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REGIONAL WRAP-UP THINGS ARE HOPPING ON THE end in November with a series of big annoucements. First came word that McMillan LLP and I Lang Michener LLP would come together to form Canada's 12th-largest law firm with about 400 lawyers. The merged firm, which became effective Jan. 1, will operate under the McMillan name and is headed up by McMillan's CEO Andrew Kent. "We felt we had to use a single name that symbolized a unified firm in order to be competitive in the national legal mar- ketplace," Robert Cranston, head of Lang Michener's eastern operations, told Law Times at the time of the merger announce- ment. "Both names had great value, but we had to pick one and when we looked at the realities, this was a three-party combina- tion in which McMillan was the largest." Lang Michener had offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Hong Kong, while McMillan operations were in Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary. That growth came from McMillan's combination with Montreal firm Mendelsohn in 2005 and a subsequent amalgamation with most of the Calgary office of Thackray Burgess in 2009. A week later, McMillan was knocked from the headlines when news broke that t had been pretty quiet on the law firm merger front in Canada for some time but that all came to an Ogilvy Renault LLP would be the first Canadian law firm to go global by join- ing the international legal practice Norton Rose Group on June 1. Norton Rose is structured on the Swiss Verein model, which has no financial integration between its components. As a result, some commentators noted that it's not really a merger but more of an alliance as the partners would not be sharing rev- enues across the firm. Canadian revenues stay in and are shared by the Canadian partners only. While the merger will increase Ogilvys' global reach, Norton Rose has no mem- bers in the United States, which again had commentators saying the alliance is not the strongest. However, Norton Rose insists the U.S. is on its radar. "We're not quite there yet but we do envision a union with an American firm," said Stephen Parish, Norton Rose Group's chairman, during a press conference call. "Our approach is to get other pieces of the jigsaw in place first." Not really considered at the forefront of growth in Canada's legal marketplace, Ogilvys was the last of the large Montreal firms to move to Toronto; it only recent- ly opened an office in Calgary; and it doesn't have a branch in Vancouver. Its only foreign presence is a small repre- sentative contingent in London, England. BJ OPENS OFFICE IN U.A.E. oil and energy law expertise and help Canadian companies grow in the Middle East and North Africa. "We have something to offer on the international scene, and for us, we figured this was a good place to plant the flag," says chairman and CEO Hugh MacKinnon. The presence in Dubai will be led by former Ontario Securities B Commission senior counsel John MacNeil, corporate-commercial partner Jim McDermott, and Middle East managing partner Dany ennett Jones LLP drilled deeper into international markets with the November opening of an office in the United Arab Emirates, which it will use to showcase its Assaf, who will split his time between Toronto and Dubai. Bennett Jones — currently the only Canadian firm licensed to practise law in the U.A.E. — plans to expand the office's stable up to six to 10 lawyers this year though local hiring and relocation of Canadian lawyers. MacKinnon says the office will be used to service Canadian clients doing business in the region, and to help U.A.E. businesses operating in the Canadian market. The firm plans to drum up sig- nificant domestic work as well. Located in the Dubai International Financial Centre, the new office will be well-positioned to do just www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com JAN UARY 2011 7 However, this move is definitely a first for a Canadian firm. "I predict that this announcement will create a lot of change in the legal landscape. Canadian law firms may not disappear but they will follow our lead in some way," said Ogilvys' chairman Norman Steinberg. As Canadian Lawyer was going to press in early December, Miller Thomson LLP announced it was merging with 24-law- yer Saskatchewan firm Balfour Moss LLP. This will bring Miller Thomson's lawyer count to 480. With offices in a number of locations in Ontario and Alberta, as well as Montreal and Vancouver, such an alliance would make Miller Thomson the most national of all national firms and the only one with a foothold in Saskatchewan. Balfour Moss has offices in Regina and Saskatoon. "This is the latest in a series of strategic mergers designed to extend and deepen Miller Thomson's national reach," said MT chairman Gerald Courage. "Saskatchewan has become a significant player in the Canadian economy, and we are eager to take part in the province's unprecedented economic success story." For more analysis and details and a look at where Canada's legal market is headed, read next month's Canadian Lawyer. — GAIL J. COHEN gail.cohen@thomsonreuters.com NATIONAL MER GER FR O N T C ontinued on pa g e 8