The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50837
7 Patterson Law Total Lawyers: 32 Lawyers by Office: Truro, N.S., 20; Halifax, 12 Core Practice Areas: corporate-commercial; tax; litigation; property; family and child protection; em- ployment and labour Key Clients: Canadian National Railway Co.; Stan- field's Ltd.; CBCL Ltd.; Scotsburn Dairy Group; Wag- ner Forest Products; N.S. counsel for several insur- ance companies Notable Mandates: Canadian National Railway Co. retained the firm to defend against a class action proceeding alleging environmental liability related to Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens; represented Wagner Forest in the largest land purchase in the his- tory of Nova Scotia; in Kings Mutual Insurance Co. v. Ackermann, represented a local farmer in a winning action against Kings Mutual when the insurer denied the insurance benefit sought aſter Hurricane Juan Star Alumni: former premier Robert L. Stanfield; former premier and senator George Isaac (G.I.) Smith; former N.S. Court of Appeal justice Kenneth Matthews; former N.S. Supreme Court justice Wil- liam J. Grant; N.S. Court of Appeal Justice Jamie W.S. Saunders Affiliations: None The Firm: In 1928, a Truro law firm was established which ultimately became Patterson Smith Matthews & Grant, a firm with a provincewide practice. In 1986, a merger with Kitz Matheson created Patterson Kitz, and in 1995, Patterson Kitz merged with three other firms from Atlantic Canada to become the regional firm Patterson Palmer Hunt Murphy (PPHM). In 2006, Patterson Law emerged with offices in Halifax and Truro aſter dissolution of PPHM. In 2008, Har- ris Neonakis, a tax boutique, merged with Patterson Law. Dennis J. James, the co-managing partner at Pat- terson Law, says, "In 2006, we made a decision to re- main a Nova Scotia-based firm and not to continue to remain a part of a larger regional partnership, largely due to our fidelity to our base, and we demon- strated we could be successful at that. Our evolution as a Nova Scotia firm makes Patterson Law unique in the marketplace." He adds that working with clients that are medium or small businesses is rewarding and challenging at the same time. "We understand the pressures of the economy." ntitled-2 1 The McKellar Structured Settlement™ 9/20/10 10:31:09 AM 42 OC T O BER 2010 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com Untitled-2 1 9/17/10 9:03:22 AM (pattersonlaw .ca)