The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50806
regional wrap-up McInnes Cooper fortifies Saint John office T he firm that calls itself "Atlantic Canada's Law Firm" has further solidified its presence within the region's business community through a merger with Saint John, N.B., firm Clark Drummie. The deal brings eight of Clark Drummie's 10 lawyers to McInnes Cooper's Saint John office. That ele- vates its New Brunswick stable to 62 lawyers, and brings its presence across the Atlantic region to 210. Ann Marie McDonald, partner and regional manager for New Brunswick at McInnes Cooper, says the move expands her firm's business law prac- tice in Saint John, putting it in line with the firm's other New Brunswick offices in Fredericton and Moncton. She says the merger specifically helps the firm target what it sees as growing oppor- tunities from small and medium-size enterprises. The firm had been looking "for some time" to expand in Saint John, says McDonald. The continued strength of the New Brunswick economy means McInnes Copper is "always" looking for opportunities for further growth in the province, she adds. The deal, effective July 1, came three years to the day after McInnes Cooper merged with Fredericton firm Allen Dixon Smith, which brought 10 new lawyers to the firm. Clark Drummie managing partner Willard Jenkins says the firm's partners fielded merger interest from one other large firm, but opted to move forward in discussions with McInnes Cooper. He says the deal made the most sense to the firm's partners, all of whom are 50 years of age or older. "We decided that would be the best thing to do for the firm, for the clients, staff, for every- body, as opposed to just driving the bus until the asphalt ran off the road." Richard Bird, counsel to Clark Drummie, is retiring and will not make the move to McInnes Cooper. One other lawyer, who Jenkins declined to name, also will not move. — ROBERT TODD rtodd@clbmedia.ca CeNtrAL RETIRED QUEBEC JUDGE FACES accused of the premeditated murder of his wife will remain under seal at least until after a date for further hearings on the charges is set at the end of this month in the case that has shocked and riveted the country's legal establish- ment. It is the first time in Canadian his- W tory a member of the judiciary has been charged with first-degree murder. Jacques Larochelle, the high-profile criminal defence lawyer hired by for- mer judge Jacques Delisle, obtained a publication ban on testimony before Delisle's June 23 bail hearing in Quebec City. The 75-year-old Delisle, who spent almost eight days in jail following his arrest on June 15, was released the same hat kind of proof Crown attor- neys have against a retired Quebec Court of Appeal judge day after the posting of $200,000 bail. Delisle put up the guarantee for half of the money, while daughter Élène Delisle and Quebec City lawyer Pierre Cimon, an experienced trial lawyer and friend of the accused since they practised law together in the 1960s, agreed to evenly split the rest. The former judge is expected back in court Aug. 30 when a Court of Quebec judge will fix a date for a preliminary hearing or, if the defence exercises its option to skip that procedure, decide to move directly to a trial before 12 jurors. What is known from a document filed before the court and not cov- ered by the publication ban is that Larochelle will argue that the Nov. 12, 2009, death of Nicole Rainville, 71, by a gunshot wound to the head in the couple's condo was indeed a suicide as 8 A UGUST 2010 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com originally reported. It asserts that her life had become "unbearable" as the result of a stroke in 2007 that left her right side paralyzed and a hip fracture in the summer of 2009. The deposition noted that Rainville, who was right-handed, had trained her left hand to compensate. It also declared that the proof against Delisle appeared to rest on deductions that are "at the very least speculative." Delisle, who hunted game as a pas- time, is also charged with illegal pos- session of a firearm, but the Crown, assisted by lead investigator Simon Chouinard of the Quebec City police force, has not released any information about the exact type of weapon that caused Rainville's death. The couple had two children and three grandchildren and, according to reports, was set to go on a cruise, one HIS T O RI CAL CH AR GE S