“I worry about whether the rule of law is going to survive”: Why these lawyers packed up their lives in North Carolina and moved to Toronto

Who: David Rudolf, 75, and Sonya Pfeiffer, 52, civil rights and criminal defence lawyers Known for: Litigating wrongful convictions Moved from: Charlotte, North Carolina, in August of 2021

Related: Trump’s Loss, Toronto’s Gain—Meet the artists, professors, scientists and other luminaries ditching the US and moving north

David Rudolf: In 2003, I defended a man named Michael Peterson in North Carolina who was accused of murdering his wife, Kathleen Peterson, in 2001. The case was the subject of a documentary series, The Staircase, which became a worldwide phenomenon when it premiered on Netflix in 2018.

Sonya Pfeiffer: At the time, I was working as a reporter for the ABC affiliate in Raleigh-Durham and was assigned the Peterson case. That’s when David and I met. After the trial ended, I took a reporting job in Boston and started law school at Chapel Hill, which kicked off three years of back-and-forth between Massachusetts and North Carolina. David and I reconnected during that time. When I graduated, I left journalism and became a public defender. David and I got married that year.

Rudolf: In the years following the trial, I pivoted my practice to focus on civil litigation and seeking compensation for those who were wrongfully convicted in the US. Sonya and I started practising law together in 2011, and she moved from criminal defence work to join me in civil work a decade or so ago.

Pfeiffer: During Trump’s first term, it was distressing to see the focus shift from high-quality storytelling and journalism to whatever would catch people’s attention—hyperbole, hosts yelling at each other and at their guests. The culture in the US became such that you couldn’t have a conversation with ­someone whose views differed from your own. I’m used to having friends with different economic and political viewpoints, but we started steering away from talking about those things at dinner to maintain friendly relations with people.

Rudolf: Covid just added to the divisiveness. It seemed like people were focused more on their own personal freedoms than on protecting other people. American governors made one inane comment after another, which made me think, I need to get out of here. The message from the Trump presidency was that it’s okay to think only of yourself. When that filters down, it empowers people to make selfish decisions.

Pfeiffer: In the summer of 2020, we started talking about the best way to raise our daughter, Zayne, who is now 14. We want her to have a sense of global citizenship—to be someone who makes the world a better place for others. We want her to have a sense not only of personal responsibility but of responsibility to other people. That was not at all the culture in the US, so we started putting out feelers. Opportunities began popping up—including co-teaching trial advocacy at the University of Toronto.

Rudolf: We connected with the Toronto law firm Brauti Thorning, which was interested in working with us. They knew the woman who runs the trial advocacy program at U of T. Sonya and I have done a lot of teaching together over the years and wanted to teach a joint course, and the program offered us the opportunity.

Pfeiffer: We don’t have rose-coloured glasses on. We understand that Canada has its issues. But moving to Toronto, a place with people from all over the world, where differences are celebrated, seemed like a great adventure. We found an immigration lawyer and applied for work permits in January of 2021.

Rudolf: We travelled back and forth between Charlotte and Toronto before officially moving here that August.

Pfeiffer: To be able to practise law in Canada, we needed to take the bar exam. But, since we were coming from outside of the country and hadn’t attended law school here, we first had to apply for an assessment from the national accreditation committee. David and I were each found to be incompetent in five areas, including criminal law. Ha! We had to take an accreditation exam for each of our areas of incompetence. I took five four-hour written exams. It was like being back in law school. I passed all five, then took the barrister and solicitor exams. In July of 2022, I was called to the bar, and I passed. David, after taking three of the competency exams, decided he was too old for all of this and bowed out.

Rudolf: We still have our practice in North Carolina, and I’m focused on that. I have an open work permit, so if something comes along here that fits my profile, I’ll take it. I consult on some high-profile cases and recently did a guest lecture at Osgoode Hall on forensics. But Sonya thinks I should get a job at Tim Hortons.

Pfeiffer: I focus on our wrongful conviction cases in the US, and I consult and strategize on complex and high-conflict cases here in Toronto. I also train and mentor young lawyers. I’ve applied for permanent residency, but who knows when or if that will come through. I would urge Canada to do the American thing and get creative with carve-outs for specific groups—like highly skilled individuals, no matter their age, or anti-Trump Americans. In terms of our long-range plans, we’re taking things day by day. We’ve felt so welcome in Canada. I work with incredible people who have become friends. There’s a collegiality within the Canadian bar, a respect for the law and for those in positions of authority within the legal system.

Rudolf: Seeing what’s happening in the US now, we’re so grateful we left when we did. This feels very different to me than past pendulum swings. There were big differences of opinions in the 1960s and ’70s with regards to the Vietnam War, but even at the height of that, there wasn’t this level of division among people with disparate upbringings and social positions. I worry about whether the rule of law is going to survive, because it’s clearly under attack.

Pfeiffer: I’m trying hard, even from here, to protect civil and human rights in the States. Through my work with the US-based National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, I’ve been focused on the executive orders targeting transgender people and the assault on the rule of law. Part of that includes drafting amicus briefs in support of law firms that have been attacked by the Trump administration. I don’t believe you can bury your head in the sand. It’s crushed me to see corporations and all sorts of institutions abandoning DEI initiatives when we know that diverse workplaces and communities make better decisions and have better outcomes. These attempts to erase history, deny humanity and terrorize vulnerable communities are heartbreaking. And if we drill down to the why, it’s tied to the fear of losing wealth and power—that harsh and exploitive capitalism upon which America was founded.