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REGIONAL WRAP-UP The new standard appears to have tar- geted First Canadian Title Co., a subsid- iary of First American Title Insurance Co. The fi rm is very good at what it does. Indeed, First Canadian is now the coun- try's leading provider of title insurance and consumes 35 per cent of Canada's land title business and 65 per cent of the title insurance business. Its success, after only 16 years on the scene, is marked by a highly effi cient process that requires few lawyers. In the case of New Brunswick, the company has only three full-time lawyers on the payroll. It was a situation that did not seem to sit well with the law society or the 1,500 lawyers it represents. In response, the soci- ety adopted new standards for the practice of real estate law, among them s. 52.1(h), referred to as the "impugned provision" in the recent trial. First Canadian Title (FCT) argued that the new requirements were not contemplated by the Land Titles Act and were adopted for an improper purpose. "This requirement made it more com- plex and costly for FCT to carry on its lender program," Justice Thomas Riordon noted in his 56-page decision. "FCT says it was not able to retain local lawyers for MOVES & SHAKES NOVA SCOTIA • Timothy P. Rorabeck has moved to Stewart McKelvey from McInnes Cooper. He will be a partner practising tax and corporate-commercial law in Halifax. • Patrick J. Duncan, a lawyer with Beveridge MacPherson & Duncan in Halifax, has been elevated to the bench of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. He replaces Justice A.P. Boudreau (Digby), who elected to become a supernumerary judge. NEW BRUNSWICK • Cox & Palmer welcomes Aaron M. Savage as an associate to its Fredericton, N.B. offi ce, where he will practise corporate-commercial law. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND • Cox & Palmer has added a fourth location in Prince Edward Island after joining forces with the law offi ce of J. Allan Shaw in Alberton. "We are delighted to have an offi ce on the west end of the Island. Being accessible to our clients is very important to Cox & Palmer, and location plays a big part in delivering quality client service," says Mary-Lynn Kane, managing partner of Cox & Palmer's P.E.I. offi ces. ONTARIO • Name partner Won Kim left 16-lawyer class action boutique Roy Elliott Kim O'Connor LLP (REKO) to set • Joel Heard is the newest partner in the construction law group at Gowlings LLP in Toronto. He was formerly at construction law boutique Jutras Greco Heard LLP. up his own fi rm. A handful of REKO lawyers will also make the move with Kim but at press time he would not confi rm names. The new boutique will represent plaintiff s and defence in class actions and securities cases. • J.P. Yves Caron has left Bell Canada to join the Ottawa offi ce of Gowlings LLP's business law group. Also in Ottawa, Any Mayer joins Gowlings from Nelligan O'Brien Payne as an associate doing Canadian Medical Protective Association work. Associate Michael O'Neill joins the fi rm's IP department from Ogilvy Renault. Lastly, associate Mary Jane Richards moves from the Toronto offi ce to Ottawa's busines law department •The Honourable Jo'Anne Strekaf, a lawyer with Bennett Jones LLP, has also been appointed to the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta. She replaces Justice T.F. McMahon (Calgary) who was elected to become a supernumerary judge. Bench of Alberta. He replaces Justice P.A. Rowbotham (Calgary) who was appointed to the Court of Appeal. its lender program transactions. It alleges most lawyers were not willing to act for FCT, their competitor, and if they were prepared to act, the cost would be prohibi- tive," he added. FCT tried to play by the new rules, which also meant the company had to begin pushing paper instead of fi ling elec- tronically, a move it said cost more than $600,000. In the end, FCT decided it didn't want to play any more and took the law society to court. Six years and almost $500,000 later, the court found that the impugned provision of the standards is invalid. "It is in con- fl ict with the procedures prescribed in the pertinent legislation," said Riordon. "The law society does not have the power or jurisdiction to administer the land titles system; that is the mandate of Service New Brunswick." The court also found that the law so- ciety, founded in 1846, does not have the jurisdiction to regulate the registration procedures and methods to carry out the intent and purposes of the Land Titles Act. "The impugned provision is in my opin- ion ultra vires, it is inconsistent and con- fl icts with procedures provided for in the Land Titles Act and the regulations made under that act," said Riordon. Then Riordon dropped the bomb- shell: "I am satisfi ed that the predomi- nant purpose of the impugned section of the standards was to address the con- cerns about competition from the plain- tiffs," said the judge. Helping him reach that conclusion were several documents, including a letter from the chair of the Property Law Advisory Committee to an employee at Service New Brunswick. It said: "I would suggest that the title insurance companies will be the only losers with respect to the implementation of this new land title system throughout the province, as it will create an environ- ment where their services are simply not required. As you are aware, title insurance, the product of 'Yankee ingenuity,' is a new phenomena in Canada, having developed only over the last decade." No one's talking much in the wake of the Court of Queen's Bench decision. Not surprising, since an appeal may be immi- nent. In the meantime, however, the Yan- kee is staying put. — DONALEE MOULTON donalee@quantumcommunications.ca • John McClure and James Smellie have joined Gowlings LLP in Calgary as special partners. McClure was formerly at Felesky Flynn and practises business law. Smellie moves from Osler Hoskin Harcourt into the advocacy group. Karen O'Keeff e, Courtney Mercier, and Alec Silenzi also join the offi ce as associates. • Alexander M. Kooiman has joined The Law Firm of W. Donald Goodfellow in Calgary as an associate. • Deron P. Waldock has joined Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP as a partner in its pension & employee benefi ts group. Before moving to Blakes, he was a partner with Bennett Jones LLP in Toronto. • Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP welcomes Vickie Wong to the fi rm's fi nancial services group as a partner in its Toronto offi ce. Wong was previously at McMillan Binch Mendelsohn LLP. ALBERTA • Earl C. Wilson, a lawyer with Wolch Wilson Hursh & de Wit in Calgary, has been appointed to the Court of Queen's 14 JANU AR Y 2008 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com BRITISH COLUMBIA • Former judge Wallace Craig has been named a board member of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. Craig worked in the justice system in Vancouver for 46 years, including 26 on the bench, before retiring in 2001. • Judge Thérèse Alexander, who sits in New Westminster, B.C., is the new president of the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges. Please send your submissions for Moves and Shakes to moves@clbmedia.ca