Canadian Lawyer

October 2020

The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers

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40 www.canadianlawyermag.com FEATURE TOP 10 IMMIGRATION BOUTIQUES issuing Certificates of Canadian Citizenship to children born in the United States by way of surrogacy — applications that had been stymied for years. Another case involved the discretionary grant of citizenship to a world-renowned musician based on "excep- tional service rendered in Canada." In matters of obtaining permanent resi- dence, Dalfen says, the firm assisted with the matter of a U.S. citizen who landed in Canada as a permanent resident in 1974 but later left, living in the U.S. and travelling the world. He was able to re-establish himself in Canada, after meeting the two-year residency require- ment, and received his permanent resident card less than one month after applying. As for temporary work permits, the firm was successful in helping a dual U.S./French citizen establish an artificial intelligence company here, and an Irish national who wanted to start a sustainable wood furniture company in Canada. When it comes to growth at the firm, Dalfen says, the desire is to do it slowly and maintain the intimate service it can provide. A new associate was hired recently, but the strategy is to be careful to recruit "the right people" so that it can continue to provide the one-on-one service and "very much" keep its boutique status. Larlee Rosenberg Barristers and Solicitors Vancouver larlee.com When the COVID-19 pandemic started to unfold in earnest, the lawyers at Vancouver- based Larlee Rosenberg didn't know what to expect, says managing partner Ryan Rosenberg. But as it turns out, "our services are in demand more than ever." While the Canadian border has been restricted, Rosenberg says, there have been a lot of "compelling circumstances that have been deserving of exemptions from these restrictions." So, the firm of 10 lawyers has been "very busy on cases supporting critical infrastructure, family reunification, basically helping people cross the border when it might have been very difficult otherwise." The firm has been so busy, he says, that it was able to recently take on its articling student full time, as well as hire two paralegals. Larlee Rosenberg, which was founded in 1993 and restructured as a partnership in 2009, has from inception been focused solely on providing specialized immigration services to corporate and personal clients. It is now one of the largest boutique immigra- tion law firms in Western Canada. Since the pandemic's arrival in Canada, among those that the firm has helped include a single mother from Mexico who was working in Canada as an engineer on a critical infra- structure project. She had left her son, now nine years old, in Mexico with her mother so he could finish the school year there. But with the pandemic putting that plan in jeopardy, she turned to Larlee Rosenberg to bring her son to Canada. The firm also was able to get a travel exemption for her mother so she could look after the boy. The firm has also helped contractors working on the Eglinton LRT line in Toronto bypass the 14-day quarantine protocols on the basis that they were important to critical infrastructure and shouldn't be delayed in doing important work. Another COVID-19-related situation the firm has handled is advising the National Hockey League Players' Association, a client it has had for several years. The firm worked with the association and member players respecting travel restrictions in further- ance of efforts to get hockey back on the ice in Canada. The issue was challenging, says Rosenberg, because of the fast-changing nature of Canada's border restrictions. While not related to the pandemic, Rosenberg has also been involved in the

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