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REGIONAL WRAP-UP More recently, the FVREB commissioned a white pa- per on the problem, organized a forum, and is now in the process of striking a task force of Fraser Valley municipali- ties, police, fire, and realtors, that will look at establishing a uniform way of recording and dealing with houses used in illegal drug operations. "Every municipality is moving to- wards this right now in one way or another and doing it independently and with a different conclusion," says FVREB president Kelvin Neufeld. "We want to get everyone working together and get a standard way of doing things." Neufeld says there are two key issues: the lack of a cen- tral registry or uniform method of registering a designated home and differing definitions of remediation. "When someone says a house has been remediated, what does that mean?" asks Neufeld. Some municipalities have already taken action but homeowners or real estate agents are faced with a range of places to look for this information. For example, Abbotsford places a des- ignation on the property file while Surrey puts it on the tax rolls. Tony Spagnuolo, of Spagnuolo and Co., says the problem with relying on the tax rolls is that if a hard copy — showing charges or a notation — is not received (and lawyers usually rely on a phone call), it may escape notice. He says a central registry would be useful. Spagnuolo notes he has not had many clients asking for Tony Spagnuolo such a check but, "I have had a lot of calls from real estate agents asking how they can protect themselves and their cli- ents." Neufeld says buying a compromised house can cause significant trouble. Remediation can range from cosmetic to a thorough environmental cleansing and moving into a non-remediated home can cause health concerns from mould. These homes may also be prone to "grow-rip" inva- sions or burglaries as individuals still believe it's an IDO house. "There is no streamlined legislation for the municipali- ties [setting out how they do this] or a way [for lawyers] to know, what they know. It is largely a patchwork process and not the same everywhere," says real estate lawyer Brian Yuen of Bell Alliance. Newly appointed registrar, lawyer Larry Blaschuk of the New Westminster Land Title Office, says notations about a home's history would only appear if court ordered. "If the court order, for example, prohibits dealing with the prop- erty or there is a notice of seizure, it would get registered. But, that does not happen to every grow operation or meth lab," he says. Yuen says the best place to start is at the realtor-vendor level. "But, we are happy to make inquiries for our clients and realtors — if they make that request," he says but adds by the time documents usually arrive at the office and pur- chasers are met, the transaction is fairly far along. — JS 8 JANU AR Y 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com McKercher's Regina office doubles in size M ThE PRAIRIES cKercher LLP has solidified its sta- tus as one of Sas- katchewan's premier law firms after swallowing the Regina office of Robertson Stromberg Pedersen LLP. The new additions — 14 partners and associates — more than double McKercher's size in Regina to 23 lawyers and brings its total in the prov- ince up to 61. Robertson's Saskatoon office was not part of the deal. Patricia Warsaba, executive committee member of the Robertson office, says the group jumped at the chance to enhance McKercher's presence in Regina with its cor- porate commercial and litigation expertise. One of the goals of the bigger firm is to ex- pand its practice in high-growth areas such as agri-business and technology. "A larger firm gives you the opportunity to retain as- sociates. We had shrunk a little bit at [Robertson]. We saw [the move] as a chance to grow as part of a larger firm. Saskatch- ewan is leading the country in [economic] growth and there are lots of opportunities in Saskatchewan now. We wanted to be able to address those opportunities," she says. John Beckman, McKercher's managing Patricia Warsaba John Beckman partner, says the acquisition of its competi- tor was part of its ongoing growth strategy. "By integrating our lawyers' experience in business and litigation we can continue to offer clients innovative solutions to a broad range of legal needs. We believe that the high level of service practised by these lawyers fits well with our firm values," he says. Chris Donald, one of the managing partners of the Sas- katoon office of Robertson, says the loss of its sister location won't change how it operates. "It will be business as usual. We will continue to provide legal services in Saskatchewan from our Saskatoon office. We had been operating as a separate profit centre from Regina anyway. From a practical perspec- tive, it doesn't make much difference to us," he says. Donald says while there are many examples in larger centres of lawyers in huge departments picking up and opening up their own firm or joining another firm, it's a bit unusual in a province the size of Saskatchewan. He says it's not out of the question that the 20 lawyers in his office could be part of a merger themselves at some point in the future. "We're open to discussion," he says. — GEOFF KIRBYSON gmkirbyson@shaw.ca