About the Founder

Erinma Abara, BA(Hons), JD

Lawyer| Founder, Returning the Advocate (TM)

A sustainable legal career should not require you to sacrifice yourself in the process.

I’m Erinma Abara, a Canadian lawyer with 15 years of experience practising in Ontario, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories.

My legal career has included family law, Indigenous legal matters, and federal litigation. I’ve worked in demanding professional environments where sound judgment, careful preparation, and a deep sense of responsibility are essential.

I have also served on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Bar Association, contributing to leadership within the Canadian legal profession.

Throughout my career, I’ve come to appreciate something that deserves greater attention: the capacity to advocate effectively must be accompanied by the capacity to sustain the person doing the advocating.

Why I Founded Returning the Advocate

Lawyers are trained to identify problems, manage competing demands, anticipate risks, and advocate for others. We are not always taught how to recognize our own limits, respond to prolonged professional stress, or build careers that remain sustainable over time. I founded Returning the Advocate because I believe these skills deserve a place in professional education.

Sustainable practice isn’t about lowering professional standards or asking lawyers to become less committed. It’s about developing the awareness, boundaries, practical strategies, and professional judgment necessary to continue meaningful work without sacrificing personal well-being.

And it requires acknowledging that not every challenge can be resolved through individual resilience. Workplace environments, institutional expectations, and professional culture matter too.

My Approach

My work brings together legal experience, and an academic background in community health. Through Returning the Advocate, I offer structured professional education and reflective coaching designed specifically for lawyers.

My approach emphasizes practical application, thoughtful reflection, personal agency, and the realities of legal practice.

I believe lawyers deserve more than simply surviving their careers. They deserve the opportunity to practice with clarity, integrity, and sustainability.

Work with Me

Through Sustaining the Advocate (TM), my six-week professional development program, I help lawyers examine the relationship between their professional responsibilities, personal capacity, and long-term sustainability.

Returning the Advocate is an invitation to approach your professional life with the same care, intention, and jdugment that you bring to your advocacy for others.