The division will concentrate on high-volume transactional legal work
Former Legora Canada head Sahil Zaman is set to lead a new division that focuses on transactional legal work at McCarthy Tétrault.
According to Zaman’s LinkedIn post, his new role combines legal work automation with business building. The division will accelerate legal work and improve consistency and cost predictability; it will integrate artificial intelligence tools with software platforms and data-driven workflows.
Zaman brings significant legal tech experience from his previous positions. Aside from his stint at artificial intelligence company Legora, he was head of business and legal transaction management at iManage from August 2020 to October 2023.
He co-founded and was CEO of legal transaction management software provider Closing Folders prior to its acquisition by iManage.
Zaman last worked for a law firm in June 2013, when he spent over two years with global firm Baker McKenzie as a summer associate and articling student. At the firm, he handled domestic and cross-border corporate, commercial, and securities transactions.
Prior to starting his legal career, he was a financial analyst at TELUS and worked in Afghanistan as an armour driver for the provincial reconstruction team at NATO, where he oversaw the department’s electronics and information systems. From 2002 to 2009, he served in the Canadian Forces’ primary reserves.
Zaman also worked at the Western Business Law Clinic as case manager and the coordinator of Pro Bono Students Canada. He helped local businesses on legal concerns amd also recruited organizations, lawyer-mentors, and student volunteers while supervising pro bono budgets. He also conducted strategic planning for the organization.
Having spent much of his career “at the intersection of law and technology,” Zaman welcomed the opportunity to “build something new” at McCarthy Tétrault, he wrote in a LinkedIn post. He confirmed that the new division was currently unnamed.
The firm confirmed that Zaman has joined the partnership in Toronto.
