Canadian Lawyer

retirement can Be a DANGEROUS TIME For laWyerS 1 centre, the landlord is still required to strictly abide by the terms of the lease, which provides that the relocated premises must be "similar in location" to the original premises. In this example, there were no premises left in the redeveloped shopping centre that was "similar in location" to the original premises — being located in the interior part of an enclosed mall between two anchor ten- ants. Therefore, the landlord does not have a choice but to be in breach of its obligation under the relocation clause of the lease. However, on a practical basis, if the tenant were relocated to an area of the mall that would have generated more traffic and sales, then it would have no reason to complain and would prob- ably not bring a suit against the landlord for damages. However, if the head landlord and the head tenant agree to a surrender of the head lease, the head landlord would become bound by any sublease. This common law rule has been codi- fied into statute in many provinces (see for example, section 17 of the Commercial Tenancies Act (Ontario)). In fact, in Alberta, the registered owner of a sublease must first consent before a head lease is surrendered. It is also important to note that in most provinces, in the event a head lease is terminated by the landlord, any subtenant may apply to court to have the sublease made binding on the landlord, in which case the subtenant may be required to be bound by the terms of the head lease as head tenant, including becoming the tenant for the entire premises under the head lease. (B) In a typical lease for a commercial retail unit (CRU), the premises being leased by the tenant comprises the area from the top surface of the structural subfloor to the bottom surface of the structural ceiling. The roof of the premises itself is typically considered part of the common areas, which are controlled by the landlord. If the roof is controlled by the landlord, then the landlord would be able to install solar panels on the roof of such buildings, and in many cases, enter into a lease for the roof with the solar panel provider. Contrast this to a situation where the tenant has entered into a lease for the entire building or has entered into a ground lease, in which case the tenant controls the roof of the building. This would arguably not allow the landlord to install solar panels on the roof of the building. reshape their professional identity and create a new one, says B.C.'s Legal Assis- tance Program clinical counselor Bob Bircher, who has rekindled retirement seminars aimed at making the transi- tion easier. "There is a high rate of divorce amongst those that retire," says Bircher, 62, a lawyer who once practised family w but now counsels lawyers. Retire- ment is a major life shift that places part- ners in changing roles. There is a saying about retirement, he says, that one spouse is getting twice the spouse with half the pay. It's what many couples experience as sud- denly one person is now home full-time, with both finances and roles changing. The other spouse may still be working and want to continue, leading o "role reversal" with domestic duties. One spouse may wish to travel while the other wants to stay home. "Or, they may find that after all these years they don't really like spending all R la2 etirement can be a dangerous time for those lawyers who have not considered how it will t3 that time with each other," he says. There's further impact on the A DAILY BLOG [WWWC NA ANLA WW.CAN DIAN AWYERM MAG.C (B) At common law, the termination of a head lease (for example, due to the non-payment of rent by a head tenant) would result in the termination of any subleases. (D) Notwithstanding the fact that a redevelopment encompassing a new retail concept is required to entice more customers to visit a previously declining shopping individual's personal life. A lawyer, who was once invited to functions through his firm or clients, now gets few or no invites. Even friendships alter. "Some of these friendships are situational and when you leave the firm, the friendship is over. No one calls anymore and there is almost a sense of disappearing. impact of retiring, one of three areas covered in the LAP retirement semi- nars. "We started about five years ago, says Bircher, as LAP tried to prepare the baby-boomers in the legal field for the transition. The other two areas are the psychological and financial impact er a hi These considerations are the personal " 4 " of retiring. After a hiatus, the pro- gram has now launched again with a seminar in October and another planned for January 2013. The challenge is to create a new iden- tity. "I'm on my second post-law career," says Bircher, who took up teaching after retiring from law and then moved into counseling. Retired lawyers may turn to some special interest or donate time to worthy causes in the legal profession. The financial impact may also play (C) In multi-use developments, it is common for leases to provide that the operating costs and taxes with respect to one type of use within one area of the building are not shared with the operating costs and taxes with respect to another "component" of the building. It would depend on the language found in the lease to determine whether a retail tenant can benefit from the operating cost savings that tenants in the office premises enjoy. When entering into a lease for such a multi-use development, (for example, a retail premises on the ground floor of a residential condominium building) a tenant must turn its mind to the setup of the development and determine whether operat- ing costs and taxes are shared between the two portions of the development, or whether they are kept separate. "I think the hard- est par5tion is the psychological with a cup of coffee," he says. For some lawyers it doesn't matter, but for others it is a loss of esteem. impact," says Bircher, especially for senior lawyers who were respected partners, deferred to and lis- tened to, within a firm. "You retire, you are nobody. You are just an old fart sitting there (A) Since the termination clause specifically provided that the termination clause may be triggered in the event of a redevelopment of "all or any part" of the shopping centre, then the principles of the interpretation of commercial contracts would allow the landlord to terminate the lease even though the redevelopment of the shopping centre did not affect the jewelry store. In this case, nothing more is necessary for the landlord to act on its strict rights under the termination clause. t of the transi- YOUR RANKING? a role as only government lawyers retire with a pension and unless there is pre- planning (which the seminars attempt to do), the lawyer is left to live on invest- ments and the Canada Pension Plan. The good news, though, is that lawyers are choosing to retire slowly. And, it's not for economic reasons. Bircher points to a U.S. study on lawyers able to retire but still working that showed only 11 per cent continued because of economic reasons. He estimates that the figures are similar to what is happening in Canada. Bircher says the most common sce- nario for lawyers today is to gradually retire. They may not take on new cli- ents, gradually reduce their work in the office, and eventually sell their share in the partnership to another lawyer. But retirement is not for everyone. One or less correct: might be time to brush up Two correct: not bad, but some further work needed Three or four correct: very well done, but not perfect Five correct: excellent " "We have some recidivism," he chuck- les. These are the lawyers who have tried retirement, become bored with cruises and golf, and begged to return to their old firms. "They tried retire- ment, but couldn't make it. The law is really the centre of their universe. — JS OF CANADIAN LEGAL NEWS COM/LEGALFE DS ALFEE ] CANADIAN LAWYER & LAW TIMES POWERED BY 16 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012 WWW.CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com OCTO BER 2012 13 INHOUSE

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