Mahta is not a fan of half measures. It’s not unusual to find her driving six hours on a Friday night to climb a mountain, or carrying a concerningly large water bottle into a meeting (a gallon is too much, Mahta!), or going over a candidate’s materials for the n-teenth time. But while we all have known a zealous lawyer or two, we’d describe Mahta’s zeal more as zest because, like we said, she doesn’t do things by halves, not even when it comes to being upbeat.

Born in Iran and immigrating to Canada at age 11, Mahta decided that the best way to assimilate was on the ice. Despite her late start, she was soon skating six hours a day and competing, including on her college’s varsity team. After graduating, she attended Osgoode Hall Law School, setting her sights on human rights work for the UN, à la Amal. While working closely with clients through the Community and Legal Aid Services Programme, her interests shifted towards labor unions. However, at OCIs, the siren song of employer-side firms ultimately drew her in.

You know how you know when you should switch careers? When your job is seemingly perfect, but you’re still not happy. Mahta found the perfect law firm job: working fully-remote at a labor & employment boutique with amazing colleagues and clients. But she realized she was spending 5% of her time doing what she loved (counseling clients) and 95% of her time doing what she didn’t love (writing workplace investigation reports). And so Mahta made her first foray into career coaching, guiding herself out of practicing law and into a career that she loves. With unflinching positivity and supportive guidance, Mahta now brings a thorough, lawyerly precision to working with candidates, ensuring that they feel both empowered and fully prepared.

Mahta now runs "Legal Careers Today," a resource hub for anyone looking for career advice in the legal landscape, and lives in Denver to be closer to the mountains. She has been known to offer to drive across state lines to dog sit for a candidate. Please don’t take her up on it.

Drag name:

"Auntie Depressant."

Favorite historical moment:

"During the pandemic when lawyers had to use zoom someone showed up in court with the cat filter on. Takes the cake for me."

Is a hot dog a sandwich?:

"Is two pieces of bread with meat in between them a sandwich? No doubt."