Law Times

PAGE 4 NEWS OctOber 20, 2008 • Law times Continued from page 1 Courtroom retrofit keeps historic appearance tops, allowing the computers to be folded back into the desks "so the room has its historic, original appearance when it's not in use," and available for tours and other purposes, says Teramura. Another roadblock came from the nature of the learn from the SCC's modern design. "It's a really nice, simple design that maintains the integrity of the room," says Meagher. "I don't find that the technology is taking over, work done at the court. With court staff requiring a quiet environment, construction workers often had to toil on evenings and weekends. Teramura also notes that the project was under ex- that's not the main purpose. The main purpose is still to hear cases, as it always has been. And technology is supposed to enhance that experience, not take it over. So I think we've accomplished that goal." Henry S. Brown, a national leader of Gowling Laf- treme time constraints, as a failure to get the court in working order in time for sittings would have been a major embarrassment. "It was a fairly large effort on the part of a lot of people," says Teramura, noting the changes had to be implemented while the court recessed during the summer months. And while the project took a Herculean effort from artisans, several engineering consulting firms, and craftsmen, Teramura notes the ironic fact that, if done properly, the work should largely go unnoticed. "So this big effort to do all of this stuff, and ideally The main courtroom of the Supreme Court of Canada has been brought up to 21st Century technology standards while retaining the historic appearance. the room should look exactly the way it did before," says Teramura with a chuckle, in reference to the designers' impetus to retain the courtroom's historic look. Teramura's firm has previously worked on other sec- tions of the top court's facilities, along with other build- ings in the Parliamentary precinct. The firm also has contributed to the design for a proposed new building at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law. One of the features in the revamped courtroom Teramura is most enthused about is the new barrier- free lectern. It has a concealed hydraulic lift that allows someone in a wheelchair to present to the Supreme Court, "Which in the past was basically impossible," says Teramura. "That's a major improvement in the accessibility of the Supreme Court, which symbolically is quite im- portant too. There are no barriers to presenting at the Supreme Court." Meagher says the court administration is pleased with the finished product, and notes that represen- tatives from courts across the globe have visited to leur Henderson LLP's Supreme Court of Canada prac- tice group with 27 years of experience working with the top court, says the refurbishment has benefited counsel, judges, court staff, and observers alike. "I'm very happy with the investment in the phys- ical plant," says Brown. "It's a very, very special building, and it's very tastefully done. There were real problems for people with disabilities, and all of those issues have been addressed." Brown's only point of contention is that the counsel room was not improved. "I continue to hear complaints from my clients about the inadequate counsel room," he says. "Counsel need a place to chat and maybe, God forbid, settle a case." Teramura, meanwhile, feels honoured to have worked on the top court facility. "It is quite a land- mark in the history of Canadian architecture, and an exquisitely beautiful building," he says. "Just being able to participate in any work in there is quite exciting. It's intimidating, but quite exciting," says the architect, sounding much like a lawyer who's just argued a case at the top court. LT Lawyer predicts the 'transactions will come again' Continued from page 1 bank financing," noting that the firm's M&A work is now largely for clients who had cash reserves and those who find that the mar- ket volatility presents opportun- ities. McReynolds says that his firm is also starting to see a rise in debtor/creditor work. Gary Solway, a partner at Bennett Jones, also notes that for securities lawyers, things have slowed down "quite a lot," as the volume of deals has decreased, resulting from uncertainty re- garding prices and financing. "With no money and an un- certain price, it makes it hard to put a deal together," he says. Solway says that a couple of years ago, lawyers saw many "happy deals," with the buyer happy to buy at the price, and the seller happy to sell. This year has Presented by Enroll Today! MAJOR BUSINESS AGREEMENTS October 27 – 28 | Chicago December 1 – 2 | Regina ENERGY CONTRACT MANAGEMENT October 28 – 29 | Houston COMMERCIAL INSOLVENCY November 5 | Vancouver ABORIGINAL LAW November 17 – 18 | Halifax CORPORATE IMMIGRATION November 6 – 7 | Calgary PRIVATE EQUITY SUMMIT November 12 | Toronto INTERNET LAW November 12 – 13 | Vancouver CANADIAN LAW & TECHNOLOGY FORUM November 17 – 18 | Toronto For more information call 1 888 777-1707 or visit www.insightinfo.com Media Partner CANADIAN SECURITIES REGULATION COURSE November 24 – 25 | Toronto PRODUCT RECALLS November 24 – 25 | Vancouver ELECTRONIC RECORDS and INFORMATION MANAGEMENT November 26 – 28 | Calgary MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS December 2 – 3 | Calgary CANADIAN MINING TAXATION December 3 | Toronto ANTI-CORRUPTION CORPORATE COMPLIANCE December 11 – 12 | Toronto involved more "unhappy deals" where someone is being forced to sell at any reason, and buyers are happy to buy, but are unsure if they are getting a good price. "All the securities lawyers are basically deal junkies, we need transactions. There's a certain amount of securities work that's required just to keep public companies public, but it's not going to keep securities lawyers busy," he says. "I think the transactions will come again, I think there'll be a lot more unhappy deals in the next little while, because people are running out of money, run- ning out of financing, the mar- ket's bad," he says. Desmond Lee, a partner at Os- the U.S., I've got to think they're probably working more actively on actual insolvencies and re- structurings, whereas I think in Canada I don't think people are seeing the big insolvency trans- actions that people were think- ing might actually happen." McReynolds adds that, "There have been some high-profile sig- nificant transactions in the United States where there have been specific investments in specific fi- nancial institutions, Warren Buf- fet investing in Goldman Sachs for example." Overall, says Lee, things are really not that bad for securities lawyers in Canada. "If you're a Canadian secur- ler Hoskin & Harcourt and called to the bar in 1998, says for lawyers around his age, this is essentially the first time they are seeing a situation like this. Many securities lawyers who worked through the tech crash in 2000 didn't feel it as much, since although tech IPOs slowed down, income trust IPOs picked up, he says. "I think it means a lot when you hear people who have been practising for 20 and 30 years saying, 'Jeez we've never seen anything like this either.'" "I don't think the end of the world is here, we've been through a number of these things before and things sooner or later turn around," says Solway. yers in Canada are in the same position as lawyers elsewhere. "In Lee says he thinks that law- ntitled-1 1 10/14/08 8:34:19 AM are seeing a lot of investments in financially distressed busi- nesses, and has been receiving calls from the companies them- selves and people looking to make those investments. In terms of corporate finance, he says there is no question that IPOs have been hit hard this year. "It's been a really bad year for that. On the other hand, we've definitely been getting ques- tions on how else to get listed in Canada, given that it's hard to raise money right now." PricewaterhouseCoopers ities lawyer, I think you're gener- ally used to working on a variety of things, even when times are good, just because we tend to be less specialized than you might be if you were a securities lawyer in the U.S. or elsewhere," he says. Lee says he and his colleagues reported this month in its Sur- vey of IPOs in Canada that not a single issue reached the TSX in the third quarter. In the first nine months of the year, 53 new issues launched on all of Canada's exchanges, compared with 63 in the same period of 2007 and 95 in 2006. "If you're a deal junkie — and not all lawyers are — and all you like to do are large trans- actions, obviously it's not been the greatest year for you," says Lee. Although Lee adds that with a stable, diversified busi- ness, "There's still legal work to be done, and certainly clients need a lot of advice in these times," he adds. Some securities lawyers note that one positive element to the current situation could be the additional time to see family and friends. As a result of a lesser workload, there has probably never been a better year for lawyers in terms of finding work-life balance, says Lee. He adds that times like this also bring people at a firm togeth- er, as they are thinking about their own business. Solway also notes that he has noticed an increase in work-life balance over the last few months. "You just have to be around long enough to have been through a few cycles to get comfortable with the fact that these are cycles and the world hasn't come to an end and try and enjoy the time that you have when things aren't so busy," he adds. LT WHICH DIRECTION IS BEST FOR YOU? RainMaker Group 110 Yonge Street, Suite 1101 Toronto, Ontario M5C 1T4 Untitled-7 1 Tel: 416-863-9543 Fax: 416-863-9757 www.rainmakergroup.ca www.lawtimesnews.com 5/29/08 1:05:49 PM

• Cover
• Women In Law
• A Criminal Mind
• Focus On Business/Competition Law