Canadian Lawyer InHouse

MAY/JUNE 2019 44 INHOUSE partment, Boulakia aims to maintain and strengthen a streamlined way to get work done that is relationship based and with good reporting. He finds that with the two primary law firms to which he sends work for corporate work and the company's real estate transaction work in Quebec. Internally, his in-house lawyers in Mis - sissauga support operations and human resources, and a lawyer in the company's Montreal office handles all Quebec matters. "We're a real estate company, but really we are an operating company — so for every retirement home we buy or sell, it is like buying or selling a whole business," says Boulakia. Like many in-house counsel these days, Boulakia is regularly approached by third- party vendors with solutions to aid in the management of legal department opera - tions. But he says he prefers to stay on top of the matters he has at hand himself to en- sure the most effective representation of the company's needs. "I get calls from third-party organiza- tion intended to help me track fees and it's never been of much interest because my job is to make sure I am on top of these files, and whatever tools I can get from law firms is helpful, but I haven't explored any third- party tools," he says. "Part of it might be that we're not big enough to be interested in these solutions. If I had 100 lawyers like some banks do, maybe then the general counsel does need those tools to keep on top of files. I have good rela - tionships with all the lawyers who work with me, as do all the people who work with me." In several ways, Boulakia leverages long- time relationships with his external firms to make things run smoothly, especially in the company's high-demand communities. Quebec is a booming market for retire - ment residences where seniors are moving to those kinds of homes in large numbers. "The penetration of seniors living in re- tirement homes in Quebec is about three times higher as Ontario or the rest of Can- ada," he says. "It's a really complex business. Our customers live with us and we give them health care and hospitality services and feed them. On the legal front, there is definitely real estate work and most of the real estate Relationship effectiveness Small in-house departments such as those headed up by Jonathan Boulakia of Chartwell Retirement Residence prefer to oversee the management of files and control cost through relationships. BY JENNIFER BROWN AMID THE HYPE and ongoing dialogue around the future of law and innovation in the legal profession, the reality is many small law departments in Canada still feel effective legal advice and suitable fee arrangements come not from new service delivery models but through good management and long-term cultivation of relationships with external counsel. Such is the case with Jonathan Boulakia, chief legal of - ficer of Chartwell Retirement Residences, based in Mis- sissauga, Ont. When it comes to managing his legal de- Jonathan Boulakia (right), chief legal officer, Chartwell Retirement Residence, says he manages legal costs by having good relationships with external counsel such as Anne Ristic (left), co-managing partner of Stikeman Elliott LLP.

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