Canadian Lawyer InHouse

JULY/AUGUST 2018 46 INHOUSE P r o f e s s i o n a l P r o f i l e AS THE DIRECTOR, legal counsel for Choice Properties REIT in Toronto, 33-year-old commercial real estate lawyer Jennifer Asnani juggles her in-house role with her duties as the president of the South Asian Bar Association of Toronto — all while striving to promote diversity and mentorship opportunities in the legal profession. Recently, Asnani has been part of some major projects including the $6-billion ac- quisition of Canadian Real Estate Invest- ment Trust, one of Canada's oldest REITs, as well as the commercial-residential project under development at the corner of Bloor and Dundas Streets in Toronto. "You get to be this global thinker," she says. "I have a legal issue that might hit my desk and I'm problem solving on this legal issue, but I'm really thinking down the road with what it is going to mean for the opera- tions team or what it is going to mean for senior management." Her day-to-day work at Choice Properties REIT focuses on development acquisitions, but it's not solely comprised of legal tasks. Asnani says a vast portion of her day is spent making business decisions and relaying these back to senior management — a joint role, marrying business and law, that she embraces. The legal department at Choice Proper- ties REIT is small but mighty. Adam Walsh, general counsel for Choice, leads the depart- ment, to whom Asnani and another lawyer (currently on maternity leave) report. There are also two law clerks and a support staff member. Each brand owned by Loblaw Companies Limited has its own legal team, however, so there are some shared services from brand to brand that she says the de- partment at Choice sometimes leans on. When Asnani attended Osgoode Hall Law School, she didn't know what specific area of law she wanted to practise upon graduating, but she did know that she had a strong interest in the corporate world, hav- ing earned an undergraduate degree in busi- ness at Western University in London, Ont. After articling at Keel Cottrelle LLP in Toronto, Asnani decided that private prac- tice wasn't for her. She felt she was destined for an "alternative career path" that better suited her career goals and interests in busi- ness. She says that by surrounding herself with "outstanding" mentors, she was able to figure this out with their guidance. After her time at Keel Cottrelle, Asnani dove head first into an in-house role at Moxies Restaurants LP in Calgary. While studying in Hong Kong during her under- grad degree and in Switzerland during law school, she had gained the courage to leave Advocating for diversity in-house New president of SABA Toronto uses position to push for diversity internally and with external providers. BY ALEXIA KAPRALOS I have a legal issue that might hit my desk and I'm problem solving on this legal issue, but I'm really thinking down the road with what it is going to mean for the operations team or what it is going to mean for senior management. PHOTO: ALEXIA KAPRALOS

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