Canadian Lawyer editorial board member

LLM, Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School Alumni Gold Key Award

Accomplishments

Milestones

1993

1996

1999

2005

2010

2011

Joins the Department of Justice Civil Litigation Section, conducting judicial reviews and general litigation primarily in immigration and refugee law

1993

Seconded to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Integrated Proceeds of Crime Unit; advises on all aspects of proceeds of crime legislation and investigations

1996

Conducts criminal prosecutions for the Federal Prosecutions Service under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Immigration Act, the Food and Drug Act and the Criminal Code

1999

Launches the Canadian International Peace Project and works on a development project in Afghanistan as well as a mentorship project between the Jewish and Somali communities in Canada

2005

Joins Steinburg Title Hope & Israel LLP, a law firm working on civil and criminal litigation trials and appeals

2010

Launches his own firm, Persaud Law Group Professional Corporation, which specializes in commercial and real estate litigation; criminal, regulatory and administrative law; and human rights and professional discipline

2011

Fighting for fairness, embedded in community

Mark Persaud has never been shy about speaking his mind. He spent 10 years in the public service but decided to leave after publicly speaking out about the systemic discrimination he had witnessed. After leaving government in 2003, Persaud continued to be outspoken on the barriers faced by minorities and has brought that perspective to his work since launching his own firm, Persaud Law Group Professional Corporation, in 2011. Persaud’s passion for advocacy started at a very young age. He was born in Guyana and has what he describes as a privileged background, but he and his family spoke out about the undemocratic and repressive government at the time. His family decided to flee to the U.S. However, before they could go, they sent Persaud to Canada because they feared he was in immediate danger due to his political activities. Persaud was homeless and alone in Toronto, but eventually a staff member at a local Christian charity took a personal interest in him. He began volunteering for several charities, ultimately landing a full-time job with the Refugee Desk of the National Office of the United Church of Canada after he became a permanent resident. Although Persaud was studying political science at university and originally aspired to be an academic, his advocacy work brought him in contact with several immigration lawyers, who impressed him. “At some point, it suddenly hit me that yes, I love political science, but that’s not my calling. I think I was meant to be an advocate. And I fell in love with the law.” Persaud attended Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto and graduated in 1991. His legal career began in the civil litigation section of the Department of Justice, where he was mainly arguing judicial reviews of immigration decisions in the Federal Court of Canada.

Despite Persaud’s strong connection to immigration law, he struggled with what he says was a culture of racism in the department at the time. “There were a few of us who were minority lawyers in that section, and there was an anti-immigrant racist tenor in the department. We tried to address it in a nice way, but that was part of the culture, and being a newcomer to Canada myself, I didn’t feel comfortable continuing that work in that department.” Persaud spoke with a friend and mentor, Steve Foster, now a retired judge, for advice. Foster suggested Persaud consider joining the prosecution section of the DOJ. “I remember saying to him, 'But Steve, I have no interest in criminal law.' And he said, ‘Mark, it doesn’t matter. In the prosecution section, you will get a lot of court time, which is what you like. You’ll be in court all the time, and you will develop your advocacy skills. Do it for at least two years, and then you can decide what you want to do.’ “And that was singularly the best advice I ever got, because I joined the prosecution section, and I absolutely loved criminal law.” Persaud then practised in various roles at the DOJ, including a secondment to the RCMP's Integrated Proceeds of Crime Unit. “That was probably the highlight of my tenure in the criminal prosecution section. I developed a great appreciation for the investigative side of police work and how difficult it could be.” Although Persaud gained more experience in other areas, such as tax law and young offender prosecutions, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the DOJ was fundamentally unwelcoming to outsiders like him. Things came to a head when he confronted one of his colleagues, who later became a judge, about his colleague’s sexist remarks about a senior female judge.

“I was appalled by this because, to me, this was egregious [and] inconsistent with the role of what we’re supposed to be as prosecutors.” Persaud began to sense that his outspokenness was costing him opportunities at the DOJ, and after ending up on sick leave, he left the DOJ in 2003. Persaud then chose to take a step back from practising law and focus on community-building once again. He launched the Canadian International Peace Project, which involved a mentorship project between the Jewish and Somali communities in Canada and an international development project in Afghanistan. Persaud was drawn back into the law in 2010 when he joined Steinberg Title Hope & Israel LLP as litigation counsel. However, after just over a year, he was ready to launch his law firm. “I wanted to know what it would be like to be an entrepreneur and have my own shop.”

Persaud opened his firm in Willowdale, Toronto, and now does a broad range of advocacy, including commercial, real estate and professional regulation litigation. Recently, he represented two university professors in a human rights case and a high school student with a mental disability who requires a support dog. Persaud says his experience as a minority has helped him better understand the injustices others face, but, more fundamentally, he is guided by a strong sense of fairness. “Because I’m a minority, and I went through this stuff, and I’ve worked extensively with various minority communities, I understand these communities a bit better than someone who hasn’t worked with them.” Although Persaud doesn't hesitate to identify discrimination, he is also optimistic about the legal profession. “I think that younger people coming into the profession have it much easier. It’s much better.” Yet fundamental change is still needed, he points out. “What has to occur is a fundamental recognition of what minority lawyers and women have had to go through in the profession, the injustices that have occurred that kept them from being comfortable and from rising in the profession based on merit.” Mark Persaud is a member of the Canadian Lawyer editorial board.

Spotlight

Persaud Law Group Professional Corporation is a boutique litigation law firm focusing on commercial and real estate litigation; criminal, regulatory and administrative law; and human rights and professional discipline. The firm has been in operation for 10 years and is located on Yonge Street in Willowdale, Toronto. Mark Persaud, LLB, LLM, LLD, was called to the Ontario Bar in 1993 and has held a broad range of positions at the Department of Justice as a prosecutor, counsel to the RCMP, and civil litigation counsel. Persaud provides pro bono legal advice and low-cost legal representation to economically disadvantaged community members. He has a strong commitment to social responsibility.

Firm Profile

1983

YEAR FOUNDED

100

MANPOWER

43%

PROPORTION OF WOMEN AMONG FUNDSERV EMPLOYEES

60%

PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

63,514,128

NUMBER OF ORDERS PROCESSED IN 2019

Bio

Spotlight

Milestones

Media

Accomplishments

Firm Profile

Years in the industry

Tenure at current position

2017 - Present

BAsed In

Toronto, Ont.

favourite quote

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live” – Norman Cousins

Mark Persaud

Senior counsel at Persaud Law Group Professional Corporation

Mark Persaud has always dared to speak out against injustice since he was a young activist in Guyana, then as a government lawyer in Canada and now in private practice

Read on

“I remember saying to [my mentor], ‘I have no interest in criminal law’. And he said, ‘Mark, it doesn’t matter. In the prosecution section, you will get a lot of court time, which is what you like’”

Mark Persaud, Persaud Law Group Professional Corporation

“Because I’m a minority, and I went through this stuff, and I’ve worked extensively with various minority communities, I understand these communities a bit better than someone who hasn’t worked with them”

Mark Persaud, Persaud Law Group Professional Corporation

Milestones

2011

firm Profile

Years in the industry

Tenure at current position

BAsed In

favourite quote

Read on

Milestones

2011

firm Profile

Years in the industry

Tenure at current position

BAsed In

favourite quote

Read on

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LLD, Law Society of Upper Canada

Osgoode Hall Law School Alumni Gold Key Award

LLM, Osgoode Hall Law School

Canadian Lawyer editorial board member