Growing up, I was one of those kids who always planned to become a lawyer. I studied commerce at Queen’s University in Kingston and then entered Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, graduating in 2007. While at law school I opted for a varied course load and took classes in many different areas of law including criminal, constitutional, business, tax, estates, trusts, real estate and administrative law.
After articling for a criminal lawyer, I decided to open my own practice. Doing this gave me the freedom to decide for myself what I wanted to practice and what cases I wanted to take on. I also wanted to be my own boss and put some of my business skills to good use. While my main practice area right now is criminal law, I am constantly evolving the practice and searching out new ways of managing the office and serving my clients. I would also be pleased to consult with students thinking of opening up their own practice as well as lawyers considering making the transition.
Outside the law, one of my greatest experiences was attending the entire Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. While I’m a big sports fan (Joe Carter’s home run feels like yesterday), the Olympics have always been a passion of mine. There was no way I wasn’t going to be in Vancouver to celebrate Canada’s moment. This trip involved a volunteer position in the Olympic village, a small apartment in Vancouver’s Yaletown, but perhaps most notably the opportunity to see seven Canadian gold medals (yes, including hockey gold) live and in-person – literally every event I went to where a medal was awarded yielded a Canadian gold.
Professionally, I pride myself on open communication and being forthright with clients during all steps of the legal process. Having to hire a lawyer can be extremely stressful, both emotionally and financially, and I do my best to ease this stress through being readily available by telephone and email as well as offering payment plans. I also endeavour to keep myself up to date on any changes in the law.
Recently I have become more involved with social media. I frequently contribute to the criminal law blog section of this site, and I can also be found on Twitter (@aglawoffice). Please feel free to follow me to learn more about my practice and my thoughts on various issues.
