Tenzin Yangphel | བསྟན་འཛིན་ཡང་འཕེལ

Tenzin Yangphel serves as a Legal Assistant and Law Clerk at Karuna Law Office, supporting counsel and assisting migrants and refugees.

Born in Kharapather, Shimla, India, Tenzin completed his schooling at the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) schools—Lower TCV, TCV Selakui, and Upper TCV. During his time at Lower TCV, he served as School Captain. He earned his B.A. LL.B. from the University School of Law and Legal Studies, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), New Delhi and completed internships with Mr. Rajiv Dutta, Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India, and Mr. Siddharth Dutta, Advocate at the Delhi High Court. He also worked as a Legal Researcher at the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission in India.

Alongside his legal education, Tenzin pursued studies in the Nalanda and Tibetan monastic traditions, having earned the Nalanda Diploma and currently pursuing the Nalanda Masters course offered by Tibet House, New Delhi. He also completed a six-month intensive course in Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy at the School of Snowland Tibetan Studies.

In August 2023, Tenzin immigrated to Canada and applied for refugee status, represented by Phil Trotter, lawyer and founder of Karuna Law. Under Phil’s guidance, Tenzin began assisting at the office in March 2024 and formally joined as a Legal Assistant in August 2025. In addition to his legal work, he completed the Personal Support Worker Certificate Program and works part-time as a Personal Support Worker at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), caring for elderly and vulnerable patients.

Tenzin intends to pursue accreditation through the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA), complete the bar licensing process, and ultimately practise law in Canada.