Sania Chaudhry
Labour, Employment and Human Rights Lawyer, Workplace Investigator
| Pronouns | she/her |
| Law School | Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC |
| Hometown | Vancouver (but now I live in Calgary) |
| Bar Calls | Alberta (2019) and British Columbia (2023) |
| Awards | 2023 Rising Star Award (South Asian Bar Association – Calgary); 2023 Excellence Award – Female Trailblazer of the Year (Private Practice) (Canadian Law Awards); 2022 Top 30 Under 30 (Alberta Council for Global Cooperation); 2022 Women Who Inspire (Canadian Council of Muslim Women); 2022 Community Crusader (South Asian Inspiration Awards); 2023 Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers: Changemakers |
| Languages | English, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi |
| Ice Cream Flavour | Vanilla |
| If I wasn’t a lawyer I would be | A law or sociology professor |
| Book Recommendation | “Where is Your Body?: And Other Essays on Race, Gender and the Law”, Mari J. Matsuda |
| Community Work | Everything and anything DEI (too many to list) |
about Sania
I am passionate about helping clients find peace of mind and the best path to move forward.
I am an employment, labour, human rights lawyer. I also do workplace investigations and respectful workplace training. I love helping both employees and employers in Alberta and BC. I have extensive experience appearing before different levels of court and tribunals, as well as reaching successful settlements and negotiations for clients, since 2018.
Before law school, I worked in social science research on marginalized youth health and volunteered with a food bank and a legal advocacy non-profit assisting marginalized women and underprivileged students, both causes dear to my heart due to my own lived experiences. During law school, I was active in working and volunteering for several different legal journals and clinics which allowed me round out my practical skills. Currently, I am also doing my Masters of Law part time with my thesis focusing on critical race theory and bias in administrative procedure.
My approach to all the work I do is grounded in an intersectional lens focusing on equity, diversity and inclusion. I am an empathetic leader focused on giving everyone grace, a safe space, and the permission to be authentic and learn from mistakes. As a passionate advocate, I bring my own intersectional lived experience and my commitment to lifelong learning to promote equity, diversity, inclusion, wellness and respect in the workplace.
I am very active in my community and I believe my community work also informs my ability to be an effective and insightful lawyer. My op-ed highlighting intersectionality and mental health in the legal profession, as well as advice for employers in the legal workplace, was published in the Globe and Mail in 2022 and I have published other articles elsewhere as well over the years on legal education in anti-racism, race, policy, ongoing colonization, missing and murdered women, sexuality, Islamophobia, homophobia, and power in society as well as power dynamics in small groups, in peer-reviewed journals based on my social science and legal research.
Sania in the news
The Globe and Mail | Can I refuse a severance package and negotiate for me?
The Asian Tribune | Asian Star: Sania Chaudhry
Canadian Bar Association Every Lawyer Podcast | Mental Health in the Legal Profession
Law Matters (CBA National) | Moving beyond diversity and inclusion
This is What a Lawyer Looks Like | Meet Sania Chaudhry: finding balance
Law Matters (CBA National) | Anti-racism as part of continuing professional development
Good Morning Calgary | Termination during COVID-19 and CERB return policy
The Globe and Mail | Will I still be eligible to claim CERB if I’m terminated?