Canadian Lawyer - sample

34 M A R C H 2 0 1 9 w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m "They're looking for ways where they can become truly part- ners with us and try to take on some of that role and responsi- bility that isn't pure legal work; things that they could be doing to make things move more quickly and as cost effective as pos- sible," he says. Like free agents before the trade deadline, the legal market- place has seen a lot of mobility recently and Egan says Weir- Foulds has been a beneficiary of a few well-established lawyers who landed at the firm. "I think being a mid-size firm in Toronto and Ontario pres- ents a great opportunity that way. And I think there are lots of chances for us to meet with lawyers out there who are looking for exactly what we have in terms of what it can bring their cli- ents and what it can bring their practice," he says. Older than the country it is in, WeirFoulds LLP has been in operation for more than 160 years. Egan says the firm was origi- nally known for having top-notch litigators, the go-to for other law firms when it came to Court of Appeal or Supreme Court litigation. Over the last 60 years, the corporate law practice has grown, now making up around half of the firm's business. The firm is "locally focused," having decided to be a "promi- nent and relevant regional firm," which means focusing on municipal law, construction, real estate and leasing, he says, add- ing that the firm is strong in commercial and construction litiga- tion, has a regulatory group looking after self-governing bodies in the province and has recently added a group that has a strong IP practice. Though still fresh from the first hand-off of power in the province for 15 years, those interviewed at Ontario's top regional firms said the recent change in provincial government has yet to have much of an impact on business and that of their clients, with Egan saying everyone has a "wait-and-see" attitude toward the new regime. One area, however, where the new government's policies have had an effect has been in labour and employment. Cohen says that Torkin Manes has seen "lots of activity" from the see-sawing of labour and employment changes brought by the provincial government. In October 2018, the Doug Ford government put the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, also known as Bill 148, under review. In November, the Making Ontario Open for Busi- ness Act was passed by the legislature. The PC riposte kept some of the Liberal reforms, such as paid vacation requirements, the introduction of domestic or sexual violence leave and increased parental leave, but it axed other reforms, including the mini- mum wage increase and rules giving employees more control of shift scheduling. "There was lots of activity in education by our labour and employment group in terms of just getting our clients up to speed with the new employment framework and then some of those changes were rolled back and not implemented," Cohen says. Since last time Canadian Lawyer featured the top Ontario regional firms, the most significant change for Cohen's clients has been the federal government's altering of the tax framework. In 2017, the Liberal government instituted tax reform to prevent income splitting for small businesses and self-employed profes- sionals, where income would be split among family members to be taxed at a lower rate. Cohen says the tax changes have lowered the amount of work the firm was doing in tax reorga- nization and tax planning for "entrepreneurial owner-operated businesses." Tax policy south of the border is also influencing legal busi- ness in Ontario. Arlene O'Neill, a partner at Gardiner Roberts LLP, says there also is a windfall coming to Canada from U.S. investors with more money to play with. "And that has increased or at least continued to fuel the engine of U.S. investors interested in Canada," she says. Gardiner Roberts has been operating since Frederick Gardiner and Fred Parkinson teamed up in the 1920s. O'Neill says the firm began with a vigorous municipal law practice — which fits with Gardiner in 1953 becoming the first chairman of the municipality of metropolitan Toronto. The strong economic performance of the Greater Toronto Area has been the "bread and butter" for Minden Gross LLP, says managing partner Raymond Slattery. Minden Gross has a strong "corporate commercial, entrepreneurial, family-owned local business practice," but its core specialty is commercial real estate, he says, adding the GTA continues to drive business in commercial real estate, bolstered by immigration and economic growth. Like businesses across the continent, the top regional firms are strategically positioning themselves to elevate business with a hit of legal cannabis. "Cannabis has been strong for us on a variety of fronts . . . from taking companies public to dealing with workplace policies [and] renting out to dispensaries," Slattery says. "It covers the whole gamut of the practice." Cannabis legalization has created a "burst" of businesses jockeying for position and lawyers offering cannabis specializations to build proper business structures, provide regulatory and workplace- policy advice and enter that burgeoning marketplace, O'Neill says. "It's like a mini tech boom, but it's cannabis," she says. How we did it To come up with our top 10 Ontario regional firm list, Canadian Lawyer asked lawyers, in-house counsel and clients from across Canada to nominate firms worthy of being ranked. We took that list, created a survey and pushed that survey through all our channels to summon the widest participation possible. Respondents' rankings were based on firms' regional service coverage, client base, notable mandates, service excellence and legal expertise, and we included an opportunity for respondents to suggest a firm not already on the list. To be included, firms had to have offices in Ontario exclusively and offer a wide range of legal services. Voters ranked firms from one to 10, with first-place votes earning 10 points and points decreasing by one up to one point for a 10th-place vote. Points were added up and firms ranked accordingly.

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