EX-PAT LIFE
How To Find the Best Lawyer For Your Legal Concerns

When you need professional help in a foreign country, it can be hard to know where to turn. For example, let's say you want to extend your stay in Canada, and you're applying for a permanent-residence visa. It can be a long, expensive process, and it can get confusing. For advice on streamlining the search for legal help, I called Rosemary Chambers, a law clerk at the law offices of Gary Segal, a firm which handles immigration law exclusively.

Here are some points to keep in mind: A legal consultant is not a lawyer. If you are specifically looking for a lawyer, Chambers says, your first question should be "Are you an immigration lawyer?". Unlike lawyers, consultants are unregulated, which means that anyone can hang out a sign and be open for business. Chambers says, "We have had many clients contact our office due to problems encountered with consultants." Does this mean that it's necessarily a bad idea to go with a consultant? Not always - but it's a good idea to get a recommendation from someone you trust. "Consultants may offer a lower fee," Chambers notes. "However, you should ensure that they are experienced and come recommended. Clients should be aware that consultants are not regulated the way lawyers are." The person you hire should be experienced in handling cases like yours. "If you retain someone who has not handled many cases for Japanese clients," Chambers cautions, "they might not be familiar with the specific documents or forms that may be needed."

Useful questions: What type of law do you practice? How much experience do you have? Have you had many Japanese clients? A good firm will be patient and helpful, even before you hire them. Make sure whoever you're considering is willing to answer your questions and spend time with you on the phone - before you make your final selection. Are they courteous and forthcoming with information? Will they answer questions and clarify points you may not understand about the application process? You're entitled to check them out. If you find a lawyer you think you like, you can call the Law Society of Upper Canada to find out whether he or she is a member in good standing, with a specialty in immigration law. (And if you don't know how to find a lawyer, this is a good place to start: Call the Society and ask them for the names of immigration-law specialists.) If you decide on a consultant, ask friends and acquaintances about their experiences.

The Law Offices of Gary Segal can be reached at (416) 967-5400. The Law Society of Upper Canada can be reached at (416) 947-3300, during business hours.

MW

Book Review
BANANA YOSHIMOTO’S NEW ENGLISH RELEASE: AMRITA

Check out www.amazon.com for lots of Japanese novels in translation

Popular Japanese writer Banana Yoshimoto (Lizard, NP, Kitchen) abandons her usual edgy hip minimalism for a maudlin and pretentious take on death and the meaning of life as she tells the story of a young woman's search for redemption. The sorrows just keep piling up for our poor twenty-something narrator, Saku-chan. Her father died of an aneurysm when she was a child; her mother remarried and then divorced, her sister Mayu, a famous actress, suddenly died; and when Saku-chan falls down some stairs and cuts her head open, she loses her memory. This same fall, ironically, ultimately allows her to heal, though the process will be long and minutely detailed. Saku-chan lives at home with her mother, a cousin, her young half-brother Yoshio, and a woman friend of her mother's. Meanwhile, she works at a bar, has few interests, and seems content to drift through life. Working now to retrieve her memory at least gives her something to do. As Saku-chan tries to recall her past, she meets up with Ryichiro, a writer, and her sister Mayu's lover. The two sleep together, but Ryichiro is restless and often away traveling. Brother Yoshio is also having troubles of his own. He stays away from school and, when pressed, tells Saku-chan that he's subject to premonitions and disturbing dreams. Saku-chan and Yoshio grow closer: They vacation together, ponder the strange dreams they experience, and think about the meaning of life. Yoshio eventually finds acceptance at a school for autistic and special children. But it's only after a visit to the ghost-haunted island of Saipan that Saku-chan, her memory recovered, accepts her sister's death. A hurried epilogue breathlessly wraps things up as a healed Saku-chan explains that she's now ready to "flow endlessly through life."

From Kirkus Reviews -- 05/01/97

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