THE COUNSEL NETWORK - Key Persons
AARTI SARAIYA is a Recruitment Analyst providing recruitment support to all of The Counsel Network's offices across Canada. She leverages over a decade of recruitment-related experience, including eight years' experience sourcing, profiling, headhunting, and talent mapping in the legal and executive recruitment sector. Her expertise, eye for detail, and people-oriented approach ensures clients meet their recruitment needs and are connected to best legal talent in the market.
As an integral part of the recruitment and research teams, Aarti provides key support to senior recruiters by providing valuable information and delivering exceptional candidates. She works alongside other team members across the organization to research, identify, and source potential candidates.
Prior to joining The Counsel Network, Aarti worked as researcher and headhunter with leading international legal and compliance recruitment firms, with a focus on the UK and APAC markets. Her experience includes working in legal, finance & banking, pharmaceutical, and audit sectors in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Outside of the office, Aarti is an avid traveller, foodie, and dancer.
DAL BHATHAL is one of Canada's leading legal talent management experts. She leverages over 20 years' experience building exceptional legal teams for law firms and corporations, and provides immeasurable expertise, sophisticated analyses, and robust knowledge to clients and candidates. A former practicing lawyer and recognized leader in her field, Dal has made a positive impact on the legal recruitment landscape, proving that ethical recruitment, expertise, and attitude make a superior recruiter.
As Managing Partner, Dal provides strategic advice and guidance to Canadian and international law firms and legal departments on all aspects of legal talent management, including recruitment of lawyers and in-house counsel, strategic acquisition of partners, teams and law f irm mergers, lawyer retention, talent development, and succession planning. Her recruitment assignments range from hiring partners for law firms and senior positions for in-house to providing entire teams for special projects. She focuses on building strong relationships and finding solutions to maximize the potential for both clients and candidates.
Dal has worked in all our offices across the country, starting with Vancouver and extending her reach to Calgary and Toronto. Her recruitment experience spans all major business centres in Canada, from Halifax to Vancouver, and she leverages an impressive legal and business network spanning the breadth and width of the national market.
Dal is passionate about building diversity, inclusion, and equity in the legal profession. She serves as Co-Chair of the Ontario Committee for the Women in Law Leadership (WILL) Awards, which celebrates the advance and achievements of women lawyers, particularly as it relates to inclusion and diversity. She previously served as a board member of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) Toronto, and continues to be involved with various minority-based bar associations, including SABA Toronto, the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, and the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers. Dal is also a qualified diversity trainer and administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory.
Dal has been quoted in various publications and media outlets, such as The Globe and Mail, Canadian Lawyer, the Financial Post, amongst many others. She is a regular speaker on topics relating to all facets of legal talent management, including recruitment, retention, leadership development, women in law, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the profession.
Job Titles:
- RECRUITMENT & RESEARCH COORDINATOR
- the Recruitment & Research Coordinator
MAUDE ARAT is the Recruitment & Research Coordinator for The Counsel Network, based in our Calgary office. Working closely with our national talent management team, Maude leads our research team and coordinates specialized research projects.
Maude plays an integral role in managing the market knowledge required for our recruitment search process. Her robust writing and research skills, strong attention to detail, and her natural tendency to be a team player make her well suited for this role.
Maude is an active volunteer with the Society for Technical Communication where she currently serves as the Membership Manager for the organization's Alberta Chapter.
Prior to joining The Counsel Network, Maude worked at one of Canada's top oil and gas companies.
MEAGHAN LOUGHRY is an empathetic and detail-oriented recruiter with natural people skills and interpersonal insight. A lawyer herself, Meaghan combines her passion for people, firsthand understanding of the practice of law, and knowledge of the legal market to make a positive difference in lawyers' lives. She takes a long-term view of client-candidate relationships, striving to create a "win-win" situation for both parties by developing an accurate understanding of their needs and motivations.
