From Filing Cabinets to Boardrooms: My Legal Journey Home
I’ve worked in a lot of rooms.
File rooms. Mediation rooms. Boardrooms. Rooms with billion-dollar spreadsheets and rooms where the stakes were quieter but just as sacred—like deciding who would care for a child, or how to pass on the family home.
And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: law doesn’t start in the courtroom. It starts with a conversation.
I began my legal journey in private practice as a summer student in 2015. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working in some of the country’s most respected legal environments—from the complex litigation files at McQuarrie Hunter LLP, to high-net-worth estate plans at Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, to major real estate closings at Miller Thomson LLP, where I helped shepherd multimillion-dollar transactions across the finish line.
At Manulife, I stepped into a national role as a technical consultant in the Tax, Retirement & Estate Planning Group. I co-authored the Canadian Taxation of Life Insurance textbook, presented to audiences of over 300 financial professionals, and spoke on the Manulife Exchange podcast, breaking down estate law concepts in plain English. Because the best legal strategy doesn’t mean much if it can’t be understood.
And yet—none of that prepared me more than life itself.
As a child, I came to Canada from Algeria in 1991, fleeing political instability and terrorism. I learned English as my fourth language. I learned how to read a room before I could read a contract. And I learned that sometimes, speaking up—even when it’s uncomfortable—is the only thing standing between justice and silence.
That lesson followed me into adulthood—into parenting, into practice, and into Lisbon, where I chased down a purse thief through cobblestone streets on instinct alone. I noticed something was off. I acted. And I returned the purse to a girl who thought it was lost for good.
That’s the job of an advocate: to notice. To move. To not look away.
Malcolm Gladwell writes that outliers—the people who rise—aren’t just talented. They’re shaped by timing, opportunity, and access. And I believe that access is where the legal system still falters. Not in its intent, but in its reach. It was never designed for everyone to enter with equal footing.
So I’ve built my practice around that gap.
I help families navigate co-parenting agreements with dignity. I help small business owners put the right contracts in place. I help farmers, fishers, and generational landowners plan with both heart and strategy. And I prepare Wills for people who’ve been told for too long that it’s too expensive or too late.
Law, at its best, is about clarity. About helping people feel less afraid of what’s ahead because someone walked them through it—step by step, word by word.
And that’s what I do. Whether I’m drafting a Will, reviewing a lease, or explaining a tax rollover at a kitchen table, I’m not just offering legal advice. I’m building something steadier beneath your feet.
If you’ve been waiting for the right time to sort something out—start here.
