Law Times

Law Times • November 24, 2014 Page 13 www.lawtimesnews.com Legal boutiques Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc finds regulatory niche By Julius melniTzer For Law Times teinecke Maciura LeB- lanc is the only firm in Ontario dedicated to ad- vising regulators. "In one way or another, we work for most regulators in the province," says partner Marc Spector. Formed in 1997, the firm focuses on the regulation of professions and industries, in- cluding related appeals and civil litigation. It provides general advice to regulators; prosecutes professionals; deals with regis- tration, quality assurance, and illegal practice; and drafts poli- cies, rules, and procedures. "Because our clients are ex- clusively regulators, we are alive to trends and able to respond to them quickly," says partner Re- becca Durcan. The upshot is the firm can advise on matters as diverse as privacy, governance and trans- parency, employment issues, contracts, and procurement. As well, the firm regularly acts as general counsel to various regu- lators and independent counsel to discipline committees. "It isn't just about regulation but ranges all the way from go- ing after rogue practitioners to advising on governance issues," says Spector. As added value, Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc conducts conferences, seminars, and wor kshops on self-regulation, in- cluding the investigation process and the conduct of hearings. "Our clients are civilians who in some cases administer large professional colleges and are sometimes exposed to the threat of huge lawsuits," says partner Bernie LeBlanc. "They need to make complex legal decisions." The firm has a special exper- tise in health-care law with five of its lawyers certified as spe- cialists in health law by the Law Society of Upper Canada. The five represent one-quarter of the lawyers so qualified in Ontario. And founder Richard Steinecke authored the book considered to be the bible of the Regulated Health Professions Act, A Com- plete Guide to the Regulated Health Professions Act. But Steinecke Maciura LeB- lanc also represents regulators charged with overseeing other professionals like engineers, ar- chitects, accountants, dieticians, optometrists, and practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine. The diverse client roster of about 40 organizations includes the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, the Investment Indus- try Regulatory Organization of Canada, the Ontario College of Teachers, and the Ontario Col- lege of Trades. Still, the nine-lawyer firm is lean with less than five staff to assist the professionals. "Our rates are so low that even judges awarding costs are surprised," says LeBlanc. "We don't need a research department because it's almost guaranteed that someone in this very specialized firm has dealt with the issue that comes up, even evidentiary issues." The firm also provides a highly personalized service. "The key to our success has Firms embracing physical, mental-health promotion Gym memberships, programs aimed at fostering well-being among the trends By Julius melniTzer For Law Times he growing recognition that employer sup- port for physical and mental health bodes well for productivity has spurred law firms as diverse as global giant Norton Rose Ful- bright Canada LLP and McLeish Orlando LLP to ac- tively promote wellness. "We've been supporting wellness for our employ- ees as long as the firm's been around by encouraging and promoting physical fitness for everyone," says McLeish Orlando's Patrick Brown. The firm provides memberships at the GoodLife Fitness facility next door and gives staff extra time at lunch so they can manage both their meals and their workouts. Lawyers and staff also get a free bike mem- bership for Cycle Toronto, and the firm has been par- ticularly proactive in promoting bicycle commuting. "No one in our office has to wear a suit of formal dress to work. We have a shower in house and we've got a closed locker to protect high-end bikes," says Brown. All firm functions have a physical component with ac- tivities such as baseball, dodge ball or volleyball. The firm's retreat this year focused on sports-based competition. "People don't have to participate but most do," says Brown. The firm also holds pooled, fitness-oriented competi- tions related to body mass and body weight. "Out of the 15 or 18 participants in the last six months, there are five that now go to the gym on a regular basis," says Brown. "One employee told me he hadn't missed a day since the competition. Once people latch on, they don't let go." Another employee lost close to 70 kilograms in just 12 months. "We did everything we could to make access to the gym convenient for her and compatible with her job," says Brown. For his part, Brown works out daily, cycles to work most days in the summer, and uses Bike Share Toronto for short-distance appointments and outings. "I don't know if I'd do all that if I was in a firm where everyone was walking around in a suit and it didn't have the philosophy that we do," he says. "It's a culture that you have to have from the top down and it's one that makes me much more productive." Needless to say, there are likely more suits at Norton Rose than at McLeish Orlando. But that hasn't stopped the firm from adopting a multipronged approach to wellness both on a local and global level. "We're always developing well-being programs, but right now mental health is becoming quite prom- inent," says Norm Steinberg, the Montreal-based global vice chairman of Norton Rose Fulbright and chairman of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada. Norton Rose Fulbright and Stikeman Elliott LLP are currently the only Canadian law firms that are members of Partners for Mental Health, a national charity dedicated to improving the way Canadians think about, act towards, and treat mental health with a focus on promoting it in the workplace. Partners for Mental Health is behind the Not Myself Today campaign, an effort launched in 2013 at almost 100 workplaces across Canada with a view to creating meaningful change at work. Norton Rose Fulbright planned and ran the campaign during the week of Oct. 6, 2014. The firm is also about to launch an internal program called Mental Health First Aid that originated in Australia. "This is a version of CPR except it's aimed at mental health," says Steinberg. "It's part of our global approach to wellness, which is to pick the best of the best so that if something works well somewhere, we'll try it elsewhere." As part of the Mental Health First Aid program, Norton Rose Fulbright will teach certain employees how to under- stand the warning signs of mental illness and support those showing symptoms. Otherwise, the firm has for some time offered an employee assistance program that features a hotline for guidance on emotional and mental-health is- sues. Finally, Norton Rose Fulbright provides all of its Canadian employees with a subsidy to facilitate member- ships in fitness and health clubs and programs. LT 6\YKLKPJH[LKSLNHSIYVRLYHNLÄUHUJPHSHUKHKTPUPZ[YH[P]L[LHTZWYV]PKL [OLTVZ[[OVYV\NOHUKL_WLKPLU[ZLY]PJL[VLHJOHUKL]LY`JSPLU[ >LPU]P[L`V\[VJVU[HJ[\Z[VKH`@V\JHUJV\U[VU\Z THE MOST THOROUGH & EXPEDIENT SERVICE GUARANTEED. PROUD SPONSOR OF SPINAL CORD INJURY ONTARIO AND THE ONTARIO BRAIN INJURY ASSOCIATION 1.800.263.8537 | www.henderson.ca HENDERSON STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS Untitled-2 1 2014-11-18 1:43 PM FOCUS T Many firms assist with gym memberships to encourage staff well-being. S See Law, page 15 Photo: Shutterstock/Kzenon

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