Law Times

Law times • OctOber 25, 2010 NEWS PAGE 3 Criminal firm changes approach, ID Former Pinkofskys aims to seek private clients with revised incentives BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times T he former managing partner of Pinkofskys in Toronto has rein- vented the fi rm with a new name and approach that em- phasize the importance of pri- vately retained clients. According to Reid Rusonik, problems with legal aid have made the criminal defence fi rm's old model of business "unsustainable." Rusonik has retained the bulk of his colleagues at Pinkof- skys, including Jack Pinkofsky in the role of senior counsel, in forming the new fi rm: Rusonik O'Connor Ross Gorham & An- gelini LLP. With 22 trial lawyers and two practising appellate counsel, Rusonik claims his new fi rm inherits Pinkofskys' title as Canada's largest specialized criminal defence fi rm. But he says the state of legal aid has forced lawyers to market themselves to clients who can af- ford to retain the fi rm privately. In the past, Rusonik says Pinkof- skys gave little thought to the type of client who came through the door, which resulted in legal aid accounting for about 75 per cent of cases. Th e fi gure for the new fi rm stands at about 50 per cent. Th e private portion of the client base generates about 75 per cent of the fi rm's revenue. Th e ultimate aim, Rusonik says, is to ensure the fi rm can continue to provide quality rep- resentation to people who can only retain counsel through le- gal aid. Private clients, in eff ect, subsidize the legal aid work. "We need to increase funding our- selves by doing enough privately attained work that it's still aff ord- able to do the legal aid work," Rusonik tells Law Times. A new remuneration model at the fi rm provides incentives for lawyers to augment their earnings with privately retained clients. "If they need to do bet- ter to cope with their debt, they can do that," Rusonik says. "If they're carefree in that respect and want to concentrate on so- cial issues, they can do that as well. In a purely salaried envi- ronment, we didn't necessarily have that incentive." Th e fi rm has moved into new premises on Lombard Street in downtown Toronto that are part of an image change designed to attract private clients. "Th ey want a diff erent level of com- fort, a diff erent level of service, and a diff erent level of decor," Rusonik says. Th e shift, he notes, was a controversial one in the Pinkofskys boardroom. One senior partner, Edward Royle, declined to join the new fi rm and instead stayed behind at the old offi ces on University Avenue. For Rusonik's part, he wrestled with the changing real- ity for years as legal aid budgets dwindled. "Th ere hasn't been a meaningful increase for servic- es rendered for about 20 years," he says. "It's just not viable." But he didn't want to join the growing ranks of criminal law- yers who give up on legal aid altogether. Still, he now feels an affi nity with James Woods' lawyer character in the fi lm True Believer in which he's ac- cused of taking money from marijuana dealers. "He says, 'No, I take money from coke dealers, and they pay for the defence of the marijuana dealers,'" Rusonik says. "Th at's our strategy right now." Andras Schreck, a vice presi- dent of the Criminal Lawyers' Association, says it has become increasingly diffi cult for lawyers to make a living from legal aid cases. "Th e problem isn't just the lower hourly rate; it's also the fact your hours are capped. Th en there's unbillable time spent with all sorts of administrative deal- ings with legal aid, which you don't deal with otherwise." Many criminal lawyers have to make sacrifi ces early on in their careers, Schreck notes. "Th ey have generally made a choice that they're not going to draw the same kind of income as people who practise in other areas. Th at's the choice you make because you like the kind of work you're going into." Christopher Hicks, a partner at Hicks Block Adams LLP, says he wishes Rusonik and his part- ners well. "It's good for people like them to have this fresh start because they can start their own culture," says Hicks, whose fi rm is another major player in To- ronto's criminal defence scene. His fi rm had its own problems with Legal Aid Ontario earlier this year when payment delays pushed it to the brink of bank- ruptcy. It then had to take out an emergency loan to cover the $500,000 shortfall in payments. Hicks hopes Rusonik can ORDER your copy today Hardbound • 424 pp. 2009 • $115 P/C 0291010000 ISBN 978-0-88804-484-6 During his years at Osgoode, he saw criminal law as his call- ing. But as graduation neared, he felt a pressing need to help his family fi nancially. As a result, he sought an articling position at a Bay Street fi rm, which apparently ended his criminal defence career before it began. But one of Rusonik's fi rst assign- ments that dealt with an old woman struggling to pay her rent quickly convinced him he had taken a wrong turn in his career. "I thought they wanted me to help her work out a way to manage it but it turns out they wanted her evicted," he says. "I lasted there two days." After a tip from an old 'Upholding a Charter right a day keeps the Nazis away. That's my motto,' says Reid Rusonik. fi nd a model that allows criminal defence fi rms to level the playing fi eld in the competition for the best young lawyers. "Th ose who want to do criminal law virtually always go to the Crown side," Hicks says. "Th ere's a real imbal- ance, and we can't off er a starting lawyer anywhere near the same kind of salary." Rusonik is very familiar with the dilemma faced by promis- ing lawyers with an interest in criminal law who instead look elsewhere for the lucrative prac- tice they feel they need in order to pay off huge debts from their studies. He almost became one of those early casualties himself after his graduation from Os- goode Hall Law School in 1987. classmate, he headed over to Pinkofskys to ask about an articling position. A mix-up between some of the senior partners meant he was inter- viewed on the spot by Pinkofsky himself for a position the fi rm had already fi lled. Th e meeting gave him a clue about the work- load he could expect in his new career. "He grilled me for about an hour and a half without ever stopping work on the factum he was preparing for trial the next day," Rusonik says. Th e fi rm hired Rusonik, and for a while it operated with an extra articling student. Soon after, one of them ran himself into the ground and had to take time off , while the other decided he wasn't cut out for criminal law, which left Ruso- nik the last one standing. "After a short sojourn in civil, it was the best conceivable training experience a person in criminal law could ever have," he says. After his call to the bar in 1989, he became a partner at Pinkofskys three years later. For the last 15 years, he was its man- aging partner. Rusonik has gained a repu- tation for Charter of Rights and Freedoms defences seek- ing to have evidence excluded or charges stayed for breaches, often by police. Th ose cases are the ones that give him the most pleasure. "If I could do that ev- ery day, I would," he says. "Up- holding a Charter right a day keeps the Nazis away. Th at's my motto. So many times . . . the most likely people to be violated are those who couldn't aff ord to retain us privately. If you're go- ing to have good criminal law- yers to defend Charter rights, which are everybody's Charter rights, you have to be able to do legal aid cases." Despite his attempts to make criminal law more lucrative, Ru- sonik still warns young lawyers that not everyone is cut out to practise in that area as the de- mands of court appearances and preparation can be physically exhausting. "You have to love what you do because the fi nan- cial rewards are simply not as high at the outset and for many years after," he says. "Th e people I work with don't see it as work. It's a passion, and they couldn't help themselves. Th at makes it a fun place to work because we all love what we do." LT Cross-Border Litigation Interjurisdictional Practice and Procedure Guidance on all aspects of cross-border litigation for inter-provincial, international and multiple jurisdictions Brian Casey, International Lawyer, Baker & McKenzie LLP • • • • • • • • • Cross-Border Litigation: Interjurisdictional Practice and Procedure offers practical guidance on all aspects of cross- border and inter-provincial litigation, covering everything from deciding where to commence litigation to enforcement of a judgment. 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