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BEST IN THE WEST By Robert Todd Lawson Lundell tops s ranking of the top 10 firms in B.C., Alberta, and the North. I t wasn't long ago that a wave of mergers formed a cluster of large, national law firms and prompted legal industry pundits to declare the death of the region- al firm. There is no way they can stand up to the boundless resources of big law, the experts cried. Fast- forward a decade or so, and it's safe to declare that doomsday scenario, shall we say, a tad premature. "As Mark Twain said, rumours of our demise are greatly exaggerated," says Edmonton-based Field LLP manag- ing partner James Casey. Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP managing partner David Garner says his Vancouver firm does get clients who view larger firms as a poor fit. "Certainly there's a place for national firms and international firms that have the multiple offices, but I think there's also a place for the regional firm that knows this area, or knows an industry," says Garner. He suggests many clients have taken a few deep breaths and returned to regional firms after the initial enthusiasm that followed the first round of national mergers. Casey suggests lawyers also see advantages to practising in regional firms. "Our partners have always said 36 ApRil 2010 www. C ANADiAN law ye rmag.com that they value their autonomy and their independence above all else in the practice of law, and we've found that we can maintain that through a regional firm structure, doing very challenging and interesting work, making good incomes, and delivering good value to our clients," he says. One advantage the regional firm managing partners say they exploit are long-standing connections with businesses in the region. "When a national firm enters our market, they cannot match the historical, deep relationships we already have with our clients," says Casey. "If we can keep our relationships strong, deliver excellent legal services, and provide those services at a lower cost than the national firms, our experience has been that we are growing our market share, rather than losing it." Certainly, all of the firms listed in Canadian Lawyer's ranking of the top regional firms in British Columbia, Alberta, and the North are a testament to the continuing viability of the regional platform. How we did it C anadian Lawyer queried practitioners from across the country to weigh in on Western Canada's top full-service, regional firms. They were asked to rank, in order, 10 firms from a preliminary list, with an opportunity to nominate a firm that was not included in the list. Voters were asked to rank the firms based on regional service coverage, client base, notable mandates, service excellence, and legal expertise. In order to be considered, firms were required to have offices only in Alberta, British Columbia, or the North, and offer a wide range of legal services. The final rankings were determined through a points system, in which firms were rewarded on a sliding scale for the number of first to 10th place votes received. This is the first in a series of law firm rankings that Canadian Lawyer will be featuring in 2010-11. — RT The rankings only include full-ser- vice firms with offices in one or more of those three areas. Each has a distinct formula for success, but all face similar challenges when it comes to standing above the crowd. Retention of top talent is one key factor. The economic downturn put a halt to fierce competition for top legal minds that just a few years ago had firms paying signing bonuses as high as $50,000. That doesn't mean firms no longer face a battle when wooing top-notch lawyers, there are simply more good firms around that offer lawyers great resources to ply their trade, notes Bull Housser & Tupper LLP managing partner Herb Isherwood. When he started in law about 25 years ago, there were four large, independent firms in Vancouver. Now there are 15 firms in the city with a multi-office or national presence. "The competi- tion has changed, the marketplace has changed," he says. On the opposite page are this year's top regional firms in B.C., Alberta, and the North. Canadian Lawyer '