Photo Credit: muneezasheikhlaw.com
Bay Street is often likened to a revolving door. Lawyers come and go. However, every so often, experienced lawyers decide to take the career-defining step of opening their own firms, and a new revolving door is opened. As the Canadian legal community expands and widens, leading professionals will inevitably establish themselves as founders of a new legal era. One such individual is Muneeza Sheikh.
Sheikh opened her own firm, Muneeza Sheikh Human Rights Law, in June 2024 after parting ways with a prominent labour and employment firm where she worked for 14 years. Sheikh represents both employers and employees and over the course of her career, she has established herself as one of the most influential human rights and employment lawyers in Canada.
Sheikh recalls that she knew she wanted to pursue a legal career since she was a teenager. “Once I understood what advocacy was, I knew it was my calling,” she shares. Sheikh’s passion for advocacy, coupled with her strong values, has assisted in the launch of her law firm. Sheikh has further ushered in a new (and desperately needed) approach to corporate life, providing flexibility to employees with caregiving obligations. She approaches her clients and employees with empathy and uses trauma-informed lawyering to best support her clients’ needs and situations.
As a founding partner and a second-generation Canadian Muslim woman, Sheikh has championed minorities both in and out of her home field. She has a keen interest in and passion for advocating for women and people from marginalized groups. This is further demonstrated by the diversity of her firm’s lawyers and support staff and her involvement with equity-seeking organizations, like the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association (CMLA). Sheikh was recently the keynote speaker at the CMLA’s 2024 National Legal Conference and has previously hosted employment law Q&A sessions with the organization.
Sheikh is also involved with the Osgoode Hall Law School community. In October 2024, Sheikh participated in a panel for Osgoode 1L students on ethical lawyering. She has further assisted in the development and instruction of Osgoode Hall professional development courses on unconscious bias in the workplace and equity, diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence.
When asked what advice she’d give to law students who hope to follow in her shoes, Sheikh said, “Pick an area that you are passionate about. Find a vision. Establish what you want your personal brand to look like. Once you do all of that, designing a firm that aligns with your vision is easy.”
Outside the workplace, Sheikh serves as the City of Brampton’s Integrity Commissioner and Lobbyist Registrar and sits on a board for a Canadian airline. She was also featured in the 2015 CBC documentary Muneeza in the Middle, where she shared her experiences as a Canadian Muslim woman. Sheikh is also the mother of two children and enjoys leading a healthy and fit lifestyle.
Sheikh says that the key to balancing her well-being with her demanding legal profession is setting boundaries. “It takes time to really understand and appreciate what is imminent and what can wait. Your clients are incredibly important, but you cannot serve your clients unless you take good care of yourself,” she emphasizes.. “My family life is important—and I have young kids. I often think to myself that the only people that will remember my long hours are my two kids—and that is unacceptable to me. When I work, I work hard. I do not wait for anyone to tell me that it is ‘me time,’ which translates to my time with my family, my health and fitness, and social life (admittedly a bit limited!).”
Whether it be a feature in the Toronto Star, or Osgoode’s very own, Obiter Dicta, Sheikh demonstrates her passion and interest in reshaping the legal community. She is a valuable and celebrated member of the Toronto legal community, and her firm will only add to her already lasting legacy.