Why did you become a lawyer?
I enjoy helping people with the problems they are facing. I was looking for a career that would engage and challenge a variety of aspects of my personality. I like to think about difficult problems or puzzles and I like to debate. Law seemed like a career that would be intellectually challenging, interpersonally challenging and would provide me with many options for the future. My mother says that I debated everything with her from the time I could speak so she was not at all surprised with my career choice.
What is the focus of your law practice?
Tax Law, Tax Litigation
If you weren’t a lawyer, what profession would you like to attempt?
I would love to be a chef and restaurateur.
If you weren’t a lawyer, what profession would you never do?
Prison Guard
Your favourite technology tool?
I don’t get very excited by the newest and latest technological gadget but I like my smartphone. Immediate internet access lets me settle disagreements or arguments with friends and family about trivial things (for example the meaning of a particular word or a sports statistic). So a smartphone is my favourite technology tool except in those instances it turns out I was wrong.
What is the first thing you check each morning?
How my back feels. That is the single biggest determinant of how the rest of my day will go.
What are people most surprised to learn about you?
Prior to being a tax lawyer I was an elementary school teacher.
Your biggest extravagance?
Saturday mornings, when circumstances permit, I can lie in bed and read, watch the news, drink coffee and snooze for hours.
Your favourite food and drink?
Gourmet pub food and a good micro-brew.
Your favourite motto?
Two from Yogi Berra:
“You can observe a lot just by watching.”
“You should always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”