No Detail Is Too Small: Thamar Abdu

Thamar Abdu of Thamar Bilingual Legal Services Ontario provides legal services in both French and English. After becoming a licensed paralegal in April 2018, Thamar started her practice in May 2018. She focuses on Small Claims Court matters and commercial litigation, such as a contract dispute between two businesses or between a business and an individual, as well as Landlord and Tenant issues. Her true love, though, is anything to do with contracts: going through the terms, finding the defects, examining the details. 

Background

Up until three years ago, Thamar lived and worked in Quebec. She spent many years working in the financial industry before working for the government of Quebec. Both of these jobs played a role in where she has ended up today. 

Her first encounter with the law as an employment opportunity was when she was asked to fill in for a colleague in the legal department of her employer’s company. To her delight, during her training she discovered an aptitude for law, understanding the concepts and aspects quite easily. As she did not have a legal education at the time, it remained a delightful discovery about herself, nothing more.

A few years later, Thamar was working for the Quebec government in a job that required her to know governmental procedure quite well and be very familiar with the law that intersected with her work. When her uncle visited from Ontario, she accompanied him to court on a minor matter, both for moral support and because she was familiar with the structure of a governmental/legal organization. Her uncle, seeing how much she enjoyed the visit to the Quebec courthouse, told her that in Ontario she could go back to school and become a licensed paralegal and provide legal services to the public.

At this point, a yearning for a new challenge had been quietly residing in the back of her mind for some time, specifically a chance to start her own business. But Thamar is not a person who works with her hands and so was not sure what her business would focus on. With no focus or outlet, the desire for her own business remained an idea.  When her uncle told her about the paralegal educational opportunity, her dream came into laser sharp focus. Within a month she had resigned from her job in Quebec and enrolled in a paralegal education program in Ontario. Although it was scary and daunting to leave behind an established life as well as a secure and well-paying job, Thamar was also excited to be setting out on a new challenge, a challenge that she relished. She’s never looked back.

Puzzle Pieces

Thamar loves examining details, investigating terms, searching for information and uncovering facts. Every case is made up of thousands of tiny pieces and she enjoys putting them together to see the big picture. In another life, she might have been an investigator. As a paralegal, her passion for facts and details help her to understand each case fully. She examines every facet of a case thoroughly, looking for anything that might help or hinder her client. Although this level of detail might be daunting to some, Thamar thrives on it. She uses her drive to understand everything to her advantage, to enable her to grasp the situation a client might be facing and examine and present each possible outcome. She never underestimates the value of one detail. Although this passion for detail may cause frustration, it can also have the benefit of finding that one piece of the puzzle that changes the perspective of an entire case.

Although she is still building experience and her practice is young, she doesn’t let her newness stop or intimidate her. She throws her heart and soul into preparing for every case.  All doubts and inexperience can be overcome with preparation and knowledge, she says. When asked how this translates to helping her clients, Thamar says that she is very thorough and outlines all possible outcomes that may arise. Her goal, she says, is not winning per se, but getting the best possible outcome in the circumstances for her client – be that money, an order from the judge or something else entirely.

Wolf Law Chambers

Choosing Wolf Law Chambers as the home for her practice is another decision Thamar has no regrets over. When she first started as a licensed paralegal, she worked out of a home office for a year but found it to be lonely work. She realized she needed to have other professionals around to talk about work, get opinions, brainstorm, get advice or even just to have a quick chat about coffee. Wolf Law Chambers provided this as it is a community of legal professionals. “It feels like a family,” she says. She found that her productivity soared when she was around other professionals and as an added boost, Wolf Law Chambers is more convenient for her practice. There’s a professional space readily available to meet clients, the boardroom, and if a client has problems in other areas of law, there are other legal professionals just outside her door who could help.

One of the benefits from starting her own business that Thamar enjoys is the freedom she’s gained to structure her day. As an early riser, Thamar long ago discovered her most productive hours were early in the morning. Once, those hours were needed to prep to get to the office for 9. Now that she runs her own practice, she can use those hours more effectively and efficiently because she can work from anywhere.

Although starting her own business has been challenging, Thamar focuses on the positive. She took the leap of faith to open her own business and pursue her love of law and details and contracts; what someone else may find tedious, Thamar finds fascinating.

Thamar and her eye for detail is ready to help you with your contract issues.

Determination and Perseverance Always: Gideon McMaster

Gideon McMaster of McMaster Law practices in the areas of criminal defense, civil litigation and commercial law. He was admitted to the bar in Trinidad and Tobago in 2012 and upon moving to Canada in 2017, started the accreditation process to be a licensed legal professional. Gideon has now been a Foreign Legal Consultant in Ontario since May 2017. He currently maintains his practice in Trinidad & Tobago, separate from his practice here in Ontario, which is new and growing quickly. 

