Canadian Lawyer

Felesky Flynn LLP, says there will always be a place for bou- tiques like his, with no professional services firm affiliation, because of the certainty they can offer over solicitor-client privilege, especially in an era of heightened scrutiny from the Canada Revenue Agency. "We're seeing an increased level of appetite for challenge by CRA, even for transactions that may have been previously blessed by them. That in turn leads to a higher degree of sensitivity of solicitor-client privi- lege," he says. Matthew Williams, a partner at Thorsteinssons LLP in Toronto, says tax law is particularly well suited to a boutique environment because the area's reputation for being extreme- ly complicated is well earned. He says the concentration of expertise benefits practitioners as well as clients. "We think size matters. It's a very specialized area and if you've got lots of people with decades of experience, you'll have a lot of it covered. I would be terrified to work in a place with just two or three people doing tax," he says. Canadian Lawyer's editorial team began the process of selecting Canada's top five tax and business immigration (both areas for the first time) firms and top 10 litigation boutiques by creating a short list of the most notable firms in their respective fields. We ran a short online survey and from there, we drew on the experience of in-house counsel and large-firm lawyers who refer work to these boutiques, conducting a series of confidential interviews to identify the cream of the crop. That input was used to compile the fol- lowing results, listed in alphabetical order. Hunter Litigation Chambers (Vancouver) This 22-lawyer litigation shop shook up the Vancouver market in 2006 when it was formed through a merger of two of the city's leading bou- tiques: Hunter Voith and Berardino & Harris LLP. Senior counsel Randy Kaardal, Ken McEwan, John Hunter, and Bill Berardino all established themselves in litigation at major corporate law firms. Hunter and Berardino are also named fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers. The firm acted for Imperial Tobacco in its matters against the British Columbia government, and for forestry companies like Western Forest Products Inc. and Canfor Corp. The Law Society of Yukon also turned to Hunter for advice when a case relating to the withdrawal of counsel went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. 34 A PRIL 2012 www. CANADIAN Lawyermag.com LaxOsullivan_CL_Apr_12.indd 1 12-03-02 10:56 AM Top LITIGATION 10 BOUTIQUES litigationchambers.com

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