Law Times

Page 4 February 9, 2015 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com The report suggests the tra- ditional career pathway — one that involves working continu- ously at a single firm and vying for partnership — is becoming a relic of days gone by. "More common are career paths that include job changes across firms, across sectors of the pro- fession, and with intervals of un- employment or time away from law practice invested in further education, travel, full-time work outside law practice, or raising children," the authors wrote in a report commissioned by the Law Society of Upper Canada. "Women are at greater risk of leaving than their male col- leagues with whom they entered private practice following law school," they added. The study found two patterns regarding work-life balance. "First is the observation of a difficulty achieving a work-life balance within private practice due to pressures to work long hours with intense work demands. This can lead some lawyers to exit private practice and pursue other career opportunities. "Second, the law firm envi- ronment appears designed not to accommodate family life, per- haps assuming a model where a full-time stay-at-home spouse attends to children (and the care of elderly parents). It may be pos- sible that beyond lacking accom- modations, the structure of work routines and expectations within firms may even work to push lawyers with family responsibili- ties out of the law firm." Banka says being there in the early years of her daughter's life would have been nearly impos- sible with a career in private practice. "I'm grateful to have a child, take some time off for ma- ternity," she says. "You know, I was there when my daughter was young, I was always at home. The ideal, for me, was work-life balance." When researchers asked law graduates who had left private practice and hadn't returned why they didn't come back, the most common responses was they had left for a better work environment with more women than men choosing that answer. More women also reported leav- ing for more compatible hours. Others said they had found a better job with higher pay or better benefits. According to the study's findings, new lawyers are most likely to leave private practice during the early years of their careers with a peak in depar- tures at about seven to eight years in. "This pattern is, how- ever, distinctively male," the au- thors noted. "Women's departures from private practice are also elevated during the early career years, but the pattern is better described as an initially rapid exodus followed by a steady stream of women leav- ing private practice over time." One of the most interesting observations, according to the authors, was "just how much mobility there is within legal ca- reers." Among lawyers who had started their careers in private practice, the study found the average number of professional positions held to date was three. Rand, for example, started his career at what was then Ogilvy Renault LLP. There, he worked on files for the Royal Bank of Canada. Having a particular interest in derivative markets, Rand says he felt perhaps the only place to hone his skills in that area was to go to a bank. So when an in-housel counsel position opened up at RBC about five years after he had started working at Ogilvys, it was "too good to pass up," he says. Seven years later, Rand re- entered private practice when he joined Blakes' capital markets practice as counsel. The number of moves across the legal sector is "probably a ref lection of an increasing ten- dency towards specialization," says Rand. "If the moves that you make result in something valuable being added to your set of experiences — whether con- tacts and connections or an understanding of different perspectives of the business or an area of specialization or ex- pertise — I think in any of those circumstances if the move was done properly, it's [a positive thing]," he says. According to the study, some areas of law are stickier than others. "Not surprisingly, lawyers working in litigation were less likely to leave private practice compared with lawyers work- ing in other areas of law," the authors wrote. "Men working in the area of business law (including cor- porate and commercial, intel- lectual property, bankruptcy, tax, and insurance) were also at lower risk of leaving private practice compared with men in other areas of law. "However, women engaged in business law did not experi- ence this same pull to stay in private practice." In contrast to other reports, the new study found women aren't at risk of leaving private practice if they take parental leaves. Surprisingly, it found men were at risk of leaving pri- vate practice if they took time off to care for children. LT "All statements made by the individual defen- dants to the plaintiff were true (or reasonably be- lieved to be true) at the time that they were made, but in some cases they were quickly surpassed by events in Heenan Blaikie's Toronto office and else- where," the firm's statement of defence reads. "Prior to dissolution, Heenan Blaikie had nine (9) offices across the country, and the individual de- fendants were not omniscient." The statement of defence also says Rhodes didn't "rely on any statements made by any of the indi- vidual defendants, or any representative of Heenan Blaikie or Heenan Blaikie Management Limited." It continues: "Nor did the plaintiff suffer any damages arising out of any such alleged reliance." Rhodes is seeking $105,000 for wrongful dis- missal or breach of contract. McGinnis says there's a disagreement between the parties over the quantum of Rhodes' entitlements. "There always is in claims of this type," he says. "Nothing particularly special about this one. If there weren't, there'd be nothing to sue over." He adds: "The only thing interesting about this claim is the identity of the defendants." Koskie Minsky LLP is representing two plain- tiffs, including Rhodes, who have launched wrongful dismissal lawsuits against Heenan Blai- kie. Lawyer Philip Graham, who has just taken over the files from former counsel Christine West- lake, says he's not prepared to talk about the files. He confirms, however, that the matters are now at the discovery stage. Last year, Westlake told Law Times her clients were struggling to get by after their sudden termi- nation by the firm. "These are legal assistants who were dedi- cated, loyal employees serving their employer for a lengthy period of time and, through no fault of their own, they were terminated and now haven't received the compensation they were legally en- titled to," said Westlake. "They're not out to get the sun, the moon, and the star," she added. Heenan Blaikie has also filed a defence in anoth- er lawsuit in which a former patent agent alleges the firm owes him $800,000 in damages for wrongful dismissal for letting him go without notice. Marcelo Sarkis alleges that as the firm had ter- minated more than 200 employees during the four weeks ending Feb. 28, 2014, it had an obligation to provide 12 weeks' notice pursuant to the Employ- ment Standards Act's mass-termination provisions. "Heenan Blaikie did not terminate more than 200 employees at an 'establishment,' as provided by the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000," the firm's statement of defence reads. "Many Heenan Blaikie employees in Toronto resigned their employment in February 2014 before receiving notice of termination of employment." According to the statement of defence, Sarkis re- ceived eight weeks' notice of termination and there's a difference of just four weeks between his position and the one taken by Heenan Blaikie. Having regard to his age, period of service, and position, Sarkis' claim for notice of termination is "unreasonable and excessive," the firm said in its statement of defence. "Sarkis is one of many professionals, partner and non-partner, whose career has been affected by the dissolution of Heenan Blaikie. Sarkis has been treated in a manner consistent with other employed professionals in the firm. There is no basis for puni- tive, aggravated or exemplary damages." When reached by Law Times, Sarkis declined to comment. In response to another lawsuit in which a for- mer non-equity partner accused the firm of un- paid settlements after its collapse, Heenan Blaikie reiterated that it hadn't paid its former partners since January 2014. Rhonda Levy alleges that when she left the firm in May 2013, the firm agreed to pay her $270,000 in bimonthly instalments. Those payments, she says, stopped in January 2014. Heenan Blaikie responded: "Implicit in the agreement was a term that the plaintiff would not be placed in a better position through the agree- ment than if she had remained with the defendant as a partner. Had the plaintiff remained a partner in the firm, she would not have received any in- come after January 2014." LT NEWS Let the experts help you to narrow your search and save you research time. Canadian Patent Reporter has been Canada's leading intellectual property law report since 1942. 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