Hi Zahra, I have a set of questions to get to know you better and to learn about your unique experiences as a woman in tax law. Our intention is to give other lawyers and law students insight into potential career choices in tax law and words of advice on how to build a successful tax practice. Let’s get started.
Can you describe your career progression in tax law, including why you chose tax law or did it choose you?
When I was in law school, I thought I was going to become a corporate lawyer. I’m a first generation Canadian. My family and I immigrated to Canada from Uganda in the early 70’s. My mom worked in the home and took care of me and my three siblings. My dad did not have any “Canadian experience,” so he worked long hours at a convenience store during the day and took some accounting courses at night. He eventually acquired his own convenience store, and over time, he set up his own corporation and he and my brother went into the restaurant business. I spent my summers working in the business and learned about how a private corporation operates.
During my second year of law school, I focussed on corporate law courses but also took Canadian and US “Baby Tax” and was particularly interested in tax policy. When I began articling at Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (now Dentons Canada LLP), tax was my first rotation and I loved the work! My tax assignments were very much like law school. I would be asked to research specific terms that were often not defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) to understand their meaning in the context of the particular transaction or issue that my supervising lawyers were working on at the relevant time. I also had the opportunity to write articles and summarize cases that were incorporated into various loose-leaf and on-line publications that are still in existence today. I enjoyed our weekly tax group meetings where associates and partners would come together to discuss and debate recent tax cases, proposed legislation and recent Canada Revenue Agency views. I spent my second rotation in the business law group and also rotated through our real estate, employment and labour and litigation groups. Somehow, I managed to continue to work on tax files throughout my articling year, so I guess it was a combination of me choosing tax and tax choosing me!
Going back while you were practicing full time, can you elaborate on the focus of your tax law practice? (i.e., tax planning or litigation? Corporate tax or personal tax? International or domestic? Private equity, public company, or owner manager? Little bit of everything? etc.) If you had a pie chart, how would you apportion the slices of that pie (e.g., 30% private enterprise tax planning, 50% Mergers and acquisitions, 20% financing)?
One of the benefits of being a tax lawyer in a full-service firm is that you get to do a little bit of everything from personal to corporate tax in a broad range of industries. As a junior tax lawyer, I worked on tax planning, advisory and litigation files. My clients ranged from individuals, to public and private Canadian and international corporations. It seemed like no two days were alike. I could be applying for a section 116 certificate, working on an estate freeze, reviewing a plan of arrangement, working on a research memo about whether corporations were associated or advising on the tax implications of an executive compensation plan. I loved the diversity of work! As my career progressed, I focussed on tax planning and advisory on M&A and corporate financing transactions primarily in the mining sector.
You have made a number of transitions during your career – how did you make these choices? Were they “right place right time” moves, or did you deliberately seek them out? Do you have any advice for someone who may be thinking of making the same kind of transition?
I love private practice and the professional services firm environment. As a client-facing tax lawyer, you tend to work very closely with the corporate M&A lawyers on sophisticated transactions. While the hours are (at times) unpredictable, I found that they were flexible enough for me to juggle my family commitments because I didn’t always need to be in the office at the same time each day (unless we had scheduled meetings). Technology allowed me to always be accessible by phone or email so that I could attend my kids’ school and sporting events. I also volunteered at their school and continue to do that today.
For the first 15 years of my career, my progression was very linear and “traditional” because there were very few alternative paths in private practice. The expectation at that time was that you would begin as a student, eventually get hired back as an associate, and hopefully progress to partnership. At many firms, it was an “up or out” progression for those who were unsure or unlikely to make partner. Thankfully, law firms have evolved and are focusing more attention and resources to professional development and alternative career paths to retain exceptional talent. Throughout my journey, in addition to the practice of law, I enjoyed training, mentoring and recruiting students and junior lawyer. It was also important to me to show the next generation of legal talent that the face of law on Bay Street was changing.
Approximately five years ago, I made the bold move to continue my practice at KPMG Law LLP, a law firm that is affiliated with KPMG LLP (an accounting firm). The decision to leave a firm that I had grown up at and that I was very comfortable in was difficult, but I was excited by the opportunity to work with some exceptional senior female tax lawyers, which was something that I had not experienced before. I also knew the move would allow me to continue the mentoring, training and development of junior tax practitioners.
Over the last few years, KPMG Law LLP has experienced incredible growth in our tax litigation practice and we have expanded our service offerings to include business and employment and labour law, in addition to our tax planning, estates and trusts and immigration law practice areas. I recognized that this growth would require a stronger professional recruitment and development strategy for our legal talent, so, right in the middle of the pandemic, I put my hand up to lead this initiative. I knew that this transition would require me to give up my partner title because I would be focussing most of my energy internally, on professional development rather than external client mandates.
