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Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/1426259
www.canadianlawyermag.com 9 Anna Malazhavaya urges young mothers not to leave the legal profession due to lack of support Can you describe your practice area? I am a tax lawyer. I help people who have problems with the CRA. I also help people who want to organize their affairs in the most tax-efficient manner, or they're buying or selling a business, or there's something that changes in their life that has tax implications. I am convinced that there is a tax aspect in everything we do in our life, unfortunately — or fortunately — but tax is everywhere. That's why I help people when everything is going well — meaning that they are making lots of money and they want to optimize their tax situation. And I also help people when everything is not going well — when CRA is after them, and they need help. Why did you choose the legal profession? I decided to become a lawyer when I was 14 or 15. But as I then started law school in Belarus... I realized that this is what I want to do. When I then had to move to Canada with my husband, I realized that I could not use my Belarusian law degree to practice law here. So, now in my mid-20s, I have had the chance to choose my profession again. I did not want to do anything else. Whatever it takes, I want to be a lawyer in Canada. That's when I applied to Osgoode, and I did my law degree here. There's a lot of resilience in your story. Tell me about when you wanted something so badly and had significant obstacles that you had to over- come to get there. The hardest two periods were when I first moved to the U.S. without speaking a word of English, with $300 in my pocket. And period number two is when I was working on Bay Street and had two babies under two. And very little help, because my entire family's back home and my husband travelled at the time. He had a consultant job that required him to travel a lot. That was a challenge that I will never forget. Both of these are life situations that are not unique to me. Any immigrant or any mother goes through them. But what I like to now say to young women lawyers is that when you think that everything's fall- ing apart and you're a horrible mother and a horrible lawyer, keep going. Your babies will not be babies forever. There will be a time when you get to sleep for five hours straight. There will be a time when you will have time to really devote yourself to your career. It won't last forever. Your career is going to last 40 years. So, plan for the 40 years. Don't be scared because a year or two, things are very hard. Ontario to expand access to translation of documents filed with courts for Francophones Changes made under the Accelerating Access to Justice Act will enable document filing in French at Ontario's courthouses and requests to translate filed documents from French into English or vice versa, effective Feb. 1, 2022. The updates, which apply to all types of proceedings, including criminal, civil and family law matters, seek to strengthen access to justice and offer an improved experience when accessing the court system for Franco- Ontarians. The changes aim to build upon the province's efforts to enhance access to justice. Erika Chamberlain, Western Law dean, reappointed to second term Erika Chamberlain, an authority on torts, impaired driving and alcohol-related civil liability, has been reappointed dean of the University of Western Ontario's law school for a second term starting on Jul. 1, 2022. Since joining the school in 2005, Chamberlain has served one term as associate dean (academic) from 2012 to 2017 and law dean since May 2017. Admitted to the Ontario bar in 2002, she received her LLB from Western Law in 2001 and her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 2009. She went on to clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada for a year. Law Foundation of Ontario invests in 17 Access to Justice Fund projects The Law Foundation of Ontario has issued grants amounting to almost $1.4 million, supported by class action cy-près awards, to 17 new Access to Justice Fund projects across Canada. Among them, most seek to assist refugees in navigating legal processes unfamiliar to them. Almost a third aim to promote culturally informed justice for Indigenous people involved with the justice system. The remaining projects support public education targeting youth, people with disabilities and self-represented litigants. Q&A Anna Malazhavaya Founder ADVOTAX LAW Fast facts: » Creator and participant of Canadian Tax Nerds » Member of the Canadian Tax Club on Clubhouse *answers have been shortened