Studying Law Around the World

This week on Studying Law Around the World, I welcomed back Tom Macintosh Zheng, co-founder of courtready.ca. Tom is a former commercial barrister in Toronto and a qualified solicitor in England and Wales. His current work focuses on building tools to help Canadians navigate the justice system and conducting research on access to justice. In this episode, we discuss the rising trend of AI-hallucin...

This week on Studying Law Around the World, we begin a new series exploring how lawyers bring their personal convictions into their legal work. I had the honor of hosting Professor Brett Scharffs, the Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University. He speaks in the show in his personal capacity. Professor Scharffs has a remarkable career spanning from...

This week on Studying Law Around the World, I had the privilege of speaking with Casper Lindholm Dam, an Associate Partner at a prominent business law firm in Copenhagen. Casper is a commercial lawyer with a deeply international mindset, advising both Danish and international companies on complex M&A, restructuring, and commercial disputes. Casper's path into law was anything but planned....

This week on Studying Law Around the World, I had the pleasure of hosting Marlene Wette, a Senior Associate at BODENHEIMER in Germany. Marlene specializes in international arbitration and cross-border litigation. She holds an LL.M. from the University of Amsterdam and has acted as counsel, tribunal secretary, and arbitrator in cases spanning from Vancouver to Dubai. In this episode, we discuss how...

In this episode of Studying Law Around the World, we make the invisible parts of the legal profession visible. Ari Mike joins the show to discuss his transition from a traditional corporate law firm in Montreal to running a fully remote, location-independent legal practice. After a pandemic layoff forced him to reevaluate his career, Ari realized that true leverage for a lawyer is not a fixed sala...

In this episode of Studying Law Around the World, we make the invisible parts of the legal profession visible. Sahil Shoor, Partner at Gowling WLG, joins the show to unpack the business of complex commercial and infrastructure disputes. Sahil shares his remarkable journey from an NCA student in Thunder Bay to an equity partner managing tier-one national projects. Law school trains you to be an adv...

In this episode of Studying Law Around the World, we make the invisible parts of the legal profession visible. Darren Smith joins the show to discuss his unique career path from design, to litigation, and ultimately to legal education at Emond Publishing. Together, we unpack why your legal career is shaped less by your credentials and far more by your ability to communicate. We break down the unsp...

This week on Studying Law Around the World, I sat down with Steven Schneider to discuss exactly how to fix this structural flaw. Steven is the CEO of TrioSEO and previously scaled a portfolio of websites to $1.4 million in annual revenue purely through search engine optimization. He explained that the most successful firms do not just attract traffic. They build systems that capture demand. Instea...

This week on Studying Law Around the World, I had the pleasure of hosting Daniele Bartoli, Managing Associate at Gatti Pavesi Bianchi Ludovici, one of Italy's premier law and tax firms. Daniele’s career is a brilliant case study in building international commercial awareness. He joined his firm just ten days after graduating from the University of Bologna and has since built a formidable pract...

This week on ⁠Studying Law Around the World Podcast⁠, I had the opportunity to speak with ⁠Greg McNab⁠, a Partner in Dentons' Corporate group and the Canada Co-chair for the firm's Mining group. Greg’s career path is a masterclass in leveraging past experience. He began his professional life as a mechanical engineer and later worked as an engineering specialist for the provincial police. H...

This week on Studying Law Around the World , I had the privilege of hosting a fascinating discussion with John-Paul Rodrigues and Justin D. Rochester . Ontario holds a truly unique position in the global legal landscape. It is one of the only jurisdictions in the world that independently licenses and regulates paralegals to provide direct legal services to the public. John-Paul is a lawyer, an awa...

This week on Studying Law Around the World , I had the pleasure of sitting down with Faren Bogach , a commercial litigator, construction law expert, and the founder of Construct Legal. Faren’s career path is a fascinating study in taking control of how you practice. She began at a boutique firm before moving to Big Law, where she built a powerhouse construction practice and became an equity partne...

This week on Studying Law Around the World , I had the pleasure of interviewing Nick Cohen . He is a practicing attorney and the Chief Operating Officer at Matador Solutions, an agency that manages digital growth for over 150 law firms nationwide. Nick grew up in a family of trial lawyers and started running his parents' firm marketing when he was just 12 years old. He eventually built Matador...

