Rinchen Phuntsok | རིན་ཆེན་ཕུན་ཚོགས

Rinchen Phuntsok is a lawyer at Karuna Law Office. Recently called to the Ontario bar, he is the first Tibet-born Canadian lawyer, qualified to practice in both India and Canada. Having personally navigated the immigration process, he brings empathy and understanding to the clients he serves.

Rinchen Phuntsok is a lawyer with a distinctive international legal background. Born in Tibet and trained in India, he earned his Master of Laws (LL.M.) before immigrating to Canada, where he qualified as a lawyer. He is the first Tibet-born Canadian lawyer qualified to practice in more than one jurisdiction — India and Canada — a milestone that reflects his dedication, resilience, and commitment to the legal profession.

He helps clients navigate complex legal processes with clarity, confidence, and care. His personal experience going through immigration and refugee processes in Canada deeply informs his approach, allowing him to guide clients with greater genuine empathy and understanding.

He speaks English, Tibetan, and Hindi, enabling him to communicate with clients from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. He has also completed an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program in Canada, equipping him to resolve conflicts through mediation and other collaborative methods when appropriate. In India, he worked as a legal advisor for non-profit organizations.

With multicultural roots, international qualifications, and lived experience, he is committed to making legal processes clear, supportive, and as stress-free as possible for every client.