Canadian Lawyer

October 2020

The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers

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30 www.canadianlawyermag.com FEATURE TOP 10 CORPORATE BOUTIQUES can be held at the port until the situation is dealt with. "It's basically because ships are so mobile, you need to do things quickly," Machum says. For the most part, the pandemic hasn't affected Metcalf and Company's business, but it has brought on some interesting cases, Macham says. One involves a ship in Nigeria, in which the party leasing it didn't want to make payments, invoking force majeure as a result of COVID-19. Machum adds that those in the marine world often do pay close attention to force majeure clauses because of the ability of ships to travel the world. "It's always been an issue because they are going from place to place," he says, noting that most marine contracts have a quaran- tine clause and an infected ports clause. Miller Titerle Law Corporation Vancouver millertiterle.com It can be a tough world out there for smaller and medium-size businesses in British Columbia, thanks to COVID-19, but Miller Titerle wants these businesses to know that the firm under- stands and is trying to do things to help. Project manager Yvonne Choi says the Vancouver-based law firm has launched a division, called MT Access, which is offering fixed-price legal products to help busi- nesses that may be suffering because of the pandemic. "It's our way of trying to give back to the community during tough times." Choi points to some examples of the fixed-price services being offered — from free incorporation work for entrepreneurs (only disbursements of about $500 needs to be paid) to a customer and supply chain contract assessment for $500. Tenants and landlords can also have a commercial lease review done for $300, while small businesses can have a workplace review for $350 and a financial relief review for $300. Many small business clients had to get legal advice on how they could keep people on the payroll, Choi says, and figure out what made the most sense for staff and the business. MT Access can highlight what sort of financial relief might make the most sense for them. "The idea is to offer bite-sized and afford- able legal advice to those who might be hard

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