Canadian Lawyer InHouse

experience who charge $225���275 an hour, depending on the nature of the task, or $1,500 a day. Milstone points to a Cognition lawyer who spent 14 years at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP and subsequently headed up the legal department at Canadian Tire. ���You���re going to get him at a rate that���s less than what the large firms would charge out even a first year,��� he says. It���s a concept that intrigued Marta Lewycky, vice president of legal affairs for First Capital Realty. So when a portfolio of acquisitions that need to be reviewed hit her desk a few years ago, she called Cognition rather than pull her staff away from their regular responsibilities. She wanted someone who could take on the task with very little supervision, without charging big bucks. Cognition delivered. ���It was fantastic,��� says Lewycky. The firm sent a highly experienced, knowledgeable lawyer who worked on site once or twice a week and remotely the rest of time, communicating by phone or e-mail. According to Lewycky, the arrangement proved very efficient and far less costly than turning to a traditional law firm. The reasons for hiring project lawyers extend beyond impressive savings, however. ���Cost is always a factor. Don���t get me wrong,��� says Janice Spencer, vice president, legal counsel at Rogers Communications Inc. ���But what���s important here is the value that���s added by the nature of their work.��� She relies on Cognition an average of 20 hours a month to review RFPs and contracts for business customers that her team is too busy to handle: the monthly and quarterly overflow that doesn���t add up to a full-time position. ���It���s just been ideal,��� she says. ���They have the familiarity because they���re doing it time after time. They understand our business pressures and our business needs.��� Continuity is also key for Zerczy. ���[Project lawyers] have the opportunity to build up knowledge about your company, as opposed to outside counsel who often will come in cold,��� she says. Unlike law firms, most project lawyers bring an in-house mentality. ���They���re very senior and very capable and really understand the issues,��� says Lewycky. ���They understand how business functions.��� For smaller firms, project lawyers can serve as part-time general counsel, working one or two days a week. For companies with legal departments, they can take on projects, seeing them through from start to finish, or cover maternity leaves, sick leaves, or disability leaves. And when- SPECIALIZATION IN BUSINESS LAW Congratulations to our Inaugural GPLLM Class! We are proud to announce the 2012 GPLLM graduates: Jack Bensimon, Kathryn Daniels, Allan Ebedes, Nils Engelstad, Ricardo Fisher, Emilija Giovinazzo, Zuzanna Kusyk, Dana Lezau, Alan Luk, Mark Mahoney, Shrianand Misir, Matt Mortazavi, Shane O'Brien, Peter Ohonsi, Ugljesa Popadic, Cynthia Robertson, Fateh Salim, Matthew Scott, Brian Soye, Stanley Strug, Andrew Szonyi, Miran Ternamian, Kevin Thomas, Hilary Thompson, Denise Williams. For more information on the GPLLM program visit: http://www.law.utoronto.ca/programs/GPLLM.html Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) - Ontario Chapter and in partnership with Carswell, a Thomson Reuters business. ca na dia nl awy e rm a g . c o m / i n h o u s e ntitled-2 1 ever the workload threatens to swamp your in-house staff, project lawyers can step in to cover the overflow. ���It���s basically an extension of your department that you can ratchet up and down depending on your own needs,��� says Milstone. Of course, this isn���t a new phenomenon. ���I���ve been recruiting for over 16 years now, and I���ve always seen contract lawyers,��� says Warren Bongard, president and December 2012/January 2013 ��� 43 12-11-23 10:30 AM

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