Julia is a partner at Soloway Wright LLP practicing in the areas of corporate commercial and commercial real estate law. Julia’s transactional practice includes financing transactions of all kinds, corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, and the purchase and sale of real estate. She also regularly advises clients on structuring their business enterprises, commercial leasing, and contract drafting and negotiation. Drawing on her skills in both corporate and commercial real estate law, Julia is a trusted legal advisor to her clients and prides herself on providing practical and efficient legal services.
Helping Clients Build
Julia loves helping her clients build something. Maybe it’s a first business, an established company ready to grow, or a strategic opportunity worth pursuing. She is energized by seeing clients reach their goals, and finding solutions to the challenges that inevitably arise along the way. She strives to help her clients determine the right way forward so they can pursue their goals with confidence.
It Starts With Listening
Julia works with a wide range of clients, from entrepreneurs launching their first businesses and small business owners to larger corporate and institutional clients. Each has different priorities and challenges, and each requires tailored legal advice.
Whoever the client is, Julia’s approach is the same – she listens. “I want to know what they’re trying to achieve, what keeps them up at night, and where they see themselves in five years. Often the question a client brings me is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, and knowing the whole picture is how I find solutions that actually fit.”
Leveraging Real Estate and Corporate Knowledge
For many businesses, corporate law and commercial real estate are closely connected. Decisions about ownership, financing, or growth can have significant real estate implications, just as property transactions can raise important corporate considerations.
Julia leverages her experience in both areas to recognize these connections and help clients navigate them in a coordinated way. Rather than looking at a transaction in isolation, she considers how its various elements fit together and how a decision may affect the client’s broader business interests.
“This is where the work gets really interesting for me. It takes technical know-how and good commercial judgment, and it lets me look at a problem from every angle before landing on the right answer.”
Keeping It Simple
Julia has always enjoyed problem-solving, and it remains one of the most fulfilling aspects of her practice. Every matter presents a different challenge. Her instinct is always to look for the simplest solution that achieves the desired outcome. Good legal advice should make things clearer, not more complicated. Some matters do call for complex structuring but sometimes the straightforward answer is the best one, and she’s not afraid to say so.
What makes problem-solving particularly rewarding is seeing how a well-considered solution helps a client accomplish something important. Whether enabling a business to pursue an opportunity or putting the right arrangements in place for future growth, Julia enjoys working through the issues with clients and helping them move forward. The legal analysis matters, but so does keeping the commercial realities and the client’s ultimate goal in sight.
Building Long-Term Relationships
Julia has built strong relationships with her clients over the past 12 years. Over those years, she has gotten to know their businesses, priorities, and how they make decisions.
“I want to be the person my clients call first, whether a legal issue has come up or they’re weighing a new opportunity or a tough decision. Often the most valuable conversations happen before a deal begins to help avoid potential issues.”
Bottom Line
Regardless of the size or complexity of a matter, the fundamentals remain the same: listen carefully, understand the objective, provide practical advice, and build a relationship based on trust.
“What makes this work meaningful is simple: I get to combine legal expertise with practical problem-solving to help people build and grow their businesses. Understanding what my clients want, helping them through the challenges, and being part of something that matters to them is why I love what I do.”
About Julia
Julia joined Soloway Wright LLP as a summer student in 2012 and has built her entire legal career at the firm, growing into a partner and a go-to advisor for businesses across the Ottawa region and Eastern Ontario. She has previously served on the board of directors for the Women’s Business Network of Canada and as a member of the County of Carleton Law Association Solicitor’s Conference Planning Committee, and is a 2023 recipient of Ottawa’s Forty Under 40 Award. She presently serves on the board of directors of an Ottawa-based mortgage investment corporation.
Julia spends most weekends at the soccer pitch, do jang, ski hill or dance studio cheering on her kids. She also enjoys exploring nature with her family whenever she can – preferably in a canoe on Georgian Bay or on one of the many beautiful trails just a short distance from downtown Ottawa.
