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Tait says despite the obvious differ- ences, there are a number of similari- ties between his two pursuits. "Being a paleontologist doesn't have any time deadlines. If something has been wait- ing for 90 million years, it can usually T Manitoba legal aid lawyer Chris Tait moonlights as an amateur pleontologist. wait a little longer. But both jobs require an attention to detail, perseverance, and dedication," he says. He doesn't anticipate a time, however, when he would give up wrestling with the legal system on behalf of his clients to hunt for old bones on a full-time basis. "I get a lot of strange looks when I tell peo- ple I'm a paleontologist. There probably aren't a lot of good-paying paleontologist jobs. It's something that's interesting to do as a hobby but I don't know if you could make a living at it," he says. Tait says whatever treasures amateur paleontologists find have to be turned over to the province. The crocodile bones he discovered are currently sitting in the lab at the Fort Dauphin Museum awaiting further preparation before they can go on permanent display. Tait, who grew up near Portage la Prairie, describes himself as a "dinosaur kid." "I never grew out of it," he says. — GEOFF KIRBYSON gmkirbyson@shaw.ca Winnipeg firm going into the nurturing business hompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP has signed on to provide legal services to the eureka project, a high-tech business incu- bator at Smartpark at the University of Manitoba. Jan Lederman, a TDS partner, says the firm's goal is to help entrepreneurs with great ideas live out their potential. "They're boot- strap operations. The key person will often hold down another job," she says. "The idea is to bridge the gap from now until when they're going to need full-fledged profes- sional advice." TDS provides two dedicated law- yers to the eureka project. Lederman gives advice on the corporate busi- ness side while fellow partner Silvia de Sousa handles all things to do with intellectual property. Their services cover topics such as non-disclosure, shareholder and employment agree- ments, reviews of bylaws, board structure, and governance. "A lot of companies might work on intellec- tual property with other companies. We talk to them about the kinds of provisions they'll need to protect themselves," says Lederman. Smartpark helps its incubating firms set goals while giving them a break on rent and access to video- conferencing equipment and other perks that they couldn't get on their own. There are currently 10 compa- nies in the incubator with plans to expand in the coming months. Lederman says part of TDS' rationale for supporting the eureka project is to build its future client base. "These companies don't have the resources to support the kind of legal or accounting advice they might need from time to time yet a lot of them are on the cusp of need- ing professional services. We create a relationship where they can call. [Ordinarily] it's hard to call a lawyer out of the blue and ask a couple of questions," she says. Gary Brownstone, director of the eureka project, says in addition to providing legal advice, TDS has also made a financial donation to the incubator. The amount hasn't been released but he says it's "meaning- ful" and he hopes it will become "significant" in the coming years. "We deal with passionate creators who have developed a new technol- ogy or approach to solving a prob- lem. Most of them have zero or very limited management or business expertise. To have a firm like TDS help them look after their interests from a very early stage is just tre- mendous," he says. — GK Read Sarah Dale-Harris' online column on technology and the law, every month at www.canadianlawyermag.com Exclusively on www.canadianlawyermag.com yg The IT Girl Untitled-6 1 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com OC T O BER 2009 9 9/22/09 11:36:49 AM