the Vice President of the Law Students’ Union of Sri Lanka in 2012. Thereafter, I read for my Masters degree in International Business and Commercial Law, offered by the University of West London, UK, which I completed with a Distinction pass. After moving to Canada, I pursued the Graduate Certificate in Immigration and Citizenship Law (GDipICL), offered by Queen’s University, Ontario. This is a highly Canadian Immigration - specific academic programme, which forms the basis to sit for the Enter to Practice Exam (EPE). This exam leads to being licensed as a Regulated Immigration Consultant in Canada.

Q: Can you tell us about your work experience in Sri Lanka?
I started my early legal career as an Apprentice at the Chambers of Upul Kumarapperuma, President’s Counsel. Mr.Kumarapperuma was very much engaged in appearing for Fundamental Rights application, Writ applications, Appeals, as well as Civil and Criminal matters. So, it was a good start for me to learn and model my drafting skills. I contributed a lot through drafting various legal documents and doing legal research.

Thereafter, I functioned as a Legal Executive at Financial Services and Commercial Agencies (Private) Limited (FSCAL), a well-known Company Secretarial firm in the country. The firm operated under the guidance of late Edgar Cooray, Attorney -at - Law, a leading Commercial Lawyer, who also functioned as the Chief Executive Officer/Legal Advisor to the Sri Lanka National Arbitration Centre. The value of the learning experience with Mr. Cooray was immeasurable especially in learning to handle corporate clients and developing abilities such as picking up the smallest details and “reading between the lines.”

The exposure I got at FSCAL is quite unique, as the clientele of the firm comprised commercial giants, including Government-owned companies, BOI companies and associations. Thereafter, I practised as an Instructing Attorney as well as a Junior Counsel at the Chambers of Sumedha Mahawanniarachchi, Attorney - at - Law. This is where I specialised in Civil litigation. These opportunities helped me develop my oral advocacy skills. In addition to these experiences, I also built an extensive Notarial practice with the support of my aunt, Damayanthi Rodrigo, Attorney - at - Law and Notary Public.

My aunt and I would discuss the different deeds we are retained to execute. Every deed had something new to learn about. There were times I made mistakes, got scolded by my seniors and came across clients from different backgrounds, who were very difficult to handle. But each such experience gave me an opportunity to learn, and I eagerly grabbed it. I was able to accomplish my objective of engaging in a career where I could help others and stand up for others. I know my colleagues enjoy the same satisfaction and I am proud to be a part of the legal fraternity.

Q: What made you move to Canada and when was this?
When I completed my Masters, I had the opportunity to attend the convocation held at the University of West London. So, I opted to attend the convocation there and do a little sightseeing. Wandering in the historical streets of London was what ignited the spark in me to experience the lifestyle in a different country. So, I was looking for the best countries to migrate to and found out that Canada offered Permanent Residency for professionals. That is how I made my application for PR. Unlike at present, most processors with immigration were very punctual and I was issued with the visa within about a year’s process. I landed in Canada about three years ago.

Q: Can you tell us about the type of work you do in Canada?
In simple terms, I work in the field of immigration. I function as the Head of Legal and Documentation of Ardent Immigration Inc.. We are an immigration law firm based in Canada, and we function under the Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) license issued to Sachira Wimalaweera, Barrister and Solicitor (Alberta, Canada), Attorney -at-Law (Sri Lanka), by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), Canada.I joined Ardent as a Legal Assistant, while I was still in Sri Lanka and over the years, was promoted to the current position.

We are based in Calgary, Alberta and we also have offices in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI) and in Bambalapitiya, Colombo 03. If I am to explain my field of work a little, it is a branch of law in Canada. We mainly operate within the scope of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). During the time I have practised in the immigration field, I have realised that for most people, immigration means merely submitting a visa application. But realistically, it is far more than that.

Apart from processing various types of visas, spanning from temporary residence to permanent residence and citizenship, in between you might have to undergo different legal processes such as inadmissibility hearings, detention reviews, etc.. Even if you are retaining us to submit a visa application, there are many requirements and procedures to look into. For example, most of the clients who retain us to apply for work permits question why they are being asked to provide proof of language proficiency or proof that they have money to spend soon after they arrive in Canada once the visa is approved.

