Law Times

PAGE 12 FOCUS December 5, 2011 • Law Times JAMS settles in Toronto Global firm aiming to tap growing Canadian market BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times G lobal alternative dis- pute resolution fi rm JAMS is looking to settle in Canada ahead of a pre- dicted boom in arbitration and mediation here. Th e fi rm has had a very lim- ited presence in Toronto since 2008 but earlier this year an- nounced plans to establish what it calls a permanent resolution centre in Canada's largest city. "After we looked more closely at the market, we saw what we think is an increasing level of ADR, and it seemed like a good time to move. We'd like to be in a position to serve the market as it picks up steam," says Chris Poole, president and CEO of JAMS. "We see a lot of action in the legal community to promote mediation and we see the courts more and more nudging people towards settlement before they get to court. It's a large market, and there's a tremendous amount going on, not only in Toronto, but that seemed to be a logical starting place for us." Toronto-based Harvey Kirsh, who until now had represented the entire Canadian contingent in JAMS' 300-strong pool of neutrals around the world, says recent amendments to the Civil Code in Quebec that promote alternative dispute resolution methods and similar provisions in Alberta show the Canadian ADR market is catching up with its more developed counterparts south of the border. In Ontario, former attorney general Chris Bentley also put ADR at the heart of his family law reforms, while Chief Justice Warren Winkler has fl oated the idea of mandatory mediation in IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO THE LATEST SECURITIES LAW CONSOLIDATED ONTARIO SECURITIES ACT, REGULATIONS AND RULES – WITH POLICY STATEMENTS, BLANKET ORDERS AND NOTICES 2011-2012, 51ST EDITION PAUL G. 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For more information about Cheryl and her services, visit our website at www.goldhartlaw.com. Goldhart_LT_Nov7_11.indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 11-11-01 3:08 PM the family courts. "I think Canada is a bit be- hind the U.S. in terms of its promotion or cultivation of ADR," says Kirsh. "Canada is becoming very open to it right now, and what this is going to do is to tap into a market that isn't fully serviced at this point. Arbitration and me- diation have been going on in Canada for a long time, but it just hasn't been as popular as it's going to become." In the construction fi eld where Kirsh made his name, including most recently as a partner in the construction and infrastructure group at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, corporations are more willing to embrace arbitration because of its relative speed and the control it gives parties to the dispute over the process. "People who are involved in large busi- nesses, who are dealing with dis- putes with lots of zeros at the end, they want to get an arbitrator with some experience and exper- tise so they don't have to educate the person," says Kirsh. "You're selecting them based upon their experience and expertise in the fi eld, as well as their experience as an arbitrator, which puts you a few steps ahead. When you go to court, and I've been in this position because I was doing counsel work for many years, there's always a concern that you may end up with a judge that doesn't have the back- ground or experience and has to be educated." 'I think Canada is a bit behind the U.S. in terms of its promotion or cultiva- tion of ADR,' says Harvey Kirsh. After more than 30 years in practice sprinkled with arbi- trator and mediator appoint- ments, Kirsh switched his work to focus more intensively on ADR around the time he was invited to join JAMS' fl edgling global engineering and con- struction group in 2008. Based nominally out of the New York offi ce, Kirsh has worked on arbitrations involv- ing complex multimillion-dol- lar claims across the continent, including an oil refi nery in Salt Lake City, a cement mill in West Virginia, and a sewage treatment project in Halifax Harbour, N.S. Now Kirsh is looking for- ward to welcoming some com- patriots as JAMS continues to put its Toronto roster together with a fully functional offi ce ex- pected by April 2012, according to Poole. In addition to Kirsh, he says the fi rm has signed up another construction heavy- weight in Duncan Glaholt of Glaholt LLP. "Th ose are two premier folks in that fi eld, but we do plan to off er a generalized practice that will include all fl avours of ADR that JAMS does," says Poole. JAMS has also lined up Edgar Sexton, the former Federal Court of Appeal judge who hit the manda- tory retirement age of 75 in October, but Poole says the recruitment process isn't yet complete. "Within the fi rst year or two, we'd probably like to be up to at least fi ve or six neu- trals. But we try to be purpose- ful about that, so we won't go any faster than we can fi nd the right folks." JAMS, established in 1979, has been on an international tear as of late, launching its JAMS International business earlier this year in a joint ven- ture with the Italy-based ADR Center. Besides its headquarters in London, England, the move gives the fi rm offi ces in Amster- dam, Brussels , and Rome. How- ever, Poole says the Canadian arm will work more closely with JAMS' American operations. of commerce between the U.S. and Canada, of course, and most of the work we do is commercial work, so it makes sense," he says. amount "Th ere's a tremendous

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