Devesh Gupta set up Prudent Law in Greater Toronto in 2015 and has clocked exceptional growth, focusing on immigration from India, particularly from Punjab
BY GURMUKH SINGH
As the population of the Indo-Canadian community here increases rapidly with the influx of a record number of new immigrants and students,
many Indian-origin people are making huge strides in various professions.
Hundreds of young Indo-Canadians in legal, medical, and other professions are making it to the top.
Delhi-born young lawyer Devesh Gupta’s law firm, Prudent Law, in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is not just one among them. It has created a league of its own with quality customer service and record business volume.
“In fact, our business has grown two to three times during the past two years amid the Covid pandemic,” says Gupta, sitting in his corporate office in downtown Mississauga in Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
“The real estate sector really boomed during the pandemic. Since real estate is our core business, we posted huge growth during this period,” he adds.
Apart from real estate, he says Prudent Law has registered major growth in other areas—litigation, commercial law, corporate law, mortgage and immigration— in the past two years.
“Yes, we are growing big in all areas, but immigration is our new focus. As immigration picks up after Covid, we are looking for big growth in this area. We have added a dedicated immigration lawyer— Ajay Atwal—to our team. He is also fluent in Punjabi, which is a focus area for us as
Punjabis make up a huge chunk of new immigrants to Canada,” explains Gupta.
Eyeing major immigration business, he says his law firm may establish its own presence in India in the future.
“Right now, we have immigration consultants in India as our partners and we are looking for more partners there because immigration from India is going up every year. Going forward, it is very much in our scheme of things.”
Not surprisingly, his firm has just been rated as one among the top 10 emerging immigration firms in Canada by Manage HR magazine for 2022.
“In our litigation business also, we have been posting huge growth and handling lots of complicated cases.”
However, real estate remains the core business of Prudent Law.
“In the real estate business, our client network is growing. Today, we represent all major banks in this business. There are also some Indian banks,” he adds.
Apart from banks, his other major corporate clients in real estate include hotels and hospitality, food majors, steel companies and the garment industry.
To stay ahead of the curve, he says his law firm is quickly adopting cutting-edge technologies for business efficiency.
“We are in the process of developing our own software to improve customer service, speed up work efficiency and cut costs for our customers. Quality customer service is everything.”
And for its quality customer service, Prudent Law has been given the Greater Toronto Area’s Consumer Choice Award for consecutive years and the Top Choice Award too for two years in a row.
Highlighting the word ‘prudent’ in his law firm’s name, Gupta says, “We chose this name to convey what we are in this profession. We always give prudent advice to our clients and they appreciate it. We try to be upfront and honest about pricing as well and that helps our clients make right decisions about themselves.”
During the six years of his law firm’s existence, he says he and his team have religiously followed two things.
“One, if you do good work, it comes back to you. If you keep doing the right thing, good things will happen to you. Two, our profession involves a lot of trust. If you respect your customer’s trust, it gives you financial rewards, business growth and sound sleep. At Prudent Law, we always put the customer ahead of everything.”
That’s why, he adds, his law firm has rarely spent any money on marketing. “All our business comes through referrals and word of mouth from satisfied customers.”
Looking back at the six years of his legal journey, he says, “I am presented with more than my fair share of opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives. I take these opportunities wherever possible, and I have found that the satisfaction and happiness that I receive from these is much greater than that from profit and earnings.”
Looking to the future, he says, “Our focus is on expanding our practice areas and reach. We have done very well so far.”
Indeed, the young Indo-Canadian lawyer, who came to Canada as a 13-year-old with his family from Delhi in April 2001, has achieved way beyond expectations in the new country
“I had just finished my eighth grade from DPS Mathura Road when one fine morning my father announced that we were going to Canada as our immigration papers had come. He cited a sense of lack of security for his decision to take his family—my two elder sisters, mom and me—to Canada. He was doing very well in his construction business. We go back five generations in Shahpur Jat village of Delhi. My family lived in Greater Kailash-I for about 30 years before we left for Toronto,” he says.
The new immigrant family bought a clothing factory in the city of Mississauga and named it APG Manufacturing (‘A’ for his mother, Anita, ‘P’ for his father, Pravin, and ‘G’ for garments) to make uniforms for hospitals and police as young Devesh attended school and later finished his BBA
degree from Toronto’s Schulich School of Business. After his BBA degree, he went for his law degree. “My grandfather was a lawyer, and he was my role model for becoming a lawyer.”
Upon graduation, he says he combined his family background in law and business to start a law firm to practise both skills.
“Since my dad was into real estate construction, I grew up inheriting that business sense. Then I studied law because I wanted to be a lawyer as I was inspired by my lawyer grandfather. So I ended up combining my knowledge in both fields— real estate and law—by launching Prudent
Law in 2015,” he says.
Coming from a close-knit family, he gives credit for his success to his family and Indian values. And he is all praise for his wife, Shivani, whom he married in 2014 and with whom he has two children—a daughter and a son.
“Shivani is my rock. She is a balance to me and is often able to give me a viewpoint that I could not even have imagined. I find myself seeking her advice on all major decisions, not out of obligation but out of genuine respect for her analysis.”
The writer is a senior Canada-based journalist
@gurmukhsingh @deveshgupta @prudentlaw