If anyone would research, these are not mentioned as a requirement in applying for a Canadian Work Permit. However, we have seen many visas being refused by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), for not submitting proof of language proficiency or proof of funds. Similarly, when it comes to filling in the forms for visa applications, you are being asked whether you have ever been arrested or convicted of any offences. Most of our clients do not understand the gravity of these simple and innocent-looking questions. In their minds, being arrested for drunken driving is a “petty offence” whereas murder and robbery are“crimes.”

But, under Canadian Immigration and Criminal laws, drunken driving could be a very serious offence, and if the IRCC comes to the knowledge of it, the client can even get indicted. Such situations give rise to inadmissibility hearings and detention reviews. That is why retaining a qualified immigration consultant is important and matters very much. It is equally important that Immigration Consultants are added to the list of people you should never lie to, alongside doctors and lawyers.

Q: What is your area of specialisation – describe it.
Well, I specialise in case planning, legal and non-legal research, drafting and documentation. Despite the type of service, a client retains us for, be it a visa application submission, detention or an inadmissibility hearing or a refugee matter, our Legal Team, Documentation Team and the Consultant, get together and always plan the case ahead of time. As a part of case planning, I am also responsible for developing and updating questionnaires and checklists for each of the visa types as well, with the support of my teams.

It is a bit of a complicated scenario, given that we provide services to any type of visa for Canada and to a few other countries, such as the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Ireland and the Northern European countries. We have a set process where the dedicated professionals in our Documentation team go through and verify the details included in clients’ documents before the Legal team starts the drafting and the form filling. Therefore, as soon as a client retains us, we make sure to go through the available details and documents and suggest to the clients what more documents we would need to make the visa application a success.

The classic example would be to inform the client of the need to submit language proficiency and/or proof that the client holds sufficient liquid funds at hand. Apart from the above, drafting documents required for visa applications, other types of hearings and refugee cases are also included in my job role. Particularly, when it comes to submitting a temporary resident visa, we get fully involved in drafting the Statements of Purpose (SOPs) as it is the singular document through which the client can communicate his or her request and the required details to the visa officers’ attention and consideration.

This also has a research component; we make sure that the information we submit in the applications is as accurate as possible.

We also do legal research, where we look into previously decided cases to develop our approaches to case planning and to support various contentions we make in the application. Legal research is a very crucial aspect when we are retained by clients who have previous refusals.

Q: Apart from working in the legal field what else are you involved in?
I own and operate a company providing residential and commercial cleaning services in Canada. As the unemployment rates increase, especially in Calgary, we look forward to providing employment opportunities, especially for those who initially arrive in Canada and are finding it difficult to secure employment.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
I expect to sit for the Enter to Practice examination soon and then become licensed as an RCIC. This is the short - term goal I have in terms of immigration. I also have plans to contribute to further development of the processes at Ardent Immigration Inc. - to constantly improve and expand the services we provide. I must note that immigration is a branch of law which constantly changes.

Q: How do the legal fields in Canada and Sri Lanka compare?

Initially, the legal systems prevailing in Canada and Sri Lanka were different from each other. For this reason, if you are a Lawyer in Sri Lanka, you cannot start practising law right after you enter Canada. You are required to sit for a qualifying exam, then follow an Articling period, and then take Oaths as a Barrister and Solicitor with a particular provincial Law Society in Canada. Another difference would be in Sri Lanka, a single set of laws apply throughout the country, in Canada, certain laws may differ depending on which province you live in. If you wish to practice law in different provinces, you must obtain separate licenses from each provincial law society. In my understanding, the Canadian legal system and processes are comparatively less complicated than in Sri Lanka.

Q: How do you spend your free time?
Frankly, I have a very tight daily schedule. I spend my daytime processing the cases and with the time difference in Sri Lanka and Canada, I must make myself available at night to attend to the questions my team members have regarding their cases as well as for client inquiries. In fact, not only myself but most of our team members are fully committed to the work they have undertaken, that is what makes Ardent stand out from the rest of the institutions providing similar services. Then, I do attend to the affairs of the cleaning company as well. So, “free time” in my life has become a scarce commodity. But, if I can spare a few hours, I love to read, listen to music, travel, watch movies and cook.
 

By Kshalini Nonis