Influencers in Toronto: Spotlight on Faithe Holder

Lindsay: Hi, my name is Lindsay Wong, and I am a partner in the infrastructure and construction groups at Gowling WLG.Today, I have the pleasure of introducing Faithe Holder, a partner practicing in real estate, infrastructure and construction.

Faithe: Hi, Lindsay, thanks so much for having me.

Lindsay: Thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a lawyer?

Faithe: In terms of how I became a lawyer, the reality is I sort of thought of it as something that I wanted to do what wasn't 100%25 sure.

My mom was my best friend when I was growing up and it's something she always talked about, she always had this dream of becoming a lawyer. And unfortunately, she passed away when I was in university. And so there was a part of me, for very sentimental, reasons that thought I should venture into the area of becoming a lawyer, in her memory. And so that's really the impetus, and the main reason I did. And it's been a really interesting and wonderful career as a result.

Lindsay: Thanks for sharing that Faithe, that was a really touching story.

You have been recognized in the areas of project finance, energy and infrastructure, can you tell me a little bit about how you gained that experience in those areas of law.

Faithe: I started as a real estate lawyer, I was fortunate enough to have a mentor who was a champion for me, and provided guidance, supported me through my process.

Lindsay: I'd like to hear some more about how mentorship has played a role in your career.

Faithe: Absolutely, it's a topic I can talk about for hours. So how much time do you have?

Lindsay:As much time as you'd like to spend.

Faithe: I am extremely passionate about the subject of mentorship, I've taken as many opportunities as possible to mentor others. And to me, it's very important to share what was given to me by that mentor that I mentioned earlier, but also to learn from seeing the practice through the lenses of someone who has a unique and a very different perspective. And I have to say that that's part of keeping your mind open and keeping yourself in a place where you are continuously learning in your practice area.

Quite frankly, one of the people who I've learned a lot from Lindsay is you, you know, mentoring, you was one of the highlights of my career, because you asked questions, and you engaged in areas and saw this area of law from perspectives I hadn't. And so I was able to gain, even as I mentored you from what you brought to the table, so thank you.

Lindsay: Well, likewise, thank you.

We've talked a lot about your practice and how it's developed, but everything we do, I guess we do for our clients. So I'd really like to hear a little bit more about your approach to working with your client.

Faithe: I have definitely taken the view over my practice that I would like my engagements with my clients to be collegial, to be collaborative, to have somewhat of a team approach associated with it. Most people who know me, well, know, that team means everything to me. And it's very important for me to engage in a level and on a level that makes everybody involved feel, as much as I can, like they are being heard and they are being taken into consideration.

Lindsay:You have been a leader in the firm's EDI initiatives, including serving as an advisor to the firm's national EDI council as well as Co-chairing
the Toronto Anti Racism Action Committee.Can you tell us a little bit more about these experiences in the roles that you've taken in these processes?

Faithe: You have hit the nail on the head with respect to another passion of mine.

I'm extremely proud to say that the firm has put a significant amount of resources, time, energy, effort into our EDI initiatives and making EDI a value proposition for our firm. It is something that we want to embed into the fabric of our being and we are doing a significant amount of work to ensure that happens.

You know my entire life as a an immigrant to this country. I was born in Guyana, South America and came to Canada when I was a child as a Black person, as a woman, as a single mom, now, there are layers and layers of intersectionality of components of me that have really highlighted the need for and the experiences I've had that have really highlighted the need for equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives. I think that within the firm setting, when we look at what we want to accomplish, what we are definitely on our way to accomplishing what we need to do in order to get there. We have done a significant amount of work and made significant strides in terms of getting there.

And as I said earlier, I'm extremely proud. Thank you.

Lindsay: Thanks for sharing your insights with us today.

Faithe: It's been a pleasure, Lindsay.

Lindsay: The pleasure has been all mine.

Faithe: Thank you so much.