The idea of starting such a law firm was proposed by a dynamic lawyer, Sam M. Bayat, a young entrepreneur from Canada. He first came to Dubai in late 1992 to study the GCC market and reached the conclusion that the service of a Canadian law firm specialising in immigration matters is needed. He also concluded the need for a strong legal base in Canada. Sam Bayat approached a well-respected Montreal law firm, Bertrand Deslauriers and another well-known Toronto law firm specialized in immigration, Dewji Chauhan and Associates. Mr. Ismail Iqbal Dewji, a lawyer from Toronto, was a well-known specialist in federal immigration matters and Mr. Jean Francois Bertrand was a specialist in Quebec Immigration matters and one of Canada's best immigration litigators.

Four partners were initially involved in the start up of CLS and its activities started in the spring of 1993. In May 1993, Sam Bayat moved to Dubai permanently. A second lawyer joined him in November 1993. An official license to practice law was issued to the group in December 1993 and the group officially opened their office in the Juma Al Majid Building in Dubai. By early 1995, the partnership was dissolved. The two non-resident lawyers, Ismail Iqbal Dewji and Jean Francois Bertrand, agreed to withdraw from the group and the remaining two lawyers, now residing permanently in Dubai, continued practising law independently from each other.

Sam Bayat's initial idea in forming CLS in Dubai was to bring on-location, the professionals who are needed to assist applicants for permanent residency to Canada. Also, since processing for Canadian immigration is always done through visa offices abroad, a better working protocol could be established between the law firm and the different visa offices by being closer to these offices. Finally, processing the cases from a location closer to the applicants area of residence and using locally engaged staff would allow a better understanding of the local realities and therefore, a better presentation of the cases to a visa office.

The commitment of CLS is to provide quality service and client satisfaction. CLS, through its founding member, has established a working protocol which is today one of the best among Canadian immigration professionals, lawyer or consultants.

Several former employees of CLS today are well known immigration professionals - all following the footsteps of CLS, creating a mirror image of its ideology and methodology. Also recently, several well-known Canadian Immigration lawyers and consultants have consulted with CLS to improve their administrative and their client's permanent residency application submission methodology.

Today, CLS is part of a worldwide network of law firms, legal professionals and trade consultants, around the world. CLS is affiliated to WEIGEL CHAN BAYAT, a Canadian law group, with each lawyer having a distinct and independent practice in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto. Headed by a team of Canadian lawyers, our staff strength has, over the years, grown considerably combining various professional skills and experience to achieve successful results and client satisfaction. The group also has several offices and representative agents around the world. The lawyers and the immigration consultants part of CLS travel frequently to many countries bridging the gap between the clients and the group.

As the founder of CLS once said, "leave it to the experts ! Relax and let us do the hard work!! We'll get you there !!".