Nadia Zaman

Advocacy began for me at the age of 14. I was the youngest speaker invited to a conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka to advocate on environmental stewardship. A few years later, I had another fulfilling experience as a volunteer at the Police Hospital in Accra, Ghana, where I assisted in establishing the Child Abuse Network. I continued my passion for advocacy through my heavy involvement with UNICEF at the University of Toronto where I was the Co-Director of the Youth Engagement Program. I taught students with learning disabilities about children’s rights and developed the youth engagement curriculum to be used across community centres in Toronto. 

Prior to joining Rudner Law, I articled at a leading, national full-service Toronto law firm. During my articles, I thoroughly enjoyed working on employment law files, ranging from preparing for a trial before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario to negotiating a wrongful dismissal settlement. I realized that employment law is the perfect nexus between business, law, and people –– and that is why I am so drawn to it. It is an exciting area of practice given its breadth and given that the law is constantly evolving. As an Employment Lawyer, I can be proactive by providing strategic advice to employers on minimizing liability as well as advocate on behalf of employees and directly impact their working lives. There is a real human component and often there are complex relationships to navigate. I am thrilled to be a part of the employment bar and have been elected to the executive committee of the Ontario Bar Association’s Labour and Employment Law Section, where I serve the interests of the profession and the public. I was called to the Ontario bar in June 2016.

I obtained my Juris Doctor degree from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. As a law student, I developed written accommodation policies to promote mental health awareness as Equity Officer; guided prospective students as Student Ambassador; reviewed papers for publication as Senior Editor of the Journal of Law & Equality; and actively managed files for low-income clients at the Downtown Legal Services Clinic. Prior to law school, I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Trinity College, University of Toronto with a double major in Criminology and Ethics, Society & Law. I served as the President of the Ethics, Society & Law Students’ Association, and was honoured to receive the Brian Morgan Scholarship in Law and the Magdalena Gryc Award. 

In my spare time, I enjoy drawing and spending time with family and friends. My current favourite medium to draw with is ink, and I have drawn with and on all sorts of different mediums, including twigs and cork boards. I also like writing, including poetry, and have performed spoken word poetry in the past. I am passionate about learning and experiencing new things, which is where my love of traveling and exploring food and culture comes from.