Meaghan is passionate about helping lawyers reach personal and professional success. She has experience in both private practice and in-house environments, having practised at a highly regarded global law firm and a leading Canadian professional services firm. In addition to her practice, Meaghan assisted with all aspects of student recruitment processes, provided guidance to prospective candidates, and helped staff manage change. At The Counsel Network, Meaghan works closely with legal departments and law f irms, which provides her with a unique perspective of the legal market and recruitment search process and ultimately ensures both clients and candidates achieve their goals.
Meaghan is committed to improving both the legal industry and the lives of lawyers - she holds a Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate and is involved in Young Women in Law and the Women's Law Association of Ontario. Meaghan is also a member of the Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association, and the Law Union of Ontario.
MIRIAM LEUNG is an effective, relationship-oriented recruiter with a successful track record of placing lawyers at all levels and practice areas locally and abroad, spearheading targeted searches for leading international law firms and multinational companies.
Miriam works collaboratively with partners, counsels, and associates seeking to grow their career, and takes the time to truly understand client needs to build high-performing, long-lasting teams. Her relational approach to recruitment ensures both clients and candidates find their perfect match.
Miriam provides critical advice to lawyers at all levels, from newly qualified associates embarking on their legal career through to partners and general counsels considering potential next steps. Miriam has deep insight into current hiring trends for the in-house and private practice legal market and understands the challenges lawyers and law firms face. Her expertise is sought out, and she speaks regularly on all aspects of legal career management, including compensation, goal setting, and networking.
Miriam was previously a Director at a leading executive search firm in Hong Kong. For over nine years, Miriam worked extensively with key decision makers, including partners and HR professionals, to build strong legal teams and increase practice depth. Miriam leverages her extensive international recruitment experience to get high quality results efficiently.
Miriam holds a B.A.&Sc. from the University of Toronto and an LL.B. from Manchester Metropolitan University. She is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin.
NIDHI GOSWAMI is the Data Analyst for The Counsel Network. As a key member of our research team, Nidhi is responsible for ensuring our database is accurate and up to date, as well as supporting complex recruitment projects through extensive research to connect with the best legal talent in the market. Her detail-orientednature and thoroughness ensures our database remains the largest and most comprehensive lawyer database in Canada.
Nidhi leverages over a decade of business, knowledge, and recruitment process outsourcing experience, including identifying and sourcing senior professionals in the financial services and consulting sectors. She also worked at one of the largest background check companies in the world where she conducted employment and education checks for candidates in the US and UK.
Nidhi holds a B.Comm. from AIEM University. Outside of the office, she enjoys cooking, travelling, playing badminton, and spending time with her son.
SAMEERA SEREDA is one of Canada's most respected voices in legal talent management. A former practicing lawyer and highly sought-after speaker, author, and strategic advisor, Sameera has combined her skills, expertise, and her extensive knowledge of the legal and business community to become the legal recruiter of choice in the Canadian market.
As Managing Partner and Chair, In-House Counsel Division, Sameera is deeply committed to building a diverse and inclusive legal profession. Her greatest expertise is in providing creative and innovative talent management solutions to law f irms and legal departments while focusing on building strong long-term relationships with both clients and candidates. Sameera's charismatic and approachable style, as well as her commitment to a strong ethical framework, contributes to her status as a trusted advisor and mentor, both externally and within The Counsel Network.
Sameera has dedicated much of her career to nurturing and promoting women lawyers. She is the Chair of Women in Law Leadership, a Canada Not-for-Profit Corporation dedicated to the celebration, education, and advancement of women lawyers, and the co-founder of the Women in Law Leadership (WILL) Awards. She is deeply passionate about giving back to the community as evidenced by her many years of volunteering with the Canadian Bar Association, the Alberta Lawyers' Assistance Society, the Association of Women Lawyers, and the Federal Judicial Advisory Committee for Alberta.
Sameera often presents to firms and companies on recruitment and retention issues and advises lawyers on career management. She has also taught various courses in business law, business communications, and effective writing, and has facilitated numerous workshops in the areas of media training, strategic planning, and marketing. Sameera is a qualified diversity trainer and administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory, as well as certified to deliver conflict resolution training.