Law Times

Law Times • December 1, 2014 Page 5 www.lawtimesnews.com Change at the top Norton Rose's Canadian head readies to pass the torch By Julius melniTzer For Law Times fter several years of rapid growth, the in- coming managing partner of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP ex- pects the pace of expansion to moderate for a little while. "Growth going forward will be strategic because we're long past the point of needing to bulk up. How much bigger we get de- pends on the opportunities. For example, we're looking at oppor- tunities in Mexico, which is an increasingly important market," says Charles Hurdon, who takes over the role next month. "We're pretty much where we wanted to be at this time," he adds. "In terms of global and na- tional reach, we're 90 per cent of the way there." Hurdon, currently managing partner of the firm's Ottawa of- fice, will succeed John Coleman as managing partner for Canada in the new year. Hurdon, also national head of the employ- ment and labour law practice, doesn't lack management expe- rience. Apart from managing the Ottawa office and heading a national practice group, he has experience on the Canadian firm's management, ethics and conf licts of interest, and remu- neration committees. Hurdon takes over the role following several years of rapid changes that saw Coleman lead an unprecedented global expan- sion among Canadian law firms. Indeed, Coleman's first term started as managing partner of Ogilvy Renault LLP, a 400-law- yer firm with offices in Toronto and Montreal that's now part of a 3,800-lawyer legal behemoth spanning 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East. From a Canadian perspec- tive, it all began formally in June 2011 when Ogilvy Renault joined Norton Rose, a firm that had been aggressively pursuing inter- national expansion. South Afri- can firm Deneys Reitz joined at the same time. Barely six months later, Norton Rose stunned the Canadian legal community by announcing that Macleod Dixon LLP would also join the firm. With Ogilvy Renault, Macleod Dixon became part of Norton Rose Canada LLP. The missing piece in Norton Rose's global strategy was a U.S. presence. But in June 2013, U.S. firm Fulbright & Jaworski LLP signed on. Norton Rose Canada became Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP. "John Coleman did a phe- nomenal job and is responsible for all the heavy lifting that en- abled us to take full advantage of the merger," says Hurdon. "My challenge is to take the greatest advantage from what he and the firm have done and drive the best value from it by maximizing the opportunities that arise from our national and international plat- forms." Complacency isn't in the cards, he notes. "We do have a head start in the sense that there are few Canadian firms around with our scope, but I expect they will catch up to us in time," says Hurdon. "So we're going to continue to build on our relationships, continue to cross-sell across the world, and continue to service our clients as they grow their businesses farther and farther away from Canada." Hurdon says the key to taking advantage of Norton Rose Fulbright's platform is connectivity, nationally and interna- tionally, for both partners and practices. "It's easy not to feel connected when large distances are involved and even more so as a firm gets bigger and bigger," he says. "We've got to make sure there are ongoing opportunities for lawyers to work together in dif- ferent contexts, whether it's on deals, by way of information sharing or through training." For his part, Coleman is happy with the entity he's passing on. "What I'm most proud of is that the firm is solid for the future," he says. "The toughest part of the job was integrating na- tionally and globally, but our staff really stepped up and worked hard to make things uniform by delivering and uni- fying the systems." Coleman didn't stand for re- election, but there were a num- ber of nominees for the manag- ing partner position. There was, however, no campaigning be- fore the partners voted on their choice. Coleman will step down on Dec. 31, following which Hur- don will begin a three-year term. Coleman will remain to support the transition, assist with special projects in Canada and around the world, and remain involved in the labour and employment practice. Still, he doesn't expect to be as busy as he has been during the past five years. "Having recently welcomed my first grandchild, I'm looking forward to spending more time with the family," he says. LT NEWS With more than 1,400 pages of essential legal references, Ontario Lawyer's Phone Book is your best connection to legal services in Ontario. Subscribers can depend on the credibility, accuracy and currency of this directory year after year. More detail and a wider scope of legal contact information for Ontario than any other source: ȕ 0WFS27,000 lawyers listed ȕ 0WFS9,000 law firms and corporate offices listed ȕ 'BYBOEUFMFQIPOFOVNCFSTFNBJMBEESFTTFTPGȮDF MPDBUJPOTBOEQPTUBMDPEFT Includes lists of: ȕ Federal and provincial judges ȕ Federal courts, including a section for federal government departments, boards and commissions ȕ Ontario courts and services, including a section for provincial government ministries, boards and commissions ȕ Small claims courts ȕ The Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario ȕ Miscellaneous services for lawyers 7JTJUDBSTXFMMDPNPSDBMM GPSBEBZOPSJTLFWBMVBUJPO Perfectbound Published December each year On subscription $77 One time purchase $80 L88804-677 Multiple copy discounts available. Plus applicable taxes and shipping & handling. (prices subject to change without notice) 2015 ONTARIO LAWYER'S PHONE BOOK THE MOST COMPLETE DIRECTORY OF ONTARIO LAWYERS, LAW FIRMS, JUDGES AND COURTS Untitled-3 1 2014-11-04 8:46 AM A 'We're pretty much where we wanted to be at this time,' says Charles Hurdon.

• Cover