Canadian Lawyer - sample

34 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m says SOEs have changed. There is less of a government grip on management, allowing the professionals to direct the company. The SOEs have also sharpened up. In late 2008, the fast-paced Chinese econ- omy was insatiable for resource-based acquisitions to fuel a raging growth and billions of dollars were directed inter- nationally, including Canada, to locking down resources. "A lot were outright failures," says Tsao as investments were made when commodity prices were high and economies subsequently tanked. The Chinese economy also cooled and so did SOE investment. The non-SOEs emerged in the next wave looking at technology and manufacturing oppor- tunities with more success. "We now have another wave of the SOEs — they are back," says Tsao, but with a shrewder view of the marketplace and a more discriminating buying taste. "They are on their next round of invest- ments and acquisitions," he says, moving into industries ranging from technology to pharmaceuticals. "They have become aware that the Canadian market is more than just oil and minerals." The wave is creating more business. Recruiter and lawyer David Namkung, partner in The Counsel Network, sees an uptick in demand from law firms looking for lawyers with Chinese lan- guage skills. "We noticed the trend this last year," he says. Mandarin (China and Taiwan's official language, as well as one of four spoken in Singapore) tops the list. "It is one of the dominant skills for those who want to court business in China, and also Mandarin is paramount for those acting as family lawyers or on mergers and acquisitions. And in real estate, of course," says Namkung, who is the newly elected president of the Feder- ation of Asian Canadian Lawyers. FACL BC's membership nearly tripled in the past year reaching 228 from 83 last year and is part of a 1,500-member-strong national body. The jury is still out as to wheth- er Asian languages are a must-have skill. Fasken's Luke doesn't see it as a necessity for lawyers working in his 60-to-70-person Asia Pacific Group where 30 to 40 lawyers do the core of the work in China. Of those, half are of Chinese descent and only 10 speak Chi- nese. "That hasn't stopped us or slowed us down in the opportunities that we have been able to take on," he says. Jim M.J. Alam of Koffman Kalef LLP practises in the area of real estate devel- opments and banking and he's seeing more and more Asian investor groups wanting to joint-venture with local developers. The firm helps with the land acquisition, assembly and develop- ment of the project, albeit residential or commercial. He says most Asian groups feel comfortable relying upon the Cana- dian developer to work with the local authorities in the marketplace. "They value that the local developer brings the ability to navigate the various processes with the municipality and that they have the connections with the building Sources: Law Society of British Columbia, Counsel Network, Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board Vancouver by the numbers 10,949 722 1,040 $82,000-$89,000 $135,000-$147,500 Total number of practising lawyers in B.C. Total number of retired lawyers in B.C. Total number of lawyers who are 65 years old or older Average first-year salary in Vancouver Seventh-year average salary in Vancouver Average detached home price in Metro Vancouver Total number of non-practising lawyers in B.C. of the total 13,192 lawyers are in the Vancouver LSBC electoral area Total number of law firms in B.C. 1,521 62.3% 3,352 2,481 of total law firms (74%) are sole practitioners 42 law firms have 15 to 50 lawyers 15 law firms have more than 50 lawyers $1.5 million

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