Law Times

www.lawtimesnews.com Law TiMes / March 3, 2008 Page 17 L ocated halfway between the bustling metropolises of Toronto and Detroit, the greater metropolitan popula- tion of 457,720 living in London and the surrounding area can be forgiven for having an inferiority complex — one which dates all the way back to the 1793 decision by Lt.-Gov. John Grave Simcoe to pass over London as the capital of the newly established colony of the Province of Upper Canada — but not the city's legal commu- nity, as it appears to be thriving. "There are still a number of ma- jor companies and institutions that feel that, unless they have a lawyer from Toronto, they don't have the best representation possible. [But] I think over the spectrum that the lawyers in London — and I'm not just talking about the lawyers in this firm, but lawyers generally in London — are as capable as any lawyers in the province," says Mike Lerner of Lerners LLP. "and what some of these people and compa- nies don't realize is that they can get the same quality of work done at a lower price." The consensus seems to be, however, that the practice of law in London is that of an average Ca- nadian city — it is not driven by any particular industry or resource. London has for years been used as a test market for new products being introduced into Canada as the prototypical average Canadian city, and this is reflected in its le- gal practice, which is based on the typical cornerstones of corporate- commercial law, real estate work, estates, and civil litigation. The three largest firms in London are Lerners LLP (130 lawyers), Siskind Cromarty Ivey & Dowler LLP (70-plus law- yers), and Harrison Pensa LLP (50-plus lawyers). The next level includes McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP (30 lawyers) and Cohen Highley LLP (25 lawyers). London also has some impres- sive boutiques, including (but not limited to) the following: Mamo & associates, a family law specialist; Foster Townsend Gra- ham & associates, civil litigation lawyers; Jack Hardy Criminal Law Firm; and Shillington & as- sociates, insurance defence. The city boasts its own law school, at the University of west- ern Ontario with an annual class size of approximately 170. although one might expect the big Toronto or national firms to have gobbled up the London legal market, this has not been the case. This legal community is primarily comprises homegrown firms dating back decades, with only a few exceptions — a prior attempt by McCarthy Tétrault LLP to establish a presence in London ended with the office closing, while Miller Thomson LLP has established a London office of 10 lawyers as one of its nine Canadian locations. Mean- while, some of the homegrown firms have been making steady gains on the Toronto and national markets. For example, Lerners has an established office in Toronto, while Siskinds now has an affiliate office in Quebec City, plus offices in windsor and Toronto. "Lerners is a neat story," says Ian Holloway, dean of law at the University of western Ontario. "It's a source of pride here, in that it's the reverse of what's supposed to happen. You've got a London firm going to Toronto and doing quite well by opening an office there — rather than the big-city firms coming out to the country." "when we decided to establish a presence in Toronto," says Lerner, "two of our lawyers, Mary anne Sanderson, now Judge Sanderson [of Ontario Superior Court Toron- to], and Earl Cherniak went to To- ronto . . . and we were certainly able to stand our ground and develop a presence in Toronto, taking on a number of significant cases not only in Ontario but across the country. "In 1986 when we formally established a presence in Toronto there were 14 lawyers, and now we have between 115 and 120 lawyers in both London and To- ronto [43 in the Toronto office]." another such homegrown success story is Siskinds — and their class action practice group. although Mike Eizenga of Siskinds tells the story of his firm having "no conscious plan" from the beginning to move into the field, they were the first to certify and settle a class action in Ontario under the 1992 Class Proceedings act. Sixteen years later, the group has now worked on files related to breast implants, diet drugs, the E. coli-tainted water tragedy, etc. It now includes 15 dedicated law- yers practising in dedicated sub- groups, including medical and pharmaceutical, consumer protec- tion, price-fixing, securities litiga- tion, and environmental law. "They've been one of the pio- neers in class actions litigation in Canada, and I think that the class action group in Siskinds shows that one can run a national practice — and nowadays even an interna- tional practice — from outside the big metropolis," says Holloway. The work also seems to have spread. Eizenga noted that there are now a number of London firms practising in the field. London lawyers seem to agree there are advantages to working in the city which are more and more becoming recognized. "I have found personally — because I spend quite a bit of time at law schools during the course of the year — that Toron- to no longer has the allure that it may have had in the past," says Lerner. "Law students today are choosing to practise law not only where they can get quality work but where they can find quality of life. and more and more of the students that would formerly grab at Toronto are now choos- ing to go into the smaller but still large communities such as London, Kitchener, Hamilton, Kingston, windsor, etc." "The major advantage of prac- tising in London — and I hate to use these words, because they'll be misconstrued, because some people in Toronto are very con- genial — but they're very conge- nial here," says McKenzie. "all the levels of the system are much more congenial and frater- nal than probably anywhere else in the province," says Lerner. " "we know each other," echoes Eizenga. "That's part of it. London's not such a large place that you don't expect to see one another again." Eizenga listed several other advantages for new lawyers thinking of establishing them- selves in London. "It's the advantage of having cottage country an hour away, a short commute, reasonable real estate values, etc.," he says. "On a personal level, London's just a great place to live." LT London: good quality for lower price By DeRek Hill For Law Times Eye on London THE LETTERS OF THE LAW In southwestern Ontario these letters are recognized by businesses, public institutions and individuals seeking only the highest quality legal representation. Among the largest and most successful firms in the region, Harrison Pensa LLP is noted not only for its broad range of practice areas but its commitment to making the legal experience for each and every client both straightforward and comfortable. Nobody is saying legal issues can't be complex and sometimes difficult but, the experience doesn't have to be. 450 Talbot Street, London, Ontario N6A 5J6 Tel: 519 679 9660 Fax: 519 667 3362 www.harrisonpensa.com Harrison_LT_Mar3_08.qxd 2/26/08 11:45 AM Page 1

• Cover