Canadian Lawyer

34 M A Y 2 0 1 8 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m TOP BOUTIQUES T he top civil litigation boutiques are both using and litigating over new technol- ogy and charting courses in new territory with unpredictable terrain. The allegedly imminent marijuana legalization will create opportunities for businesses, formerly only enjoyed by the Hells Angels and other extra-legal entrepreneurs. Turning it legitimate will wrap weed production and sale in red tape, opening the door for civil litigators to enter a unique industry. Luisa Ritacca of Stockwoods LLP says that, as the pot market ascends from the underworld, there will be businesses trying to enter the game and others adjusting from the current legal grey areato whatever legal marijuana looks like. "What's likely to happen on the civil litigation side and the regulatory side is that . . . people who are either already in the industry or people who are interested in getting into the industry are going to need advice as to how to navigate this new regulatory world," she says. "I think there are people who are with- in the grey market that are going to need to figure out how to exist and how to run their business and decide whether they can in a profitable way once it becomes [a] more legal but heavily regulated mar- ket," she says. Stockwoods acted for the BC Civil Liberties Association, which intervened in Google v. Equustek, a case that Ritacca says has significant implications for freedom of expression on the internet. In Google v. Equustek, the industrial automation firm wanted the global behe- moth search engine to remove websites that were selling products developed via theft of intellectual property. Equustek said that a former distribu- tor for the company had nipped its trade secrets to develop and sell a competing product. It was selling these allegedly ill- designed products with the help, Equustek argued, of the Google search engine. Google, as a third-party facilitator, had an obligation to remove search results that aided the thieves. Google was willing to remove search results from google.ca but not outside of Canada. With a B.C. court injunction, Equustek demanded a global takedown. Google appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, with the BCCLA as an inter- venor. Through the Supreme Court, the tech giant with borderless reach was stymied by a ruling that stretched beyond Cana- dian jurisdiction. Google is responding by filing an application in its native Cali- fornia to have an American court block the Canadian order. Their hope is to be protected by the First Amendment and the Communications Decency Act. A litigator with plenty of experience in communications law is Ryder Gilliland, who left Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP and started DMG Advocates LLP with two other Blakes alum: Hugh DesBrisay and Kate Manning. Despite being hatched just this January, DMG was voted as a top civil litigation firm. Advocating with civility The top civil litigation boutiques are grappling with complex issues that can wind their way through the courts for many years By Aidan Macnab

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