Canadian Lawyer

Regional wRap-up CAlGARY lAw FIRm TAPS PUblIC PURSE FOR HISTORY bOOk Continued from page 9 CAlGARY lAwYERS mERGING, mOVING, AND SHAkING profession, not just Macleod Dixon.��� Alberta Culture���s John Tuckwell also defends the book, saying it was reviewed by a grant application team and without stating specifics, was found to be ���a vital resource for scholarship.��� That may be because the grant-seeking lawyers promised the application team something of an insider���s look at one of Alberta���s most successful law firms. The writers have certainly been frank about the firm���s early history, including the alcoholism of one of the first partners and its near collapse during the Depression. While the firm���s deep links with the Alberta Conservatives are uncritically portrayed, the book does cast some light on the boozy, naughty boys atmosphere that once prevailed at Macleod Dixon and throughout much of the legal profession during the ���50s and ���60s. As the book moves into the present day, it perhaps understandably drops any pretence of being social history and becomes something of a public relations exercise. It details a string of successful business deals and outlines Macleod Dixon���s significant expansion overseas. In this work not a discouraging word will be found about the modern office where lawyers are hardworking, uncritically dedicated to their firm, and tend to devote any spare time to noble causes. While the effort to produce a narrative with an appeal beyond just the Macleod Dixon world is commendable it is in the end a private history and in this case, thanks to the questionable gatekeeping of Alberta Culture, a publicly-funded private history. ��� GeoFF eLLwAND writerlaw@gmail.com 10 April 2013 www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m GEOFF EllwAND J ust about the time late last year that Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP was formally announcing it plans to combine with Salans LLP and SNR Denton to form Dentons, eight senior members of FMC���s Calgary office made an announcement of their own: they were leaving to set up their own firm. Led by long-time FMC partner Jim Rose, the group created its own boutique firm, Rose LLP. It combines some of FMC���s top Calgary lawyers in construction law, commercial litigation, and commercial insurance disputes. While Matt Lindsay, a former FMC managing partner, acknowledges it is ���a common source of speculation��� that the impending amalgamation precipitated the exodus of the eight, he insists it was just the right time to go. ���I have the highest regard ��� as do the others ��� for FMC,��� he says. Both Lindsay and Rose point out conflicts rules mean there is an opening in the Calgary market for a smaller, more nimble partnership not encumbered Former FMC lawyers with the numerous conflicts created by a in Calgary have formed big firm environment. ���We want to do what we have Rose LLP. been doing at the quality level we have been doing it . . . but we want to do it in a boutique setting,��� says Lindsay. ���We thought there was room for another strong competitor.��� They moved into their new downtown offices in February but for weeks were surrounded by construction materials including a piece of plywood with a building permit stapled to it for a front door. Rose calls the plywood door and the inevitable startup glitches just part of ���the angst and excitement of going out on our own.��� He says at 66 it is rejuvenating to be part of the new venture. ���From my perspective it���s fun, it���s fantastic. It���s been a real shot in the arm and with my name on the door, I think I���ve got tenure,��� he says, laughing as he dips into the enormous basket of goodies sent by well-wishers from the business community. Rose is the most senior member of the new firm. Other parnters include Lindsay, who says for him it was an opportunity he could not miss. ���At 48, I was worried if I didn���t do it, I���d never do it.��� With the startup phase now coming to an end, and with a fine new office door in place, the partners are feeling optimistic. ���The reaction, so far, has been very positive,��� says Rose, talking about the firm���s client base. FMC has seen other lawyers depart as well. The Toronto office of Calgarybased Bennett Jones managed to poach 11 key corporate mining and securities lawyers from FMC���s King and Bay home office. ���We are delighted to have them,��� said Bennett Jones chairman and CEO Hugh McKinnon. And there has been more moving and shaking on the Calgary legal scene. The small but well-regarded Calgary firm Armstrong Mitchell Lawyers has been enticed downtown to become part of the great big Norton Rose machine. AML specialized in labour and employment law, exactly the kind of work they are now doing for Norton Rose. NR���s Toronto-based Richard Charney tells Canadian Lawyer: ���Employment and labour is one of the pillars of our practice and we want to grow and sustain that area.��� So is Norton Rose looking at other small-but-valuable players who may want to join the big team? ���We���re always open,��� says Charney. ��� Ge

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