Keyvan Nassiry hung out his own shingle after 25 years in large firms, and hasn’t looked back
Keyvan Nassiry moved from Big Law to hang out his own shingle as a banking and finance lawyer in August 2019, and describes going solo as the best thing he’s ever done professionally.
Nassiry had planned to take his first-ever month off after leaving his former firm of Miller Thomson LLP in July 2019, but two days later he received his first file as a sole practitioner: a $120-million financing transaction.
“Although that month off never materialized, that first call put a nice spring in my step,” says Nassiry, who was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1991 after receiving a civil law degree from the University of Ottawa. “That said, you have to learn to say no, too; I still haven’t properly learned to say no. It’s so rewarding, when someone trusts you to solve their problem.”
And although he believes he’d never go back to working for a large firm, “I don’t think I could have gone out on my own without spending those long years [more than 25 in total] in large firms, and having the benefit of multiple influencers: mentors, peers, and also those younger than me. I learned how to handle myself.”
Nassiry began his legal career at Mendelsohn Rosentzveig Shacter in March 1994 (the firm later merged with McMillan Binch Mendelsohn, and now operates as McMillan LLP in Montreal). He had received an LL.M. in 1992 from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and says the recruiter from Mendelsohn who called him was “a bit of an anglophile.”
Nassiry had taken some time away from law to manage a car dealership, but right after new year’s 1994 he re-registered with the law society, “and then went and learned my trade under excellent, excellent tutorship … from the ground up.”
He went on to partnerships in BCF LLP and Miller Thomson LLP, developing a niche in debt finance and lending – and he took more than two years to prepare a move to his own practice. To prepare for this, he took about 20 sessions of executive coaching with a retired lawyer who is an accredited coach, and started to focus on the path ahead.
“It opened my eyes to whether my fears or hold-backs were legitimate,” he says. “Lawyers tend to be risk-adverse, and the idea of leaving the safety net of a massive cruise ship was at first very anxiety-producing.”
He knew he wanted to continue working in complex transactions, and hired a marketing firm, a brand consultant, and “spent a lot of time designing the model I wanted to bring to the market. I planned for close to two years before I launched on August 1, 2019.”
When he moved out on his own, he says, he didn’t take a series of massive transactions to start. “But I was very humbled; a lot of people call me for who I am and how I serve them and my knowledge base. As much as I was so fearful of doing it — it took me more than two years to put this together — I don’t regret a thing. I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Going solo isn’t for everyone, though Nassiry would recommend it to more lawyers than who are currently doing it. He advises it for self-starters and those who have an entrepreneurial mindset. “You need to have a strong work ethic and be an effective networker.”
Nassiry’s family immigrated to Canada from Iran 40 years ago, when he was just 10 years old, and he credits the experience with teaching him adaptability and resourcefulness. He also rowed competitively for four years in high school, which he believes taught him the importance of “grit, not giving up, and just trying harder.”
During and after law school he sold cars at a dealership, eventually rising to manager, and he watched and learned from salespeople with in-depth knowledge of their product line, who were able to earn clients’ trust with their listening skills and by being consistently client-centric.
“I’ll never forget,” he says, “the elderly couple who bought a Ford Taurus [from me], and I pre-programmed the radio station to a classical station for them” before they test-drove the car, assuming it might be their favourite station. He was right; his efforts earned him a bouquet of flowers from the wife, and a handwritten letter from the husband “who was thanking me for the experience.”
Anticipating client’s needs is key to success: “delivering what they want, and adapting to their needs.” Now he has the chance in his practice to consider that a little more, the pride of building a business and a brand, and ideally “to leave a legacy in my practice.”
Although his solo practices does mean working longer hours — sometimes 14- to 15-hour days—he says he had more meals and quality time with his wife, a psychologist, and their young son in his first six months of solo practice than in all his years working in Big Law. “I finally have complete discretion in planning my schedule and how best to serve the clients.”
No commuting time or office distractions or meetings make for a more efficient practice. The downside of solo practice is “no team behind you,” and he laments spending an hour and a half on his first Purolator shipment. Now, though, he finds the absence of a team has been easily compensated for through outsourcing, including cloud support.
Nassiry’s goal is for his firm to become one of the top debt finance and lending law shops in Quebec. Former clients, including banks, commercial lenders and borrowers, continue to contact him directly, he says, he also gets referrals from other firms; “very few clients mind that I don’t have a Big Law infrastructure behind me.”
Not that he’s knocking big firms, or their way of doing things, he stresses; “but what I’m doing suits me hand-in-glove. I love it. I’m fulfilled beyond my wildest dreams. I’ve found my niche.”
