Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50877
We have a fossil fuel-based economy. We do, Canada does, the world does, and we don't have an economically viable alternative to that yet, and we have all these groups trying to prevent us from putting these projects in, or they want a piece of the pie. JOEL KANVIK Did his undergrad at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, and studied law at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. authority at a federal level. With oil it's a state-by-state process and we have to comply with the laws at each state." The company uses outside counsel in each of the state jurisdictions where its assets are located. If there happens to be any litigation, having local counsel is critical. The laws on just about every- thing vary from state to state, from rules of evidence to statutes of limitations to regulatory matters. Enbridge also uses outside counsel for federal matters such as environmental compliance. 60-SECOND SNAPSHOT THE LAWYER: JOEL KANVIK THE COMPANY: Enbridge Attended University of Wisconsin Law School. Was called to the Bar in Wisconsin in 1995. Clerked in his last year of law school at a small law firm based in Reedsburg, Wis., and later became an associate attorney. In 2005 he joined Enbridge and was transferred to Houston, Texas when the company consolidated opera- tions there. Presently serves as head of the legal committee for the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, a U.S. industry trade group. 60-SECOND SNAPSHOT Across the border in Canada, there are some of the same challenges, but a different regulatory environment. As senior legal counsel in the corporate law department, Tyler Robinson's role is to provide day-to-day legal advice to the company's range of internal clients, from human resources to international to business development — and eve- rything in between. He also handles domestic and international mergers and acquisitions. "I say to this day that I was ultimately tricked into it by the writers of L.A. Law — Arnie Becker sure seemed to have an exciting lifestyle," he says. But, for Robinson, a career in law always inter- ested him. He likes the idea of solving complex problems and being right in the thick of things, whether that meant a big deal or a high-profile trial. And he gets his fill at Enbridge. The corporate law group includes six lawyers and three administrative assist- ants, but Enbridge employs lawyers in its various business divisions across Canada. "We do use outside counsel, but we try to keep as much inside as we can — just when we get into larger projects where we need extra man- power or a specialty we don't have in- house," says Robinson. Pipeline lawyers on both sides of the border have a lot of interaction because projects have Canadian and U.S. aspects and different regulatory regimes, so while the purpose is the same, the approach can be quite differ- ent. But there are also day-to-day mat- ters to deal with such as customs issues related to shipments, NAFTA issues, and cross-border credit issues. On the international front, Enbridge Articled with McManus Anderson Miles, a litigation firm in Calgary, before becoming a solicitor at MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP in Saskatoon. Was called to the bar in Alberta in 1996 and Saskatchewan in 1997. Took a break from the law and travelled the world. He returned to Canada with an interest in interna- tional law, and little desire to return to private practice. This led to a contract position with Enbridge's corporate law group that allowed him to provide backup on interna- tional matters. Now acts as the front-line person for international matters within the corporate law group. 60-SECOND SNAPSHOT THE LAWYER: TYLER ROBINSON THE COMPANY: Enbridge 60-SECOND SNAPSHOT has an active consulting group that travels around the world giving advice on safety and how to run pipelines in different jurisdictions. "We end up dealing with a lot of intellectual prop- erty issues, things like licensing and copyright and even web sites, where people try to claim our web site name," says Robinson. "A lot of interesting stuff happens abroad, and it can be tricky in some of those foreign jurisdictions." The biggest challenge for Kanvik in the U.S. is the current climate around energy. "We have a fossil fuel-based economy," he says. "We do, Canada does, the world does, and we don't have an economically viable alternative to that yet, and we have all these groups trying to prevent us from putting these INHOUSE DECEMBER 2009/JANUARY 2010 • 43