Canadian Lawyer

www.canadianlawyermag.com 21 ance brokers — are seeing greater exposure to potential negligence claims. Norm Snyder of Top Prairie Firm Taylor McCaffrey LLP, based in Winnipeg, says the firm's corporate commercial litigation, tax and employment and labour practices have seen a sharp uptick in business. "Our lawyers are spending an incred- ible amount of time helping businesses here walk through various pandemic responses, vaccine policies and privacy issues, as well as any tax and corporate or insolvency issues that have arisen from the pandemic," says Snyder, who was until recently the firm's managing partner. Luckily, he says, Manitoba has always had a "stable, steady" economy that doesn't have huge swings compared to places such as Saskatchewan and Alberta. Nicholas M. Cann, Q .C., Partner at McKercher LLP, says that law firms, like most others, have had to "adapt to new ways" of doing things. "We were on our way to make some of those changes prior to COVID-19 but the pandemic certainly prompted quicker change. We are, however, most definitely seeing the results of greater efficiency in systems." He adds that emerging areas such as cyber security, data protection and coverage issues have also increased in frequency and complexity — likely given the huge uptake on virtual platforms, meetings and events as the Petroleum Technology Research Centre's Midale-Weyburn CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery Project among the types of innovative work for which law firms in the Prairies will need expertise. Dealing with COVID-19 From transitioning to remote work and appearing before all levels of court virtually, COVID-19 was the number-one issue that Robertson Stromberg has faced in recent months, says Pereira. "As information about the virus evolves, our office has seen an increase in employ- ment law and insurance inquiries," she says. "We augmented our procedures to allow our lawyers to continue to provide legal services to our clients. This has meant changing the way we conduct client meetings, arrange for the signing of documents, and how we conduct mediations and questionings." Bernice Bowley, chair of the litigation practice at Fillmore Riley, says that her firm has seen a major uptick in business interrup- tion insurance-related litigation — including class-action claims related to the pandemic — and anticipates that the "trend will continue." The firm has also observed a pronounced rise in professional liability litigation. Profes- sionals working in fields subject to enhanced COVID-19 safety protocols and business advisors — for example, commercial insur- IN PRAISE OF PRAIRIE LAW FIRMS Fillmore Riley LLP: "Great people and responsiveness" MLT Aikins LLP: "Best Lawyers in multiple practice areas and regional coverage of Western Canada" Pitbaldo LLP: "Proactive advice focused on risk mitigation, capitalizing on opportunities" Taylor McCaffrey LL: "Good, timely reporting, accountability to litigation budgets" Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP: "High calibre of knowledgeable professionals in many fields of law" McDougall Gauley LLP: "Top notch counsel involved in big, important cases" McKercher LLP: "Well rounded firm, providing excellent legal services at a reasonable cost" Miller Thomson LLP: "Large, full-service firm with excellent lawyers and national platform" Robertson Stromberg LLP: "The lawyers are routinely recognized as leaders in their respective fields" "Companies are looking to diversify and grow, and it's putting in a lot of money into rural Manitoba, which is fantastic, and lawyers are there to help things along." Keith LaBossiere, Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP

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