Mohsin Rashdi, 80, decided to complete eight courses and write the bar exam in Canada to become a lawyer after immigrating from Pakistan with his family and spending more than 30 years away from the profession.
BARRIE -- Mohsin Rashdi says once you’re a lawyer, you’re always a lawyer. That’s the attitude he maintained when he decided to return to school and write the bar exam in Canada after more than 30 years away from the profession in his home country.
“I was not able to get that kind of job, so I took up whatever became available,” he told CTVNews.ca.“It was a job that provided me a desk and a chair, so it wasn’t that bad,” he said. Rashdi’s son, Baqa Rashdi, told CTVNews.ca that at that time, the courses were too expensive, so his father put that aside and focused on supporting the family instead.“I wanted to be a lawyer and nothing else,” he explained. “My father was a lawyer, my brother was a lawyer and my son is a lawyer. It’s the only thing I had to do.”So, after a 35-year gap; after his children were grown and he was well into his 70s, Rashdi decided to return to school and complete the eight courses.
“When I opened up the book I didn’t understand anything,” he continued. “I was not in that frame of mind.” “I do believe people need to be trained just to work in the system here,” he said. “Even though they may have knowledge somewhere else but you know our decisions, they impact people’s lives so it’s important that we know what we’re doing.”