Canadian Lawyer

32 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m BY MALLORY HENDRY T hough the landscape in the province looks much the same for Ontario regional firms as it did last time Canadian Lawyer ranked the top 10 in 2015, there are some emerging areas hav- ing an impact. Issues for regional firms include globaliza- tion of business, increased competition, the use of technology and where that fits into providing services and the shift in how legal services are offered and purchased. "These are trends people have been observing over the past couple of years, all of which, of course, affect our business," says Lisa Borsook, executive partner at WeirFoulds LLP. "We start to train our lawyers from the minute they come in the door about nurturing their relationships with their cli- ents, understanding their clients' business, being more entre- preneurial, understanding they may have to do heavy lifting on files in circumstances in which other firms may have an extraordinary number of people working on the same file," she says. "You can call it project management, you can call it streamlining services and cost, you can call it whatever you want, but these are things we have been doing for a long time to remain competitive." Maria Scarfo, managing partner at Blaney McMurtry LLP, says that, in 2015, regional firms could say proudly here we are, we understand our clients because we are up close and personal with them and are able to effectively interpret client needs — but now, firms need to "put the proof in the pud- ding." "You have to actually show them how you can meet their needs and bring along your firm to change as a profession — to leave that denial that things are changing — and become more modern and effective," Scarfo says. "The firms that are getting it are starting to invest in that infrastructure to meet those client needs and to meet the professional's needs, because you have to evolve as a lawyer." Scarfo says her firm has taken steps to show Blaneys isn't just talking the talk, including establishing an international affiliation of mid-sized firms called TAGLaw. The firm's insurance group also recently helped form the Global Insurance Law Network with a firm from the United States, Blaneys, a firm from the United Kingdom and a firm from Spain pooling resources "so if my client needs a firm internationally, I can now introduce them," says Scarfo. "We're one office, but we can move across Canada and we can move internationally." Bobby Sachdeva, managing partner at Pallett Valo LLP, says regional firms can no longer ignore the reality that they need to be able to assist clients in other areas, even if the firm doesn't have offices there. His firm is also part of an international group and, therefore, has the ability to put clients in touch with trusted advisors in different jurisdictions. "Fifteen years ago, we didn't look beyond Mississauga, 10 years [ago] we didn't look beyond the GTA; now, we're looking for inbound work from the U.S., we're looking to help our clients facilitate their relationships in Europe and Asia because a lot of manufacturing is no longer here," Sachdeva says. "It's a big differ- ence from 10 or 15 years ago when that wouldn't have occurred to us." For Jeffrey Cohen, managing partner at Torkin Manes LLP, globalization was a challenge when it was relatively new and the impact on the landscape was still uncertain. But now that they know what it looks like, says Cohen, what impacts his firm is the growing — and strengthening — number of specialty firms. He cites firms such as Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, a mid-sized cor- TOP 10 ONTARIO REGIONAL FIRMS EVOLVING WITH THE TIMES GLOBALIZATION IS NO LONGER A THEORETICAL TREND FOR ONTARIO'S REGIONAL FIRMS, BUT THEY ARE UNIQUELY PLACED TO PROVIDE VALUE FOR CLIENTS Canadian Lawyer asked lawyers, in-house counsel and clients from across Canada to vote on the top full-service, regional firms in Ontario. 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 man- dates, service excellence and legal expertise. To be considered in the vote, firms were required to have offices only in Ontario 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. HOW WE DID IT

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