Today marks the one-year anniversary of the opening of Hirji Law Corporation. It was an interesting, challenging, and rewarding year. I had the great fortune to work with excellent clients on interesting files.
As I intended and expected, most of my work in 2014 came from small and medium sized businesses (i.e. 1 to 20 employees). I did some work for individuals, and I also did some work for larger companies and local governments.
As I also expected, the vast majority of my work involved commercial disputes. I also did a significant amount of work in relation to expropriation and surface rights, and also some construction cases.
I was in court on a regular basis, appearing in the Provincial Court, the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Surface Rights Board. I argued cases in Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops, and Dawson Creek.
In addition to client work, I had the opportunity to speak at several conferences and also to the law students of Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, which was a lot of fun.
Last, but certainly not least: When I opened my office, I hoped that I would be able to “give something back” to the community by working on a pro-bono or “low-bono” basis for clients in need. I had set a rough goal of doing about 5% of my annual work on a pro-bono basis. I’m happy to say that I was able to do that, and more. It turns out that about 8% of my work in 2014 was done on a “pro-bono” or “low-bono” basis. I hope I can continue to make a similar contribution to the community in 2015.
2015 already looks like it will be a busy year, with a number of cases on the go and some court hearings already scheduled. Bring it on!
