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As a criminal defense lawyer in Toronto, Ontario, Otto Mok enjoys how fast paced his profession is and how all the cases in criminal law are very different from each other. While a large part of his work involves domestic disputes or drunk driving, the cases that involve drugs, gangs and especially human trafficking teach him how people really are and how to deal with them.

“You learn the process of how criminals think, internationally, beyond the Canadian borders,” explains Mok. “You learn how the counter-intelligence police use their techniques, and you have to learn all this because you have to test those techniques in court.”

After graduating Selwyn House School in Montreal, Quebec, he went on to complete his bachelor of civil law degree from the Université de Sherbrooke and bachelor of common laws at the University of Victoria.

“The biggest advantage I had from going to an independent school is that there is an expectation of you to do something and be someone,” says Mok, who is fluent in English, French and Cantonese. “Going to a private school, they push a little harder on smaller things, for example language, Selwyn House had a really, really good English program.”

"The biggest advantage I had from going to an independent school is that there is an expectation of you to do something and be someone"

Beyond all the advantages Mok experienced at independent school it was the long-lasting friendships that mattered the most.

“I really cherish my friendships I formed over the years with my classmates,” he says.