Mr Taha, who was admitted to the bar last year, has been appointed manager of a Dunedin satellite office of Wellington firm Rowland Woods Legal, which specialises in immigration and refugee law.
He said the job perfectly combined his legal expertise with a desire to help fellow Syrians.
``This is what I actually have dreamt of in the past.''
Among the work he anticipated doing was helping some of Dunedin's Syrian refugees bring fellow family members to New Zealand.
A change in government policy had made it ``very tough'' for refugees to bring in siblings and parents, but the law firm could explore other avenues including using the skilled migrant category.
His new job comes five years after he left his troubled homeland and a successful Damascus law practice in 2012 and moved to Dunedin, bringing with him his wife, Lina, and their four young children.
He is trained in a mix of Islamic and French law and was admitted to the bar after completing five papers in New Zealand, something he achieved over two years at the University of Otago.
The company's managing director, Rowland Woods, said Mr Taha was the perfect person for the job and fitted in with the firm's human rights focus.
``When we are recruiting we are looking for people with that kind of attitude, and Mouhannad definitely had that,'' Mr Woods said.
Having someone who spoke Arabic and had a Middle East background was also positive.
``He was also interested in specialising in immigration, so he almost dropped into our lap, as it were.''
The company opened an office in Dunedin because he anticipated demand from employers who brought in seasonal migrant workers, overseas investors considering investing in Queenstown and from Syrian refugees..
Related Stories
Comments
Oh yes we will employ him because it might bring in more work especially those 'overseas investors considering investing in Queenstown'. Watch out NZ you are being bought out!
As-salam alaykom (Hello) Mouhannad and Congratulations from the photo I can see the spring in your step, pride in your appearance and the determination in your facial expression, you look like you are smiling from the inside out, be strong go far Sadiqi (Saa-dee-qee) your family and friends will be proud of you and welcome to your new home with open arms.