Canadian Lawyer

I HOW WE DID IT Canadian Lawyer asked lawyers and in-house counsel from across Canada to vote on western and northern Canada's top full-service, regional firms. They were asked to rank their top 10 firms from a preliminary list, with a chance to nominate a firm that was not included on the list. Respondents' rankings were based on firms' regional service coverage, client base, notable mandates, service excellence, and legal expertise. To be considered in the vote, firms were required to have offices primarily in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and the territories, and offer a wide range of legal services. The final rankings were determined through a points system, in which firms were rewarded on a sliding scale for the number of first to 10th place votes received. Firms' 2010 rankings are noted in brackets. they're single and proud. There's never been a better time to embrace regionalism, says Field Law man- aging partner James Casey — in- house counsel are more willing than ever to take a chance on a smaller firm, as long as it can do the job, and cut a deal price-wise. "Regional firms have a lot of momentum in the marketplace right now. They're being recognized and embraced by clients," he says. The key, says Casey, is pick- n years gone by, some regional law firms were busy preening themselves in the hope of a date with an attractive large national partner. These days in western and northern Canada, ing and choosing your areas of expertise. "You can't compete with national and international firms in every area. We have identified cer- tain areas where we are focusing our efforts, and where we can provide services that are as good, or better, than at larger firms, but offer them at a better price point. That's the sweet spot regional firms seek." And one look at the client lists of our top 10 lends weight to the claim that western and northern regional firms are holding their own against larger rivals. At Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, managing partner David Garner says the growth of referral networks across Canada and the world has helped regional players compete beyond their own borders. AHBL has embraced the concept, joining three official referral groups: The Law Firm Alliance, ARC Group Canada, and the Participating Group. "A number of our clients' matters are international in scope, but we've kept those matters and those relationships because we have connections in those countries and those cities," says Garner. "The con- nections are very strong, sometimes even stronger than national players, because we have more contact with firms in our networks than they have internally between regional offices." Farris Vaughan Wills & Murphy LLP managing partner Hamilton says the firm switched its focus from national to regional about five or six years ago. Although he doesn't rule out going national in the future, he says none of the opportunities that have presented themselves so far have been attrac- tive enough. Instead, the firm looked inside British Columbia for growth by merger. "We thought we should get out of Vancouver if we could, and we found the ideal firm to merge with in Kelowna," Hamilton says of its 2008 absorption of Kelowna- based Petraroia Langford LLP. Farris has also picked up part- Alan ners in Victoria as it seeks to expand its presence in the province's capital city. "A significant number of peo- ple, including the business commu- nity in Kelowna, like to use lawyers that live, work and pay taxes in the province, so it makes sense for us to embrace this concept of regional- ism," says Hamilton. www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com OCTO BER 2012 33 lorraine SWanSon/ ShutterStocK.com

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