Gideon is grateful for the experience he gained in Trinidad and Tobago that shaped him into the lawyer he is today and where he has been involved in numerous high-profile cases. He values being licensed to practice both there and in Ontario and believes that both jurisdictions continue to develop him as a lawyer in their own unique ways. Gideon is inspired by top litigators who win difficult cases, especially those in which it seemed all hope had been lost. 

The Choice to Become a Lawyer

Gideon’s choice to become a lawyer gradually formed from several factors. Since childhood Gideon has been outspoken, independently minded and passionate about the things in which he believes. Gideon’s interest in law as a career path developed through his association with persons involved in law and politics during his adolescence, including close friends of his family. His home is well known by relatives as a battleground for political debates. Gideon viewed the legal profession as a viable avenue through which he could generate positive changes in his environment. On the business side of things, he saw his parents build a very successful business from the ground up. Watching them, Gideon recognized that all success and failure would come through his own grit and determination. He understood that these qualities would also bring fulfillment in his life’s work.

Philosophy

Gideon sees his philosophy of life as consistently working towards being an agent of positive change in any environment he is in. He believes that determination, grit and a burning desire to succeed even when the odds are against you are the hallmarks of most successful individuals irrespective of profession. That’s the kind of lawyer Gideon desires to be.

The Mark of a Good Lawyer

Litigating is a superb career choice for people who like to argue, and Gideon thrives on arguing! While this might lead to difficulty in other professions, it is an excellent asset for litigators. It is the job of the litigator to argue for his client’s rights and it is one of Gideon’s goals to become a top litigator in the province. Litigating is not about winning – even though a love of arguing implies a love of winning. While Gideon loves competition, it is simply not the most important thing to him. He commented that winning is simply expected of lawyers, a by-product of their true purpose to fulfill their civic duty. 

He freely admits that while winning has its benefits, he feels that making litigation about winning is not a true test of a lawyer’s skill or aptitude since there are many factors that may skew the results and make them look positive: choosing only “winnable” cases, getting a sympathetic judge, or having at one’s disposal considerably more favourable evidence. Because of these factors, Gideon believes that what makes a good lawyer is skill, not necessarily the lawyer’s record of wins. 

To him, being a top litigator is more about honing his skill and doing the job with excellence and perseverance. It is about helping the people who come to him with the very best of his ability – this is Gideon’s passion.

Gideon describes a good lawyer as a person who:

  • Understands the importance of the client and their obligation to them,
  • Understands that in many instances people come to lawyers at the worst points in their lives, and,
  • Shows compassion to those seeking out their services. Of course, every lawyer needs to have paying clients in order to make a living but Gideon believes there are times that a lawyer may need to take on a case pro bono, and he has personally found much fulfillment in doing so. 

He has been fortunate to have won the vast majority of his cases, but he refuses to put a number to his win ratio. He attributes it to good trials and good luck together. Instead Gideon prefers to focus on his passion to help people who are in need of a skilled litigator.

Choosing Wolf Law Chambers

Gideon is excited to be a part of Wolf Law Chambers and the benefits it brings to his practice.  Since he doesn’t need to worry about administrative details such as internet, phone bills or going to the post office – it’s all taken care of in-house – this allows much more time to be focused on his case load. Gideon chose Wolf Law Chambers because of its structural similarity to the law chambers model which exists in Britain and the Caribbean, where he was trained. He also practices in a law chambers in Trinidad & Tobago. Gideon is attracted to the idea of lawyers working in close proximity to one another as it fosters an environment in which lawyers can bounce ideas off one other, work collaboratively, have an intellectual exchange, and have the opportunity to learn and help one another.

Gideon is a very determined, goal-oriented lawyer. His belief that there is always room for growth inspires him to continue striving for excellence as he builds up his practice in Ontario and continues to hone his advocacy skills. His love of arguing and his sincere desire to help his client get everything they deserve make him a valuable addition to Wolf Law Chambers. Gideon never gives up… just like his favourite soccer team.

Gideon is an avid supporter of Manchester United. Attending Law School in Manchester, UK, gave Gideon plenty of time to observe the team’s story and philosophy of sheer determination and doggedness; to see them as a team that never says ‘die’ and fights to the bitter end. He believes that this is consistent with his own outlook and philosophy of life. Gideon is also an amateur soccer player and plays in the Burlington Soccer League with Squire FC.

If you have any legal matters pertaining to criminal defense, civil litigation or commercial law, feel free to contact Gideon for a consultation.