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law Times • July 11, 2011 FOCUS PAGE 13 E-focused lawyer ready to grow again But those thinking of leaving big firms should consider if it's the right move BY ROBERT TODD Law Times at a big fi rm to start Hayes eLaw LLP, where he focuses on litigation matters in copyright, media and entertainment, in- formation technology, privacy, and access to information. Th e decision involved what T many in the profession would likely consider a risky move for someone who enjoyed Bay Street perks for a term span- ning three decades. "I just looked at the land- scape and my client base and the way that the economy was aff ecting the big fi rms and I re- ally thought there was an op- portunity to operate on a lower overhead basis that would allow me to charge lower rates while still making a decent margin on the rates," he explains. Hayes started his career at the former Fasken & Calvin law fi rm, where he articled and later became an associate and then partner from 1984 to 1999. He moved on to what was then Davies Ward & Beck, where he remained for about three years before moving on to the former Ogilvy Renault LLP. He pro- ceeded to open his own shop in 2009 after three years with Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP. Hayes eLaw has since grown to four lawyers, and Hayes is in the process of expanding the fi rm's offi ce space to make way for further growth in the next year or two. "It has worked out really well for me from a bunch of diff erent points of view," he says. "It's been fi nancially very rewarding and it's been personally very rewarding in terms of a diff erent kind of lifestyle and a diff erent kind of practice. It's been a positive wo years ago, Mark Hayes left the comfort- able and rewarding life thing in almost every way." Meanwhile, Hayes says he has spent a fair bit of time over the past two years fi elding calls from lawyers at large fi rms asking how they, too, can break free and start a similarly successful small- fi rm or solo practice. "Th ere are an awful lot of people on Bay Street who wish they had the alternative, wish they could do the type of thing that I did," he says be- fore adding a caveat: "I don't think it's for everybody." For one, Hayes believes it's vital for lawyers hoping to break out on their own to ensure they have a stand- alone practice. If they're heavily reliant on referrals or fi le support from other parts of a fi rm, it will prove par- ticularly diffi cult to start a small shop. "Obviously, you just won't have the relationships there," he notes. Hayes says he was fortu- nate because even though he worked with several other law- yers at Blakes, his practice there was fairly independent. "It was something that was quite per- sonal to me," he says. So his fi rst advice to anyone considering such a shift is to take a hard look at where the work will come from. Th e second key consider- ation, he says, is an appraisal of what he calls your "value prop- osition." Boutique fi rms can be easier to sell to clients, he sug- gests, if they off er specialized services. In his case, that spe- cialty is technology, copyright, and privacy. "It allows clients to say, 'I know exactly what Hayes' fi rm is doing and I know I can get value from them in respect of their special areas.' Whereas if you're just kind of a commercial litigator or a business lawyer, it's A third potential obstacle is the level of administrative cost and complexity. Th e resources of large fi rms — which typically handle all of their lawyers' correspon- dence with the Law Soci- ety of Upper Canada and LawPRO — simply aren't available in a small-fi rm setting. As a result, lawyers must be prepared to get their hands dirty. "You're almost guaranteed to be audited [by the law so- ciety] in your fi rst year," says Hayes. Luckily for him, much of 'It's been a positive thing in almost every way,' says Mark Hayes. harder to explain the value prop- osition to clients and it's harder to keep top of mind in terms of getting business." With Hayes' existing spe- cialized practice, he was able to start up on his own and imme- diately have a full slate of fi les on the go. his practice can take place via a virtual offi ce, something that allowed him to avoid a long list of typical upfront capital costs. He rented an offi ce from a fi rm for his fi rst year and purchased furniture, a photocopier, and some other hardware, but the costs were nothing near what some practi- tioners may need to invest. "Fifteen, 20 years ago, you'd have the cost of a library, you'd have to have a couple of assis- tants you'd have to be paying right away," says Hayes. "Th at's long before you ever actually get any money in the door. "Today I think there is a lot more fl exibility. If you're will- ing to keep your overhead un- der control, you can start up on a relative shoestring and wait for the business to build a little bit more than you perhaps could have a generation ago." And the benefi ts for those who are willing to endure the short-term pain of setting up a small practice can certainly pay off in the long term, says Hayes. "It enhances and magni- fi es your relationship to a cli- ent. You don't have nearly as much of the management of partner expectations as you do in a fi rm. So you're able to deal with clients much more directly, you're able to manage clients' expectations and needs much more directly, and you don't have to be looking over your shoulder to make sure that you're also trying to satisfy whatever your partners' expec- tations may be." UNMASKING THE MYSTERY. Medical malpractice litigation is one of the most difficult and challenging areas of law. At Thomson, Rogers we enjoy a reputation built on experience and skill in prosecuting these claims. Above all else, our greatest asset is a proven record of success. Contact our Medical Malpractice Litigation Group: Denny Dixon, Richard Halpern, Wendy Moore Johns, Sloan Mandel or Aleks Mladenovic. YOUR ADVANTAGE, in and out of the courtroom. To advertise in an upcoming issue, contact our sales team: Karen Lorimer 905-713-4339 karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Kimberlee Pascoe 905-713-4342 kimberlee.pascoe@thomsonreuters.com Untitled-2 1www.lawtimesnews.com Narrow 1/8 - 2X.indd 1 2/15/11 2:42:10 PM 7/5/11 9:57:50 AM TF: 1.888.223.0448 T: 416.868.3100 W: www.thomsonrogers.com