Canadian Lawyer

March 2008

The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers

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ASSOCIATES Telecommuting has its privileges Lawyer with Winnipeg firm finds it's just as easy to do her job from Cannes as from Portage and Main. BY B ILL ROGERS incrementally. "You don't just tell your firm that you plan to leave the country, but they'll still be able to reach you, so they shouldn't worry," says Schafer with a laugh. "You need to prove that telecom- muting works. You do that in small por- tions. Once you show that you can get the work done, and they can still contact you, you're okay. They'll realize it doesn't matter where you are." Schafer ended up telecommuting T from France. Her law firm, Pitblado LLP, is located in Winnipeg. With thousands of miles separating the office from the command post she set up in Cannes, a picturesque town on the Mediterranean, the logistics might have seemed daunt- ing. But with high-speed internet and international cellphone service, she may as well have been right next door. Apart from the time-zone difference, there were no problems. She has geared her practice — which focuses on tech- nology and privacy law — in such a way that she can work independently. She spends most of her time drafting opin- ion letters and contracts, so if she has her laptop and her phone to discuss issues with clients and colleagues, she's good to go. "With my practice it doesn't matter so much where I am," she says. "I draft documents and do the research that lies behind things, so I don't really need to he electronic age gives law- yers more opportunity to work outside the office, but Carol Lynn Schafer has a word of warning: do it Good telecommute if you can get it: Carol Lynn Schafer with her son in Cannes, France. be working with anyone. When I do, I'm usually discussing the documents, which I can do over the phone." When it comes to technology law, the documents she drafts tend to be novel, so she doesn't require precedents. "We draft from scratch a lot," she explains. "We work with web developers and video game creators who are trying to license their products. Often there are no precedents. That's one of the reasons 16 M ARCH 2008 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com I can work outside the office. It's not like I need to be flipping through a binder looking for them." Cannes was a good place to set up shop, Schafer says. "When the festivals and conferences aren't going on, there are plenty of places to rent. And it's very progressive, so you have lots of options for internet. My husband, who has his own internet company, and I could stay very connected." That turned out to be

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