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Europe, Australia, China, Japan, the United States, and Canada. While it has not been swamped, Oberoi says in the past year his fi rm saw Canadian client numbers go from zero to six. Th e latest trend has been corporate counsel and corporations contacting the fi rm directly, rather than going through their outside counsel at home. "I would say we have seen a steady or growing interest in India," says Oberoi. Most of the work Jotwani Associates does relates to foreign companies seek- ing market access. But there is also an outsourcing component. Document and contract review based on corpo- rate guidelines is a common service the fi rm provides at a fraction of the price of Canadian fi rms. "[Outsourc- ing] is coming directly from corporate requests," Oberoi says. "Vetting their contracts, looking at their contracts from diff erent perspectives; it is broad work. Th ey might give their standard guidelines and then we might see if the contracts meet those guidelines. So that kind of work is coming from corpora- tions directly and I am quite excited that they directly contact us." Th e fi rm provides intellectual property outsourcing, draſt ing lawsuits, e-discov- ery, contract management, and paralegal support. Th e majority of the business comes through references. Oberoi says any time a foreign company contacts his fi rm the fi rst thing they want to know is who else have they have done work for. Ravi Shukla of Lang Michener LLP, who practises information technology and Internet law with an emphasis on A Tradition of Business intellectual property, says outsourcing just makes sense in tough economic times. "If they provide eff ective services at far more cost-eff ective rates than we can do locally, then we ought to jump on that and companies are," he says. "I have got to say, in this environment where cost reduction is key we are seeing a ramp-up where companies had thought about doing this, but are now taking the plunge." Shukla says Lang Michener is a mid- size fi rm that doesn't have a formal India practice group. However, the firm recently opened an offi ce in China due to what he described as the Vancouver offi ce "punching above its weight." He further says any work with India would likely go across his desk in the Toronto offi ce of the fi rm. Whether conducting business in Canada or across the globe, Aird & Berlis LLP understands the realities of your work. Our clients benefit from the firm's solid relationships with major institutions, government authorities and renowned national and international law firm affiliates. We combine the depth and strength of Canada's largest firms with the creativity and effectiveness of smaller firms. Count on us for legal counsel from a business perspective. Partnership. Results. Success.® Eldon Bennett Managing Partner ebennett@airdberlis.com 416.865.7704 Untitled-4 1 Brookfield Place, 181 Bay Street Suite 1800, Box 754 Toronto, ON M5J 2T9 Canada www.airdberlis.com www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com SEPTEMBER 2009 39 8/11/09 9:12:34 AM