Women Leading in Law: Amee Sandhu

Welcome back to the Women Leading in Law blog series. Today we are privileged to learn from Amee Sandhu founder of the law firm Lex Integra. I first met Amee at a women lawyers event and enjoyed running into her at various events over the next few years. Eventually we joined the same business book club together. Amee has lots of great advice to share and has an interesting journey through law:

1. Tell me a little about your practice or business.

I have been a lawyer for almost 21 years. I was called in Ontario in 2000.

After a long career in-house, and a few years on Toronto’s Bay Street before that, I started my own practice about 15 months ago.  I have also started teaching business law to undergrads, and mentoring with the Law Practice Program at Ryerson University
 
I went through a re-structuring at my last employer and decided that I would start my own practice.  My mother, a small business woman, had been asking me since I was called to the bar  why I did not have my own law firm.  It only took 20 years!  I felt that this would give me more control over my schedule and allow me to be more present with my kids.    We can have a separate discussion about whether my kids agree that this has worked!
 
My firm is called Lex Integra.  I am a solo-preneur. I exclusively practice in the areas of business law and corporate ethics.   
 
My clients range from other law firms, tech start-ups/ scale-ups, women-preneur businesses, TSX/ NYSE stock exchange listed companies, crown corporations, and professional firms (eg. accounting, architecture, law).
 
I help my clients mainly in these 4 areas: 

1. Ethics advisory (eg, implementing compliance programs, anti-corruption programs, ethics trainings, conflicts of interest, etc).
2. Negotiating &drafting  commercial agreements
3. General business law advisory (eg. general counsel type of work)
4. Corporate work (eg. shareholder agreements, resolutions, incorporations, etc)

 
2. Why did you go to law school?

I went to McGill Law.  I went for a few related reasons.   In my law school application, I focused on how I wanted to use my skills and degree to help others.
 
My father had succeeded in persuading me (after decades of trying!) by explaining that law was a career where I could change my career direction every few years. He was so right about this!
 
It was actually while I was in graduate school doing my Master of Arts that I realised my original career idea of being an academic was not a good fit for me; I wanted to work with others. 
 
From my family point of view, knowing how much my parents sacrificed as immigrants, and how their education plans were thwarted, I wanted to do it for them as well.
 
My dad was on track to being one of the youngest professors of econometrics at his university in India.  His move to Canada changed that career path for him. As still happens to many people today, so many decades later, my father’s university credentials were not recognized in Canada.  He gained admission to McMaster University to earn his Canadian credentials, but by that point, I was on the way and so he had to find work instead.
 
My mother was the first female in her village in Punjab to go to high school. To do that, she had to leave her village and stay with another family in a bigger, nearby town.  This was due to the modernizing vision of my Nana (maternal grandfather) who was the Lambardar of their village and an elected Sarpanch as well.  Had my mother’s family not immigrated to Canada, I am sure she would have been gone on to university in India.  But instead, my mother and her whole extended family migrated to the UK and then later to Canada.  This made it hard for the young generation of her family at that time to continue their education in a traditional sense.
 
You could say I partly pursued my profession because of all of them and what they gave up for our generation.
 
My parents always valued education above all else.  As a 10-year-old child, while we were not well-off, I knew I would go to university.  I actually thought it was mandatory for all children, considering how my parents always talked to us about it.
 
3. How did you get to where you are today? Design? Chance? Both?

Definitely chance.  And by seeing change as an opportunity, as opposed to a threat.
 
I always did a “gut check” to see if I was happy or satisfied in my work.  Unfortunately, sometimes it took me too long to recognize if I was not.

I have been happiest when I can connect my daily work with a broader purpose.
 
When I followed a career path that was based on my values, interests, mentoring, where I had some control over my working conditions and ability to grow and learn, I was and am happiest. Also, respect for those I work with is key.  
 
Once I made peace with the fact that I was not going to follow the “typical” career path, I was much more content.   
 
I articled at a prestigious large law firm, now called Borden Ladner Gervais. I did not get hired back (that year only about 50% were hired back); I still have great relationships with many I met during that time. I went on to learn a tremendous amount as a young associate at an excellent mid-sized firm with top-notch lawyers.  The next  big move I made was to go in-house.  As a  3rd year associate, I went from Minden Gross LLP to work in the Canadian nuclear industry at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.  I am almost 50 years old now, but if I need advice, I still call my former AECL or Minden Gross mentors, who are mostly enjoying their well-earned retirements now.
 
Once in-house, I was given two amazing opportunities to grow.  Each involved leaving the legal department: First, a secondment to the head of commercial operations at AECL, and then years later to become an integrity officer at SNC-Lavalin in the newly created ethics and compliance department.  I could write books about what these two experiences were like in terms of the professional learning and growth.  Each move ended up lasting 5-6 years.
 
I jumped at each chance, because I knew that I was going to learn from some of the best and brightest people in the world.  If I hesitated, it was because I worried about the impact on my legal career – but I figured I would cross that bridge when I came to it.  But in the end, it made me a better lawyer, because the new roles took me into business operations in such a way, that I understood business drivers, challenges, and risks in a new way.
 
4. What is your most significant achievement?  What are you proud of?

Starting my own law firm. I am grateful to everyone who has offered their guidance and assistance.
 
