Keeping-Tabs-Summer-2023

Q. Could you describe your practice in a few sentences?
A. I am a criminal defence lawyer with a focus on racial justice. Because of my interest in systemic
issues, I specialize in criminal appeals. Most of my litigation takes place before the Ontario Court
of Appeal. I also defend clients at trial, advise complainants in sexual assault proceedings, and
represent lawyers and paralegals in disciplinary proceedings before the Law Society of Ontario.
INTERVIEW
Q. Your career trajectory is fascinating, going from practising corporate law on Bay Street
to your current practice in criminal law. Was it always your intention to practise criminal
law?
A. It was always my intention to do something social justice-oriented with my law degree, but I
didn’t initially know what that would look like in reality. In law school, I was really interested in
criminal law and employment law but there weren’t a lot of jobs available in the 2L recruit in those
areas. It wasn’t until the pandemic, when I started to do a lot of self-reflection and have conversations
with friends, family, and mentors, that I realized that criminal law was 100% what I wanted
to do.
Interview with Theresa
Donkor, Rudnicki & Company
Aly Háji, Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP
Q. Why did you become a lawyer?
A. I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since I was a kid. I don’t have any lawyers in my family and didn’t
know any lawyers growing up, but I think I’ve been interested in advocacy since even before I really
understood what the word ‘advocate’ meant.
I remember when I was nine or ten, I wrote a long and comprehensive letter to my parents on why
we should get a family dog. I guess that letter was my first ever written submission. I didn’t get the
dog, but it was the beginning of people telling me that I should be a lawyer one day and that idea
stuck with me.
Q. Why did you start your career by practicing corporate law?
A. To be honest, I kind of stumbled upon corporate law because I wasn’t brave enough to go off
the beaten path in law school, despite my interest in social justice. There was a lot of pressure in
law school to get a job during the 2L recruit and I felt like I would be a failure if I didn’t.
Jobs outside of Bay Street or government weren’t really advertised, and I didn’t want to risk not
finding a job, especially given the large amount of law school debt I had at the time. So, I ended
up applying broadly to firms in the recruit with the goal of just finding a job – any job. Ultimately, I
accepted a summer student position at a full-service corporate law firm on Bay Street, and I later
returned there as an articling student and associate.
While it may have been ideal to practise criminal law right from the beginning, I have no regrets
starting off my career in corporate law. I have a lot of great memories from my previous firm. I
met some of my closest friends there, gained a lot of excellent mentors, and received top quality
training and resources that shaped me into the lawyer I am today.
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