Legal Bites - Jasmine Somal

Our team of lawyers have diverse backgrounds coming from all parts of the country.  Having extensive knowledge of the law, they are helping people with their legal needs.

Associate Jasmine Somal was born and raised here in the Okanagan and has stayed local. She attended UBC Okanagan before traveling to TRU in Kamloops to complete her law degree. She is one of the newest lawyers to FH&P and is beginning to build her law practice in business, immigration, real estate and wills.

We find out a little bit more about Jasmine in this “Legal Bites” Q & A:

Tell us a little about your practice.

My practice areas include immigration law, real estate/property law, corporate/commercial law, in addition to wills & estates law. Coming from a local family farming business, I understand how important it is to run a business as efficiently and effectively as possible. That’s why I enjoy assisting my clients with all their business needs. I also enjoy assisting clients with real estate to better help them understand the steps that are involved in the process of buying or selling property. Immigration to Canada can also often seem like a daunting task which is why I also focus on helping individuals and businesses navigate the Canadian Immigration processes and assist them with any of their immigration needs.  These include but are not limited to spousal sponsorships, Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) and permanent residency applications.

Why did you go to law school? 

Being a first generation Canadian, I chose to attend law school because from a very young age. I realized that individuals, especially individuals new to Canada struggled with learning a new language and could be taken advantage of or otherwise disadvantaged because of language barriers. I also noticed that these individuals often struggled seeking legal representation, especially in the Okanagan because of the limited availability of lawyers who speak second languages. I am fluent in both Punjabi and Hindi and I hope that I can use my language skills to provide more equal access to individuals and businesses seeking legal services within the Okanagan that require such accommodations.

How did you get to where you are today other than hard work? Design? Chance? Both? 

Maybe a little bit of each! The journey to becoming a lawyer was definitely a long one, you have to keep striving until you cross the finish line. So, to answer your question, it’s definitely hard  work and design more than luck.

What is your most significant achievement so far? What are you proud of? 

I don’t believe I have had a significant achievement so far…but I do feel a sense of accomplishment when I visit my parents’ orchards and see what they have accomplished over the years of hard work, and I often reflect on my siblings and my contributions to it. I aspire to work as hard as my parents are they were my first mentors. I also feel a sense of accomplishment when I can successfully assist a client and help them resolve a legal issue.  That is why I became a lawyer.

What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for young people in law? 

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic I recall many young people struggling to find legal opportunities. However, looking back, we can see that there has been immense change in how the legal profession has incorporated the use of technology and increased access to justice by creating more legal opportunities to become available to young people. That’s why I believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has made even more opportunities available to young people in the legal field, allowing them to diversify their legal practices and move away from the traditional practice of law, which is a huge advancement in the legal profession generally.

What advice would you give a young person entering law school now that you’ve been through it? 

Have fun and make good friends! You really depend on those friendships made during law school for the rest of your career. Also, law school does not actually teach you how to be a lawyer, but what it does teach you is the importance of learning and conceptualizing legal problems efficiently. Since the law is always changing, it’s crucial to keep up with the changes.