Shelina Ali

As with many of the lawyers at Iler Campbell, my path to becoming a lawyer was not direct. I began my university education with a degree in International Development Studies, focusing on gender inequality in developing countries and continued my focus on gender equality and policy development during my Master of Arts in Public Policy and Public Administration. While my academic career provided me with very interesting experiences and a great opportunity to immerse myself in global policy, I learned that I wanted to work directly with people and effect change first hand. Law school had always been at the back of my mind and practising law seemed to offer a way to contribute to building healthy communities focused on social justice.

When I completed law school at Queen’s University, I was apprehensive about getting pulled into the “big law firm thing” and not finding a career that fit my fairly “lofty” beliefs in justice and equality.

When I interviewed at Iler Campbell I immediately noticed the passion that every member of the team brought to their work and when I was offered the opportunity to article here, I knew I had found a rare opportunity to work with a progressive and community focused law firm.

I have been with the firm as a lawyer since 2011, and have found a great passion for, of all things, corporate law and transactional work. It’s been rewarding to help our clients use and transform traditional business structures to pursue their social goals and grow their organizations. I wouldn’t have been able to develop this kind of practice anywhere else.