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talent coming up. There's a lot of tension in there. BLANCHARD: At McCarthys, we actu- ally share a lot of information, not only with the equity partners, but also the income partners, the associates. I meet with the students every year when they get into the firm to explain the strategy, what we do, the clients we want to serve, the expertise we are developing and why, and the same thing with all of the mem- bers of the staff, and so I think it' the culture and at McCarthys we have a two-tier partnership. We have 20 per cent of our partners who are income partners and the rest are equity partners. It works very well for us. SONBERG: If you look at McCarthys and Goodmans, we are two very, very different firms in a lot of ways. We are a single-tier partnership. We're very Toronto-centric, and so there' tal differences, but what I absolutely agree with you on is it' explain to people, the incoming articling students, the associates, the partners have the same understanding of who you are and what you are. Succession planning BLANCHARD: It' issue for all of the players in the legal industry. I think it goes to the culture of each firm, and this is why, at McCarthys, we push the teamwork approach, and we have large teams of people around our main client relationships, and there' not one person that is the only person responsible for that client. That' s have actually prepared. We have dealt with a lot of the cultural issues of suc- cession planning, and it' s how we topic obviously for the individuals that are approaching retirement and that see themselves at 56, 58, 60, [or] 65 years old, that they have to hand over a client relationship. If it' s not an easy it will be a shock when you get to that age. s not part of the culture, MACKAY: What I'm seeing on the outside is the tension between how we compensate partners and succession, there's just a tension there, and that's the big frustration. Doing the right thing for the client may be the wrong thing for s a very challenging my pocketbook, and we have to get over that, and I think succession has to start as part of career development, as part of client development, start way earlier in a career so that some portion, some work, some clients get automatically, as part of career development and professional development and client development, moved to somebody else in the firm. s part of SONBERG: We, perhaps, are fortunate at Goodmans that when a lawyer or a partner typically brings in a client, they don't have to worry about holding onto that client because if they let someone else work on that client, build a relation- ship with the client, they will lose money. There' job. He's happy. The client's happy. The lawyer who's doing the work is happy, or s a really important part of our system and we think it matters a great deal. the lawyers doing the work are happy, and he doesn't have to say, gee, I'm going to be financially penalized for that. We think that' s no financial penalty for sharing. There's no financial penalty for working as a team and that works fabulously. There's s some very, very fundamen- s important that you one partner in the firm who often com- ments to me that he loves the fact that he can bring in a client, build a relationship, maintain the relationship, but the day- to-day legal work and the transactions that the client has are managed by other people in the firm. They do an excellent MENDES DA COSTA: Our situation is a little bit more unique in some ways because on the patent side of the practice, we have people with a lot of different types of degrees. So when you start looking at transition planning and I look at my cli- ents and just say, right, who will succeed me in my clients, on top of all the issues you have, I have to sit there and say, now I need someone at the right level with the right technological background. We don't have a mandatory retirement policy, and I think we' we did have one because making sure you have the right people at the right level all the time can be very difficult. d probably run into trouble if Prepared with the assistance of Siobhan McClelland. GAIN INSIGHT INTO THE LEGAL DYNAMICS OF A REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION LECTURES IN REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS PAUL PERELL, B.A. (TORONTO), LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D. (OSGOODE), L.S.M. Gain insight into the mechanics and legal dynamics of a real estate transaction. Lectures in Real Estate Transactions is a valuable resource that covers the fundamentals of a real estate transaction from beginning to end, including mortgages and remedies. Written by an experienced judge and professor, this title presents information in an easy-to-understand style and includes references to leading case law. Lectures in Real Estate Transactions is an indispensable resource. It is a study in the fundamental principles of contract law, tort law, restitution, and property law in the context of a transaction involving the sale of land and in the broader context of commercial transactions. AVAILABLE RISK-FREE FOR 30 DAYS Order online at www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 CANADA LAW BOOK® Shipping and handling are extra. Price subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. ORDER # 804548 $144 Hardcover approx. 360 pages October 2011 978-0-88804-548-5 www.CANAD I AN Lawyermag.com SEPTEMBE R 2012 35

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