The Formidable Combination of CPA and Tax Law Expertise with Josh Kumar

Joining me on the podcast this week is Josh Kumar, Partner at Aird & Berlis LLP. A member of the firm’s Tax Group, Josh’s practice focuses on litigation and dispute resolution with the Canada Revenue Agency and Department of Justice, and also includes tax planning for private companies and individuals. He has extensive experience representing taxpayers in the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and he also holds a Chartered Professional Accountant designation.

In today’s interview, Josh shares what drives him to complete his goals, his current practice, the most common issues he encounters that require his tax expertise, and the expectations of a junior partner. He also describes a typical week for him, some traditional and alternative methods of charging clients, current challenges for the legal profession, and a low point in his professional journey. Our conversation draws to a close with Josh offering his advice for new lawyers, as well as reviewing his income management, financial planning, and his definition of financial independence.

Listen to the Podcast – Download the Transcript

Highlights:

Josh’s journey to become both an accountant and a lawyer was influenced by the good advice and examples of people in his life.
Josh feels the role of a junior partner is to establish your practice through making connections and community engagement as well as to help service the existing client base.
One of the current challenges in the legal profession is determining the role of AI within it.
Josh saves an impressive percentage of his income, and, due to his work, there are some limitations on his ability to invest.
Josh’s current definition of financial independence is having the ability to save and plan for future big purchases like real estate

Quotes:

“The journey was long, but was aided by a lot of people that provided really good advice, and honestly stumbling too into different practice areas and getting exposure to tax early on.”

“It’s important I think to get some professional involved early on, whether it’s an accountant, your trusted advisor, or if you think that this could go all the way to a tax court hearing, it’s important to get a lawyer involved and early.”

“You’re typically touching maybe five to ten files, right, in any given week, where there’s some step or some process that needs to be done that you’re focusing on.”

“I think the best advice is to try to get exposure to as many areas as possible in the general field that you think you want to practice in, because that’s the best way to figure it out.”

“So, looking forward, I mean, to your point about modeling and planning, and thinking that out, I think it means to me still being able to do the traveling, and the dining, and the experiences that you want to do.”