My work on the ethics and compliance team at SNC-Lavalin. We created, rolled out, implemented and operationalized a world-class ethics and compliance program world-wide, across several continents, countries and languages.  We changed hearts and minds around the world.  I am still asked to speak on panels and conferences regularly.   I am so proud of that work we did as a team.  As an individual, I am also extremely proud.  I have received so many personal messages from employees thanking me for my work.
 
In 2011-2012, I was the lead lawyer on one of the largest deals in Ontario.  I was the lead lawyer for SNC-Lavalin Nuclear-Aecon joint venture in negotiations with Ontario Power Generation for the refurbishment of the Darlington Nuclear Power Station.   As stated in many newspapers at the time, phase 1 was worth $600 million and phase 2 was in the billions.  We negotiated the phase 1 and phase 2 agreement at that time.   I must add that I was pregnant with my twins for part of this time.
 
And in my life before kids, running a marathon.
 
5. What are some key challenges, and more importantly, opportunities for women in law? 

Great question. This is hard for me to judge, because as a woman of South Asian descent, I cannot differentiate how things would have been for me if I was a white woman.  I don’t know if I experienced things because I was a woman, or because I was a racial minority, or both.
 
I think one key challenge is that women are both socialised and expected to behave in certain ways.  This includes being expected to be polite and “wait your turn” when other people take up space in meetings. Or worse, when you don’t behave according to that script, being told or made to feel that you are difficult to work with.   This is even more the case if your cultural background does not conform to the hegemonic culture, and you were raised with other socialization traits.
 
Another aspect of this socialization is for women to take on the emotional burden within families, jobs, among co-workers, etc.    This can be a wonderful addition to your life, and to those around you.  But it does take time and energy and focus.  We are often not aware that we are doing this, or how much precious energy this is taking that we could be spending elsewhere.   I have seen it referred to as the third burden that women have, after their job and domestic and care responsibilities.
 
In terms of opportunities, I see tremendous opportunity. 
 
With the rise in female business owners, I see an opportunity for female business lawyers to support them.  There is also room for lots of disruption in the legal opportunity.
 
When I first left private practice in 2020, I noticed the large percentage of women leaving to go in-house.  I understood the question  “why can’t we keep women in law firms”?  But I also knew that lots of my male lawyer friends were unhappy as well.  But they stayed.   I always felt bad for my male friends who felt this social pressure to conform in a way that it appeared female lawyer did not.  In a way, it seemed that women lawyers gave themselves more permission to leave work environments that were not working for them.  That may be different with the younger generations, and I hope so.
 
6. What advice would you give a woman starting her legal career? 

• Always behave ethically. 
• Don’t compare yourself to anyone else.  It will be harder for you if you are a woman and if you have other exceptionalities, unfortunately.  And much harder the darker your skin is.  I hate to say this, but if there is one thing 2020 has taught us, we must not turn away from the facts. 
• Be open to change.  Change is an opportunity to grow, even if its disruptive. 
• Talk to people that you trust.  Get a mentor.  Be a mentor. 
• Take care of your mental wellness from day one as a lawyer.  From day one as a law student. 
• Build community within your communities.  Volunteer, help others, get to know others, etc. Build your network 5, 10, 15 years before you may need them.  In the interim, be a resource for those in your communities. 
• Don’t rely on anyone’s advice (including mine). Advice is often a form of “what I wish I had done differently in my life”.  On the other hand, be aware of confirmation bias and only speaking to people who will tell you what you want to be hear. 
• Trust yourself. There is no one right path to being a lawyer. 

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Thank you Amee for taking the time to participate in this series and for sharing your experiences and advice with us! 

I started this blog series because I was tired of hearing about women leaving law and wanted to hear about women leading in law. The "Women Leading in Law" series focuses on good news stories and highlights amazing women succeeding in the legal profession.  Each post includes the profiled lawyer's answers  to six questions. Prepare to be inspired!

ICYMI - previous posts profiled the following amazing lawyers: Tanya Walker, Alysia Christiaen, Patricia Gamliel, Megan Cornell, Yola Ventrescu, Hilary Book, Margaret Waddell, Nandi Deterville, Jennifer Quaid, Maryann Besharat, Cynthia Mason, Roots Gadhia, Evelyn Ackah, Carrisa Tanzola, Sarah Leamon, Robin Parker, Lorin MacDonald, Karen Yamamoto, Victoria Crewe-Nelson, Lynne Vicars, Kemi Oduwole, Anne-Marie McElroy, Jennifer Gold, Jordana Goldlist, Megan Keenberg, Yadesha Satheaswaran, France Mahon, Sarah Molyneaux, Richa Sandill, Vivene Salmon, Kim Whaley, Alisia Grenville, Frances Wood, Maggie Wente, Anita Szigeti, Neha Chugh, Christy Allen & Nancy Houle,  Suzie Seo, Kim Gale, Alexi Wood,  Melissa McBain, Erin Best, Gillian Hnatiw,  Melanie Sharman Rowand,  Meg Chinelo Egbunonu, Lisa Jean Helps, Nathalie Godbout Q.C., Laurie Livingstone, Renatta Austin, Janis Criger, May Cheng,  Nicole Chrolavicius, Charlene Theodore, Dyanoosh Youssefi, Shannon Salter, Bindu Cudjoe, Elliot Spears, Jessica Prince, Anu K. Sandhu, Claire Hatcher, Esi Codjoe, Kate Dewhirst,  Jennifer Taylor,  Rebecca Durcan, Atrisha Lewis, Vandana Sood, Kathryn Manning, Kim Hawkins, Kyla Lee, and Eva Chan. ​ 

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