This week on Studying Law Around the World, I had the absolute honor of sitting down with Hana Dhanji, the Founder and CEO of Cognitrex Inc. Hana has built a truly extraordinary career. She began practicing law in some of the most demanding, elite environments in the world, working at firms like Sullivan & Cromwell and Hogan Lovells across New York, London, and Dubai. She later transitioned in...

This week on Studying Law Around the World , I had the privilege of hosting Albert Lin , a Partner at Northview Law and an absolute master of corporate deal making. Albert’s career is a fascinating journey across multiple disciplines. He started his professional life as a scientist researching the human immune system and cancer at Princess Margaret Hospital. He later pivoted to private equity and...

This week on Studying Law Around the World , I sat down with Rachel A. Sachs , a Filipino-German Canadian lawyer and the founder of Sachs Law Professional Corporation. Rachel has intentionally built her practice around serving older adults, a decision deeply rooted in her family history and her profound respect for the elders who shaped her life. Before opening her own firm, she navigated corporat...

This week on Studying Law Around the World, I sat down with Bianca Thomas, Senior Counsel in Technology and Operations at BMO. Bianca is a “Rising Star” in the profession. Her career spans boutique litigation, financial services partnerships at Shopify, capital markets work in the precious and base metals sector, and leading a team of legal operations professionals. We discuss transitioning betwee...

In this episode of Studying Law Around the World , I sit down with Rumyana Davidson, a Strategic Advisor and former Chief Legal Officer specializing in the global mining, metallurgy, and energy sectors. With over 15 years of experience executing billion-dollar joint ventures across the GCC, Africa, and Central Asia, Rumyana shares the unspoken rules of international market entry and cross-border d...

This week on Studying Law Around the World , I sat down with Gregory Radisic , a Canadian lawyer, PhD candidate at Bond University (Australia), and a teaching fellow at the Center for Space, Cyberspace and Data Law. Gregory’s legal practice exists quite literally out of this world. After starting his career in corporate law and national security, he found his way to the United Nations Office for O...

This week on Studying Law Around the World, I sat down with Chandler Lauzon, the Chief Growth Officer at Cassels. Chandler refers to himself as a "recovering lawyer," having practiced law at a national firm and as in-house counsel before pivoting to the business side of the profession over 20 years ago. Today, he leads the business development, marketing, and communications functions at...

Patricia Gannon built the largest law firm in the Balkans, growing it to over 200 lawyers across 8 markets. Then, she pivoted to launch a legal tech startup. In this episode, I sit down with the Founder & CEO of Platforum9 to discuss why she believes in "human-first" communication in the age of AI. We cover: The "Tom" Test: Why many law students fail the 3-minute elevator p...

This week on Studying Law Around the World , I sat down with Bindu Cudjoe , a legal executive who has held nearly every C-Suite title imaginable, General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and Chief Inclusion Officer. With over 25 years of experience at major institutions like Laurentian Bank, BMO, and Canadian Western Bank, Bindu’s career path has been anything but linear...

Hasan Mandviwalla spent 11 years in the UK legal system before returning to Pakistan to practice in a jurisdiction where enforcement is a daily challenge. In this episode, I sit down with Hasan (Partner at Mandviwalla & Zafar) to discuss why "adaptability" is the most important skill for a modern lawyer and why longevity is the only real metric of success. He shares his golden rule f...

This week on Studying Law Around the World, I sat down with Jorge Barona, an international lawyer based in Colombia who has spent the last decade supporting European Union-funded research and innovation projects. Jorge’s story is a testament to resilience. After a career setback and an injury in Colombia in 2013, he moved to France, reinvented his career, and carved out a unique niche supporting o...

In this episode, I sit down with Gary Mitchell, the founder of OnTrac Coach, who has spent over 20 years helping lawyers unlock their potential. We discuss the clash between the "Lawyer Mind" and the "Entrepreneur Mind," why perfectionism prevents freedom, and how to avoid the common burnout that hits around the 5-to-7-year mark. Gary explains his "AND Approach," show...