Law Times

PAGE 10 FOCUS Focus on the North BLG sets up team with geographic specialty BY ROBERT TODD Law Times T he Canadian North was until recently un- charted territory for large Canadian law fi rms. But with the region's rapid resource development, fi rms like Borden Ladner Gervais LLP have been looking for ways to tackle legal issues for clients doing busi- ness in Canada's cold northern reaches. Th e fi rm believes it has found the right formula with its Team North group. Neil McCrank, the former chair- man of the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board who now leads the fi rm's practice group, says the structure was the brain- child of Peter Pamel, a partner at BLG's Montreal offi ce. Pamel notes the group came into existence about three years ago as a response to the fi rm's realization that as the North was diff erent, it would have to take a diff erent approach in or- der to serve clients with inter- ests in the region. "We had to start with prop- erly understanding the environ- ment," says Pamel, who's now a key member of the practice group. "Th at includes not only the business environment and the legal environment but the cultural, political, and fi nancial challenges and opportunities of doing business in the North." Pamel notes BLG lawyers have long worked on fi les with a focus on the Canadian North. But the fi rm decided it was time to "take it to the next level" and develop a fi rm-wide approach that would provide lawyers with expertise relevant to the North and tools to enhance the value of their service. "Th e management of the Please join us for the Scribes 2011 Annual Luncheon Speaker: Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C., Chief Justice of Canada Other presentations: Scribes Book Award and Brief-Writing Award Held during the ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto Saturday, August 6, Noon–2 p.m. InterContinental Toronto Centre Kingsway, Main Level 225 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario $50 per member; $90 for a member and a guest; $60 for nonmembers Sponsored in part by: fi rm decided we wanted to be in that space, and to be in that space we had to properly un- derstand the landscape," says Pamel. "We wanted to do it properly." About 70 lawyers from vari- ous BLG offi ces with a wide range of legal specialties are now part of the unique team. "We've all come together with a commitment to understanding the political and economic and legal landscape of the North, understanding the culture of the North," says Pamel. McCrank also brought some RSVP to mcalpinb@cooley.edu by July 29 cribes_LT_July11_11.indd 1 key credentials to the table to enhance the group's appeal to clients. He gained signifi cant knowledge of the North while serving as special representative of the minister of Indian aff airs and northern development in 2007. During that time, he completed a report with 7/7/11 8:56:36 AM Ownership notwithstanding, your business is our business. The most productive relationships are born of mutual understanding. That's why we're as committed to getting to know our clients' business as we are to helping them understand the intricacies of labour and employment law. Toronto 416.408.3221 Untitled-4 1 I London 519.433.7270 I filion.on.ca www.lawtimesnews.com 7/8/08 10:44:18 AM recommendations on ways to improve regulatory systems in Northern Canada. "When I was looking around for a law fi rm that might be a fi t, and knowing this fi rm had an interest in north of 60, it was a good fi t for me," says McCrank, who gained unique insight into the perspectives of northern Canadians while working on the report. advice to clients in the various sectors, we've got to have an un- derstanding of what's going on up in the North," he points out. Th at means members of these divergent practice groups meet on a regular basis in the Team North forum and bene- fi t from internal processes that promote education on north- ern issues. Similar bulletins go out to clients with an interest In order to give proper advice to clients in the various sectors, we've got to have an understanding of what's going on up in the North. "People in the North are diff erent," says the Calgary resident. "Th ey don't have three legs or anything, but be- cause of their isolation in a lot of instances and living with a harsh climate, they have had to be creative and very indus- trious and independent. I like that notion, so what I did up north seemed to fi t in with what Peter was trying to put together for Team North. Th at was part of the reason I joined this fi rm." Some of the key members of the team, meanwhile, come from other practice groups such as marine and land trans- portation, oil and gas, aborigi- nal law, energy, and regulatory regimes. Pamel notes practitio- ners in each of those individual groups do plenty of work in the South, but the circumstances surrounding their activities are vastly diff erent when issues in- volve the North. "In order to give proper in northern aff airs. Essentially, says Pamel, the group helps foster within the fi rm "this ability to look at the North in a realistic way. Re- grettably, many of us living in the South don't have a proper appreciation of the North." Meanwhile, Pamel says clients' response to the practice group and BLG's approach to north- ern legal issues generally has been overwhelmingly positive. "Clients of the fi rm are won- dering why no one has come up with this approach in the past," he says. "We are thinking of the North geographically as opposed to having the blinkers of the practice areas on." Clients are particularly pleased to see a law fi rm ap- proach their legal issues from a business perspective rather than from the lawyers' point of view. "Th at enthusiasm is not just in the private sector, it's also in the public sector," says McCrank. "All of us who have done any work in the North rec- ognize the uniqueness of the governing authorities in the North, the way they're set up on a consensus-build basis. Th ey have likewise been enthu- siastic about the kind of sup- port they can get." July 11, 2011 • law Times

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