The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/303654
w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m M a y 2 0 1 4 35 Canadian Lawyer 's top boutiques in litigation, business immigration, and commercial real estate are adjusting to the changing economic environment. By Charlotte Santry L itigation boutiques face increasingly stiff competition from each other as well as from larger firms; those named in Canadian Lawyer's Top 10 have proven themselves in a field with many high performing play- ers. In a crowded market, top litigation boutiques cannot afford to offer ser- vices falling anything short of excellent says Matthew Gottlieb, managing part- ner at one of this year's winners, Lax O'Sullivan Scott Lisus LLP. "There's no doubt litigation is becoming more com- petitive," he says. But "large businesses are bringing very significant mandates to the boutiques," he adds. Many of this year's Top 10 litiga- tion boutiques have acted for some of Canada's biggest banks, energy firms, and telecommunications companies securing wins at every level of court. Henein Hutchison LLP successful- ly represented Telus in the Supreme Court of Canada case R. v. TELUS Communications Co., which assessed whether police could use general search warrants for monitoring text mes- sages. Henein Hutchison partner Scott Hutchison says companies are attuned to the public's growing discomfort with "offside" surveillance practices, fol- lowing the Edward Snowden scandal. "They will comply with law enforce- ment whenever they have to, but they also recognize that customers expect they will defend their privacy," he says. Toughened compliance rules, includ- ing the implementation of a vigorous money laundering regime, have also provided opportunities for the firm to offer advice to companies wishing to stay on the right side of the law. F or business immigration boutiques, competition generally comes in the form of other boutiques. "This area is specific and complex enough and changing quite rapidly — Canadian clients are looking for really specialist expertise," says George Reis, managing partner at Egan LLP. Since Egan's inception in 2007 as a boutique allied with EY in Canada, the other professional services firms have started offering business immigra- tion services, including KPMG Law LLP, formerly Greenberg Turner, which Facing challenges head on