Nafisa Abdul Razak

Nafisa practices in the area of criminal law at Knight Patrick LLP. She joined the firm as an associate in August 2022. Nafisa obtained her Juris Doctorate from the University of Calgary in 2021. During law school, she volunteered with Student Legal Assistance and Pro Bono Students Canada as part of the Emergency Protection Order (EPO) project where she assisted individuals seeking EPOs by interviewing them and filling out the appropriate forms. She spent her summer following her first year in law school in Pristina, Kosovo working with the Gender Focal Team with the United Nations Development Programme. She also worked with the Public Interest Law Clinic in her second year of law school working on a project to advocate for anti-SLAPP legislation in Alberta.

Prior to attending law school, Nafisa lived in Edmonton, Alberta where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Mathematics from the University of Alberta. She was a member of the Circle K International club where she volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House and Bissell Centre Gift Wrap every year. She also volunteered with the Youth Restorative Action Project in Edmonton, a court diversion program for youth.

Nafisa grew up in Colombo, Sri Lanka until she moved to Edmonton, Alberta with her family at the age of 11. Nafisa loves planning travel trips with friends and family and spending time with her cat, Charlie.

Nafisa is passionate about working with marginalized and disadvantaged populations. She believes it is important that everyone have a voice going through the criminal justice system. While she is comfortable in the courtroom being a litigator, she also believes in trying to resolve matters outside of it, because she understands the stress that litigation puts her clients through.

Nafisa has written submissions to the Crown for a client who claimed was wrongfully charged with an offence and managed to get all charges stayed against the client, which involved not having to take this client to the point of trial. Nafisa has written successful section 276 (evidence of complainant’s sexual activity) submissions for a sexual assault charge that resulted in the withdrawal of these serious charges prior to trial. Furthermore, Nafisa has successfully gotten acquittals for clients for robbery and sexual assault charges in trial.

She also does a lot of work with youth below the age of 18 that are charged with offences. She has a lot of experience working with youth and within the youth court, and she works hard not only on the law side of things but also to ensure these youth receive the support they require in the community.

Nafisa is a member of the Law Society of Alberta, the Canadian Bar Association, and the Calgary Defence Lawyers Association.