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 A P R I L 2 0 1 8 41 not as traditionally driven to the city [of Vancouver] as other generations," he says, and they want a work-life balance. "The Okanagan offers a very attractive work-life balance," he says, although the office quip is "why are we so busy?" But, when leisure time hits, the B.C. traditional vacation spot and interior B.C. town, with a population nudging 200,000, has spectacular lakes, ski hill, airport, cultural and outdoor attrac- tions, wineries and a university campus. Housing is pricey, he says, but it still is not like Vancouver. Another change is how lawyers view themselves. "We are very much able to specialize," he says, adding that the firm has tax lawyers, litigation lawyers, lawyers who handle developments, corporate law, solicitors and more. That expertise, com- bined with today's technologies, causes geographic boundaries to disappear. "If you are able to do the work, then you are able to get the work, even if it is in Van- couver," says Paterson. Sean Pihl, one of four partners in Kelowna's Pihl Law firm, which has 30 members (eight lawyers) also sees geo- graphic boundaries tumbling. "I have clients in the Kootenays, Prince George, Osoyoos and Salmon Arm. You can start a relationship by phone and Skype meet- ings. Even the courts are lending them- selves to case management and trial man- agement by phone," he says. The Okanagan's influx of retirees, new businesses including a burgeoning tech- nology sector, plus more employees trans- ferring into the region is keeping legal business brisk with more housing develop- ments, new business startups, medical and dental practices and new contractors. "It's organic growth," says Pihl. Pihl, who joined and then became a partner in his father's law firm, which dates back to 1972, is part of a growing trend of rural-raised lawyers returning home. Pihl looks for these candidates when hiring, saying he wants new hires with family or area connections. "That is important to us," he says. The interior of B.C.'s prosperity hasn't escaped the eyes of Vancouver firms. MacLean Law, Farris, Lawson Lundell LLP, Spagnuolo Group and Young Ander- son have a presence in Kelowna. Despite more lawyers joining the popu- lation shift — Statistics Canada numbers W hen Nathan Bauder shutters his Fort Nelson office later this year, he will finish out more than a decade of serving in B.C.'s most northerly law post. In 2004, he was drawn to a surging oil and gas sector in Fort Nelson, located on the Alaska Highway at Mile 300. "In Fort Nelson, I was the only lawyer in private practice. Times were booming. There were rewards there and opportunity," he says. Bauder also has offices in Dawson Creek, where he is the only litigator in a town of 12,150, and Fort St. John. Bauder, a sole practitioner, is closing Fort Nelson's office as the energy sector has slumped in the town of 3,500. His focus on barrister work is in the other towns, although solicitor work is a small firm's bread and butter. The Fort Nelson office is up for grabs. "They can have it for $1 and I will give them the keys and they can take over the lease." He's had articling students and young lawyers come "north" to scout the area, but unless someone comes from the area, they are unprepared for its rigours. "You can't have a child in Fort Nelson," he says, as there is no medical facility to handle birthing. "The North is a hard-working place with the oil and gas industry in the area. The climate can be extreme. The winter is long. "I was raised in the North," Bauder says, adding he looks at Prince George — 900 kilometres below Fort Nelson — as being south. Fort Nelson to Dawson is 500 km and, for years, he drove icy roads in winter before obtaining his pilot's licence. He now flies among three points, greatly reducing his commute time. The North's rigours are balanced by its people, he says. "They are Indigenous people, oil and gas workers, farmers, contractors, local business people — blue-collar clients. They are straightforward. There are no surprises and you know what they want." Fort St. John has approximately 20 lawyers, counting Crown counsel, and lies in the Peace River region, which has almost 63,000 residents. Fort St. John lawyer Robert Zeunert says it draws those who want something different. "Living in the Mainland is a common experience," he says. "You have to be an original to be here." A partner in Callison Zeunert Law Corporation, which has three practising lawyers and an articling student, Zeunert sees the Peace River area as a land of opportunity for lawyers. "You can reinvent the practice of law," he says as lawyers have more flexibility in the hours they work. The "old-school pyramid plan" — which saw younger associates at the bottom of the profit-sharing heap — isn't prevalent in northern firms. "It's more of a cost- sharing arrangement," he says. "There is need for more courtroom lawyers and we need more family lawyers," he says, but the work throughout the region — reliant upon the oil and gas, agriculture and hydro-electric industries — is varied. Oil and gas work slowed, not disappeared. Debt litigation, large agricultural acreages transfer and First Nations people forming companies are a few areas in which his firm is seeing work. "I don't think the younger generation recognizes the opportunity that the North rep- resents," he says, as housing costs are $300,000 to $400,000, the rich agricultural area with sustainable and organic farming reduces living costs (fresh eggs and Mennonite sausages are delivered to Zeunert's office), "there's some of the best skiing in B.C." and long sum- mer days. Any lawyers or articling students intent on staying in the area would receive a good reception from any of the law firms in the area, Zeunert says. For lawyers and articling students who aren't enthralled with the run-of-the-mill, Zeunert offers the Peace River. "You are here because you know what you don't want." Lawyer Nathan Bauder combines his love of flying with the practice of law in B.C.'s far north. B.C.'s far north holds challenges and opportunity British Columbia Regional Report PHOTO COURTESY OF NATHAN BAUDER

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