Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m J u n e 2 0 1 4 11 with its water and mud brought the whole thing to a sudden, if surprisingly brief, halt. Arnold managed to get back in business within days by setting up in one room of a friendly accountant's office. Picnic tables, files, and two assistants were all wedged in. "A lot of time," he recalls, "was taken to get people to understand they couldn't com- plete the transfers they had been counting on." He says one man threatened to call the police because he believed Arnold had stolen the money for his house sale because it may, or may not, have been locked up in the lawyer's trust account. Arnold couldn't say because his computer was knocked out. The matter was resolved but flare-ups of anger and frustration were common among hard-pressed clients. On that June day, George Dearing got out of his downtown office with flood waters literally lapping at his ankles. But he managed to quickly set up a makeshift operation in a garage in nearby Okotoks. "I think we bought every temporary plastic shelf unit in southern Calgary," he says with a laugh and a touch of storyteller's hyperbole. At first he had nowhere to meet clients and had to "sign up mortgages on kitchen tables, and on one occasion, on the hood of my truck at an intersection out in the countryside." But now he says "we've managed to get everything back together" and he is optimistic about the housing market in his still-recovering town. Dearing says even flood-damaged homes are selling primarily to Calgarians driven out of the city by the high real estate values there. He notes he is closing deals on those homes "as long as people know what they are getting into and have an appraisal and the bank is satisfied." "We have risen again," says John Andresen referring to the fact when the flood hit last year, he was in Bolivia on a climbing holiday. Andresen sat devastated in the hotel getting more and more bad news from home via his computer. A fellow climber pulled out his guitar and sang Stan Rogers' inspirational Mary Ellen Carter, a song about rising again from disaster. "Yes," says Andresen recalling the incident, "we're back." However, Andresen only managed to return to his completely refurbished office in February of this year. But he is upbeat. Andresen likes his new office and senses rekindling energy and hope in his com- munity. He, too, has seen a surge in real estate purchases including buyers picking up restored but flood-damaged properties. "They've been significantly discounted," he says of the remediated units, "and there are Calgarians who just can't afford a similar house there." He acknowledges there has been pessimism about High River's future but points out "for everyone who had moved out, someone has moved in." As for Andresen's take on the future? He looks a visitor right in the eye, "I'm not moving." — GEoff ELLwAND writerlaw@gmail.com 2014-15 ATLANTIC LEGAL TELEPHONE DIRECTORY STAY CONNECTED TO YOUR LEGAL NETWORK 2014-15 Atlantic Legal Telephone Directory connects you to your legal community providing accurate and essential legal contact information in all four Canadian Atlantic Provinces. Compiled by the respected legal directories group at Thomson Reuters, you can rely on a directory that grows and expands with your legal community. Each year find new and updated names, mailing addresses, email addresses and phone numbers for lawyers and law offices. Also get quick, easy access to: • Law and Barristers' Societies • Courts of Appeal • Federal Court of Canada • Government of Canada departments • Judicial districts and judicial officials • Incorporated Municipalities • Land registration and information services • The Associations of Land Surveyors • Law Foundation • Provincial government departments • Boards and Commissions • Law Related Services, Institutions and Organizations • University law faculties ... and much more. 1FSGFDUCPVOEȕ+VOF ȕ- Multiple copy discounts available 1MVTBQQMJDBCMFUBYFTBOETIJQQJOHIBOEMJOH (Prices subject to change without notice) Stay connected with the 2014-15 Atlantic Legal Telephone Directory. Order your copy today. Visit www.carswell.com or call 1-800-387-5164 for a 30-day, no risk evaluation ntitled-2 1 14-04-17 8:57 AM

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