Canadian Lawyer

L&E Global, an international alliance of boutiques. "We're able to connect clients to firms in other jurisdictions and they're able to refer work to us," says Young. F or many intellectual property firms, concerns pharmaceutical litigation would dry up, removing a core source of income for many, appear to be as yet unfounded. However, the type of litigation "seems to be changing in character," says Bruce Stratton, partner at Dimock Stratton LLP. Court fights have moved "out of the regulatory space," towards the realm of patent enforcement, he says. Patents in general are seen as a strong area by IP boutiques. Two major patent cases in the past year, involving National Oilwell Varco Canada and Merck & Co. Inc., have helped to demonstrate "the benefits that can be unlocked by patent litigation," says Stratton. Joseph Ulvr, a partner at Moffat & Co./ Macera & Jarzyna LLP, agrees patent law is booming, but says trademark law is expe- 34 Untitled-2 r1y 2 0 1 4 Janua www.CANADIAN riencing "pressures." "There are a lot more people hanging out their own shingle in the trademark area," says Ulvr. At the other end of the scale, some larger companies are opting to bring IP in-house, he adds. Stratton echoes Ulvr's comments about trademarks, saying they seem to be more "sensitive to price pressures." Despite these challenges, and against growing competition from Big Law's IP practice groups, boutiques believe their specialist approach will continue to attract clients. "We have [lawyers] who have very considerable training, with a variety of science disciplines," says Bereskin & Parr LLP founding partner Dan Bereskin. "A lot of our people have PhDs and science degrees," he adds. "That's really essential." As science evolves and IP litigation grows more complex, having a high level of specialist knowledge will become even more crucial, believes Bereskin. Canadian IP firms may also be well placed to soak up work from clients south of the border. "Canada and the U.S. share L a w ye r m a g . c o m a long border where goods travel relatively freely between the countries," says Ulvr. "Clients may want to take advantage of Canada's close geographical proximity to the U.S., in terms of another potential market for their product, or idea." The growth of digital media is helping to turn the relatively niche area of copyright into another bright spot, according to Stratton. In order to grasp these chances, IP boutiques will need to stay on top of a raft of legislation and international agreements set to have a major impact on their clients. These include anti-counterfeiting laws, the European Union trade agreement, and trademark consultations. Canadian Lawyer selected Canada's top IP and labour and employment boutiques by asking readers to rank a shortlist of notable firms in each area, and by drawing on the experience of in-house counsel and large-firm lawyers. The following results are an alphabetical list of the 10 boutique firms in each area that are rated most highly by other lawyers. 13-12-11 10:11 AM

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