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8 Ottenheimer Baker Total Lawyers: 21 Office: St. John's Core Practice Areas: commercial and civil litigation; corpor- ate-commercial; labour and employment; real property; natural resources law Key Clients: Bank of Montreal; Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (Department of Natural Resources); Altius Min- erals; Loblaw; Fairmont Hotels Notable Mandates: worked with the government of Newfound- land and Labrador on the negotiation and preparation of royalty agreements for the development of Hibernia South, White Rose, and Hebron offshore oilfields; worked on the Cameron Inquiry (Eastern Health), appeared and provided advice with respect to ER/PR Inquiry; appeared and provided advice with respect to the inquiry into Cougar helicopter crash Star Alumni: William Marshall, former deputy premier, cabinet minister, and Court of Appeal judge; Chief Justice of Newfound- land and Labrador J. Derek Green; N.L. Court of Appeal Justice Charlie White; senator Gerald Ottenheimer; N.L. Supreme Court Justice Raymond P. Whalen Burchells LLP 9 Total Lawyers: 24 Office: Halifax Core Practice Areas: commercial litigation; insurance de- fence; aboriginal; corporate-commercial; administrative law Key Clients: Bank of Montreal; TD Canada Trust; Economical Insurance Royal and Sun Alliance; Lawyers' Insurance Associa- tion of Nova Scotia; Trustees of the NSAHO LTD Plan Trust Fund Notable Mandates: represented Sonco Gaming New Bruns- wick Ltd.; partnership in the negotiation of agreements for Ca- sino New Brunswick; represented the Mi'gmawei Mawiomi and the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council before the Su- preme Court of Canada in the companion cases of Sappier Pol- chies and Darrel Grey Star Alumni: Supreme Court of Nova Scotia Justice David MacAdam; Federal Court Justice Robert Barnes Affiliations: The ARC Group Canada The Firm: The firm started operations in Halifax in 1912 with the original members being A.K. MacLean, C.J. Burchell, and J.L. Ralston. By 1926, with the addition of new partners, the firm name became Burchell Smith Parker and Fogo. The firm is unique due to having "the largest aboriginal law practice in Eastern Canada, which mixes well with our general client base which is corporate commercial litigation. More and more, ab- original work isn't simply dealing with land claims or interaction with government but also assisting them with their own corpor- ate endeavours," he says. Affiliations: Meritas Law Firms Worldwide The Firm: Founded in 1972 as Marshall and White, Ottenheimer Baker has provided legal services to corporate and private clients in Newfoundland and Labrador for over 38 years. It evolved from an early focus on banking, corporate-commercial, and property law to a full-service firm. William C. Boyd, who heads Ottenheimer Baker's managing committee, says these are exciting times for the province. "There is an enthusiasm in the business community," he says. "The invest- ment in residential and commercial development creates opportun- ity." That's because the focus in offshore development has brought in more businesses in the area, which also translates to more oppor- tunities for law firms. On a personal note, Boyd says many partners are graduates of Dalhousie University and follow the law school's Weldon tradition of maintaining open-door access. 10 Benson•Myles PLC Inc. Total Lawyers: 16 Office: St. John's Core Practice Areas: real estate; general litigation; insur- ance; corporate-commercial; labour and employment Key Clients: some of the larger commercial and residential developers; a large number of insurance companies; a chartered bank and a number of other financial institutions; a large num- ber of small- to medium-size businesses and several health-care institutions and facilities; health-related professional regulatory and disciplinary bodies Notable Mandates: represented Persona Inc., Canada's sixth- largest cable operator, in an ongoing private transaction valued at approximately $406 million; International Royalty Corp. in connection with the acquisition of a stake in the Voisey's Bay nickel-copper-cobalt project and a related IPO and unit offer- ing; the dominant cable operator and a telecommunications service provider in Trinidad and Tobago in a US$120-million refinancing with an international syndicate of lenders; and the Barbados-based borrowers of US$100 million in secured financing Star Alumni: N.L. Supreme Court Chief Justice David Ors- born; former N.L. Supreme Court justice H. James Puddester Affiliations: State Capital Global Law Firm Group; Canadian Litigation Counsel The Firm: Benson•Myles PLC Inc. was originally formed in 1980 by two lawyers, H. James Puddester and David Orsborn. Throughout the 1980s, the firm enjoyed rapid growth and ex- pansion of its practice. A merger in 1980 with Mercer Buffett McLaughlin LLP followed by a merger with Fowler Pike & Madden LLP in 1991 provided further growth. Gary F. Peddle, chairman of the firm's management com- mittee, says Newfoundland and Labrador's economy wasn't really affected by the worldwide recession. "Out of all the prov- inces, ours has the brightest future and the greatest outlook for prosperity," he says. With that he notes "there is an increase in the complexity of transactions, and we find clients are becom- ing more sophisticated." www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com OC T O BER 2010 43 (ottenheimerbaker .com) (bensonmyles.com) (burchells.ca)