www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse 27
representation for that client or customer,"
says Furlong.
As the largest defence boutique in Ontario,
Dutton Brock LLP represents 14 of the leading
insurance companies in Canada. Despite
challenges faced by many insurance defence
boutiques as a result of competition from a
growing number of in-house departments at
insurance companies, Dutton Brock has
weathered the storm successfully.
"Through a combination of being the right
size and having the right speciality, we can
handle commodity work and also take on
more specialized commercial insurance
litigation," says Stephen Mullings, a partner at
Dutton Brock. "We're excited for the future,
and we're in a position to really move forward
in terms of adapting to the changes that the
industry is going through and the needs
of our clients."
For her part, Furlong says that Aviva
anticipates having plenty of work for her
in-house department and for external law
firms in 2020.
HOW WE DID IT
Last year, Canadian Lawyer
asked lawyers, in-house
counsel and clients from across
Canada to vote on the top insurance
defence boutiques. They were asked
to rank their top firms from a
preliminary list, with a chance to
nominate a firm that was not
included. To qualify for our list and be
voted for in our survey, firms were
required to derive a minimum of 80
per cent of their work from as well as
self-identify as focusing on insurance
defence law.
