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Wickwire Holm 5 Total Lawyers: 20 Office: Halifax Core Practice Areas: banking and finance; corporate struc- tures and transactions; labour and employment; insolvency and restructuring; tax and wealth management; energy; environ- ment; construction law; commercial litigation Key Clients: Pharmasave Drugs (Atlantic) Ltd.; Toronto-Do- minion Bank; Efficiency Nova Scotia Corp.; XL Insurance; Royal Bank of Canada Notable Mandates: retained by a local First Nation commun- ity in a complex multimillion-dollar environmental legal action against the province of Nova Scotia and a U.S.-based pulp com- pany; extensive involvement in the development and financing of various renewable energy projects and facilities, including the largest wind power project in Nova Scotia and the only liquefied natural gas development in Nova Scotia; also represented one of the parties involved in the Bay of Fundy tidal power demon- stration project currently being developed jointly by the federal, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia governments Star Alumni: former Nova Scotia Court of Appeal judges J.E. (Ted) Flinn and Doane Hallett; Russell MacLellan, former MP and premier of Nova Scotia; Ted Wickwire, former president of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society who helped develop the Nova Scotia legal ethics handbook Affiliations: State Capital Group; Meritas Law Firms Worldwide The Firm: Wickwire Holm focuses on providing legal services to business and institutional clients. The firm considers clients as partners and its professional staff is committed to providing legal services of the highest quality in a timely and cost-effective man- ner. The firm says the cornerstones of successful partnerships are responsibility, accountability, and effective communication. James Boudreau, a member of the firm's managing committee, says the firm's strength is its independence. "The trend towards regionalization of law firms has positioned us as a strong and viable alternative for first-rate and conflict-free service," he says. There is also a continuing strong economy. "We are still seeing significant growth in commercial and residential construction. We are also delighted with what we see as a trend by large insti- tutional clients to seek out the smaller independent firms to ad- dress their legal needs." 6 Boyne Clarke LLP Total Lawyers: 43 Office: Dartmouth, N.S. Core Practice Areas: business law; employment law; litigation; real estate; wills, estates, and trusts Key Clients: Ocean Contractors Ltd.; Canadian National Rail- way Co.; Doctors Nova Scotia (Medical Society of Nova Scotia); CBC/Radio-Canada; Cresco Developments Ltd. Notable Mandates: acting on behalf of National Bank Financial Ltd. with respect to ongoing litigation on the Knowledge House matter; acting for King's Wharf, which has now begun construc- tion of the largest commercial and residential project on Halifax Harbour Star Alumni: Dereck M. Jones, former vice president and gener- al counsel at BMO; Michael F. LeBlanc, senior vice president, First Canadian Title Co.; Brian Crocker, former secretary and general counsel, Dalhousie University; the late James L. Connors, vice president and general counsel, Emera Energy; Supreme Court of Nova Scotia Justice Moira C. Legere-Sers Affiliations: TAGLaw; Greater Halifax Partnership The Firm: In 1972, a small group of lawyers, Thomas O. Boyne, Brian Crocker, and Dereck M. Jones, went out on their own rath- er than join one of the large established Halifax firms. In 1981, the firm merged with the Dartmouth office of Claman Dietrich Clark Bright & Clarke to form Boyne Clarke. One of the founders of the original firm, Boyne, practises corporate-commercial and insolvency law at Boyne Clarke LLP today. A blend of personal, business, and institutional lawyers, the firm is the largest law firm in Dartmouth, and the fourth largest in Atlantic Canada. Managing partner John A. Young says every lawyer in the firm has a very specialized practice. "It has allowed people to focus on a more specific skill set that allows us to compete at a higher level," he says. "We also emphasize personal service, we answer our own phone, we deal directly with our clients." That's part of the firm's strategy since it deals with a lot of individuals and small business- es rather than large institutions. One of the challenges the firm is trying to take on is finding out how to successfully integrate more women lawyers in private practice. "Although law firms are deal- ing better with the issue, we still have a way to go," says Young. PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION Your team in Newfoundland and Labrador for business law and civil litigation. Suite 900 Atlantic Place, 215 Water Street, 709-579-2081 info@bensonmyles.com www.bensonmyles.com BensonMyles_CL_Oct_10.indd 1 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com OC T O BER 2010 41 9/20/10 4:45:40 PM (boyneclarke.ca) (wickwireholm.com)