NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015
28
INHOUSE
Untitled-3 1 2015-10-07 12:32 PM
use the boutique fi rms more than in other
provinces. If you're in Saskatchewan and
there's a confl ict, who do you go to? You end
up going with the smaller boutique fi rm. The
boutique fi rms are also very niche. You could
have an employment claim and use a boutique
fi rm that solely specializes in human rights
tribunals. Not that the larger fi rms don't have
that, but it's not a one size fi ts all."
Some insured also feel more comfort-
able with a smaller fi rm versus a larger
fi rm. "Where the insured has the ability to
choose who they want to defend them, they
often come to us with the smaller fi rms be-
cause they have long-term relationships that
they've built. They feel comfortable with
them that they will get that one-to-one at-
tention," she says.
Cost and responsiveness are two of the
reasons Benjamin Lee, vice president, legal
and general counsel at TimberWest Forest
Corp., has increased the company's use of
boutique fi rms since he arrived in the role
more than a year ago. He uses them for liti-
gation, forestry, corporate commercial, and
aboriginal law. "We transact with First Na-
tions through our log-purchasing program
and we have projects that require their
''
''
I equate that as value in the sense that with
the boutique fi rm you're often dealing with
the principal and that person will do the
work and invest the time in your company.
BENJAMIN LEE, TimberWest Forest Corp.
cause they have long-term relationships that
they've built. They feel comfortable with
