Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m J U L Y 2 0 1 7 13 \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ P R A I R I E S \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP 2000s, you saw individuals splitting off and forming boutique firms," says Whar- ton. Bernard was a prodigy of that split. The firm has 17 lawyers, with 11 of them practising marine law and four doing transactional work, as well as seven litiga- tors. The firm is looking for two more young lawyers. Marine law firms are getting a boost in business as demand for resources grows. B.C.'s coast has four ports: Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Stewart and Vancouver. The Port of Vancouver is Canada's largest port and the most diversified port in North America. The port offers 27 major marine cargo terminals. Its Roberts Bank is North America's largest coal port and Deltaport is a container-handling facility that is expecting a major addition with more container space. Surrey Fraser Docks, the largest multi-products handling terminal on the West Coast, has been hit by controversy. Ecojustice and other environmental groups have taken the Port of Vancouver to court over issuing a permit to allow 80 round trips of Panamax-sized or mid- sized coal-carrying vessels to ply the Fraser River to the Surrey Fraser Docks, claiming no arm's-length review of the public interest was conducted and alleg- ing port executives received bonuses on the successful deal. Clear Seas, a research body looking at safe marine shipping issues related to upcoming projects such as the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline, LNG developments and oil spills, set up in B.C. in 2015 after receiving seed money of $3.7 million each from Transport Canada, Alberta Energy and the Canadian Associa- tion of Petroleum Producers. Add to the mix a growing shortage of container facilities along the western seaboard. "The ports in the U.S. are jammed," says Graham Walker, managing partner of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP's marine group. B.C. offers good rail and road access and a closer proximity to Asia. "There is a huge uptick in what is happen- ing in the shipping output for sure," says Walker. He's not sure increased port traffic translates into more business for law firms; instead, it is impacting clients by requir- ing more terminal upgrades contracts and new shippers. Ensuring that business and the legal community is there to handle increased business has fallen to Kaity Arsoniadis- Stein, who, with 15 years experience as a marine lawyer, was appointed in 2015 as executive director of the newly created Vancouver International Maritime Centre. It is mandated to develop legal, financial and other needed support businesses for a global industry. Arsoniadis-Stein began her career with the Vancouver law firm Bull Housser & Tupper LLP and has since worked with international firms such as Gard (UK) Limited, the National Oil Refineries of Greece and international shipping companies such as Teekay Ship- ping Ltd. and Seaspan Ship Management in Vancouver. In December 2016, the VIMC hosted a dinner welcoming Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, one of the world's top marine law firms, which merged with Bull Housser & Tupper last year, giving it a prized window on the Pacific. Norton Rose Fulbright has more than a dozen marine lawyers in Vancouver. Part- ner John Bromley, who practises mainly in marine law, sees new opportunities on the horizon. "The VMIC is creating interest around the world with ship owners and it is begin- ning to bear fruit," he says as a recent European report on the world's top ports now includes Vancouver. Corporate matters, charter parties leas- ing ships and new shipping lines coming to the ports are all areas where Bromley sees new business developing. While Van- couver is not yet a marine finance centre, it's just a matter of time, he says. Norton Rose Fulbright also acts for the Prince Rupert Port Authority. "It is an exciting time for the coast and the ports," he says. BLG's Vancouver office has five law- yers working in marine law. Walker says it can take up to 10 years to gain exper- tise in marine law and its diverse areas to be able to respond quickly to client demands. "When incidents happen, you have no warning. You have to be prepared to drop absolutely everything and disappear for weeks on end," he says. In late 2016-2017, a BLG lawyer spent six weeks in Bella Coola and Bella Bella during a vessel's fuel oil spill on the cen- tral coast. Wharton says travel hasn't changed in the decades he has been involved. "We had lawyers in Greece earlier this year," he says. "Our lawyers will travel to London, New York, Ireland, Copenhagen and Norway before the year is out." – JEAN SORENSEN Medico - Legal EXPERT WITNESS ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION EXPERT AUTHORITY KNOWLEDGE TRUSTED OBJECTIVE ACCURATE THE [VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL MARITIME CENTRE] IS CREATING INTEREST AROUND THE WORLD WITH SHIP OWNERS AND IT IS BEGINNING TO BEAR FRUIT. JOHN BROMLEY, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP YOUR CASE IS IMPORTANT. YOU DESERVE THE BEST HEALTHCARE EXPERTISE. Unparallelled experience for your most catastrophic injury cases. Hundreds of specialists from all areas of healthcare expertise. Cost of Future Care reports for your most serious cases. 2,000+ cases for 300+ lawyers across Canada. CONNECTMLX.COM EXPERTS@CONNECTMLX.COM TOLL FREE: 855-278-9273 ntitled-2 1 2017-06-13 8:16 AM

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