The decision to no longer have that “Partner” title after my name terrified me. It was something I had achieved, and this title had become a part of my identity for more than half of my career. I was concerned about what others would say or think. After some soul-searching and long discussions with my inner circle, I realized that while I enjoyed the intellectual rigour of tax and tax policy, taking on this new role would enable me to focus on something that brought me more joy because it would impact the way in which we are building and championing the next generation of diverse legal talent.
My advice to others looking to make a transition or find an alternative career path is to not get stuck on titles or levels. Look for opportunities that may sometimes be out of your depth or expertise but that will allow you to learn new skills and make the greatest impact. Be willing to try new roles (even if you think you are underqualified) and be sure to demonstrate that you are someone who has the flexibility to come out of your comfort zone and figure out something new.
What three words would you use to describe yourself?
Only three?!
- Curious
- Practical
- Problem-Solver
What advice would you give to your younger self when you started out in tax law?
Be a tax generalist and learn to master a variety of technical tax skills. Be sure to also focus on the soft practice management skills and be so great at both sets of skills so that no one would ever want to lose you. Cultivate a growth mindset and embrace coming out of your comfort zone, build relationships and connections (of women AND men) within tax and outside of tax, be active in your community and most importantly practice self-care (work-out, discover a new podcast, embrace a new hobby).
What strategies have you used, as a woman in tax law, to get ahead in your career? (e.g., how were you introduced to your first client?)
In terms of strategies that I have used as a woman in tax law – keep up with tax developments in all areas of tax even if you are not focussing on that area. Join a tax study group with seasoned and fresh tax professionals or create your own with your peers. Share your knowledge by contributing to tax publications or presentations so that you are a knowledge producer and thought leader. Volunteer with the OBA Tax section or the Canadian Tax Foundation. Find your squad or inner circle of women in tax, cultivate these relationships and stay loyal to your squad by lifting them up whenever the opportunity arises. My squad includes a core group of women in tax who started their careers around the same time as I did. Many of them are successful tax partners on Bay Street and in senior leadership positions in-house.
What was the tax community and organizational culture like 15 or 20 years ago for women? Do you feel there have been changes and if so, what are they?
I always wanted to be a lawyer. When I was in Grade 8 (which was way back in the 80s), I came across a Family Circus comic strip in the newspaper that I still have today. Dolly Keane, the young daughter from the comic, has her hands in fists that are placed on her hips and the caption reads “I don’t want to be a lady when I grow up, I want to be a lawyer.”
Reflecting on that cartoon now over 35 years later, the sentiment at that time was that in order to be a successful lawyer, you somehow had to lose your femininity or that being a woman and a lawyer cannot mutually co-exist. I think this perception has changed but female lawyers continue to face gender bias in several areas including pay equity and promotions.
When I began my career, all the tax partners in my group were white men. The female tax associates were junior. Some senior female tax associates who pre-dated me left the firm because they were not successful in making partner and there were no other avenues or opportunities available. Some female tax associates who decided not to pursue partnership left for government or in-house roles or stopped practicing tax completely.
The situation at other Bay Street firms was similar. There were very few female tax partners at most of the other Bay Street law firms and none of them looked like me! Things have improved slightly but there is certainly much more work to do, particularly for women of colour.
There is greater acknowledgement and recognition of implementing better strategies to help eliminate gender bias in law. For example, using metrics to track how work is distributed between men, women and people of colour might help organizations to evaluate if there are inequities in work allocations. Unconscious bias training is also much more prevalent in all professional services firms and many firms are investing heavily in coaching and mentoring resources to promote and retain exceptional talent.
What is an achievement you’re most proud of, that may surprise people?
My twin boys. I got pregnant when I was a senior associate. In fact, I was on maternity leave the year before my partnership year! It was the best decision I made. When I shared the news about my pregnancy with the male partners in my practice, I was very clear about my intentions to return to practice and that I wished to remain on partnership track upon my return. Having a plan and clearly communicating my intentions helped me to make a smooth return from maternity leave.
Finally, on a light hearted note what is your go-to snack? Do you have a sweet tooth, or are you more into savory treats?
I try to eat healthy and stick to lean proteins and colourful fruits and vegetables. Working from home this past year has certainly allowed me to be a little more creative with my cooking. But when I’m craving a snack or treat, I prefer sweet with a little crunch. Chocolate-covered almonds are my go-to, must-have guilty pleasure.
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