Canadian Lawyer InHouse

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH THE BUSINESS UNITS AT OMERS? I have been lucky as I have worked closely with Pension Legal's core client (the Pension Services Group) since I was first hired in 2005. In fact for about four and half years, Pension Legal was part of that business unit organizationally, reporting to the Chief Pension Officer. It was an amazing opportunity to be entrenched in the pension administration side of the business and to learn how it's run, the challenges they face and how best to address legal issues. That's really important because it enabled us to build a strong foundation upon which to work together on day-to-day files, as well as strategic projects from the ground up, such as the AVC option. simon fish svP, general counsel, Bmo WHAT MAJOR BUSINESS CHALLENGES FACE THE BMO LEGAL TEAM IN 2014? T he last couple of years have been very demanding for fi nancial services across the board. Canadian banks generally have done well but it's a global system so we're all affected. I don't expect the regulatory scrutiny to diminish in any way. So far as our own bank is concerned, I'm very optimistic. 2013 was a good year and I think 2014 is where we will build on that and I think it's going to be an exciting time for us. We've been expanding into Asia considerably — we are the only Canadian Bank to be fully licensed in China, for example, and we now have quite extensive operations in China, Singapore, and Japan and that represents an important growth opportunity for us. In many respects China is operating in an emerging legal framework so having good lawyers and compliance officers in place in our operations over there has been especially important. We've ensured we have top-rate lawyers there and we're in constant communication with China and encourage our Chinese lawyers to come here. We also second lawyers from here to China for periods of time to ensure there is a general alignment in approach and understanding because culture differences and operating differences can lead to all sorts of legal challenges. HOW DO YOU GROW YOUR TEAM TO KEEP UP WITH THE DEMANDS OF THE BUSINESS? We never rest on our laurels. We have a significant knowledge management and professional services team whose job it is to constantly come up with innovative products and ways of developing and delivering legal services to the business. I like to think of us as being independent yet truly engaged in all of the businesses so we're right there when the appropriate decisions are being made. I liken it as to being much like the manufacturing division of the enterprise. In the same way a consumer company might manufacture consumer products or a manufacturer might sell petroleum products we manufacture and sell contracts. We call them loans and deposits and structured investment vehicles, notes and derivatives, but at the end of the day they are all contracts and legal instruments. So the role we lawyers play in our institutions is not unlike that of the engineer on the factory floor of the manufacturing division. We make the products this institution sells so our job is to make them safely before we put them in the hands of the consumer. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE SYSTEM YOU HAVE IN PLACE FOR REVIEWING THE BANK'S EXTERNAL COUNSEL? We meet at least annually for formal reviews and perhaps more frequently for more informal performance reviews with all of the firms. I would say the firms have all responded well to these reviews and they welcome the canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse February 2014 23

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