Law Times

LAW TIMES / JUNE 23, 2008 NEWS PAGE 5 'Kudos' to SCC for making it work on tight time frame Continued from page 1 The Supreme Court, where they had three days to deliver their factum, was "the biggest challenge of all," says Koehnen. "When you have a $52-billion transaction — the biggest corporate transaction in Canadian history — and you have three days to do a fac- tum, that' Court also posed challenges, says Koehnen. Commercial cases like BCE usually involve many "com- plex, nuanced issues," but while he had a full day of argument before the appeal court, Koehn- en had 30 minutes at the SCC. "No matter how effective an Oral arguments at the Supreme s pretty tough," he says. advocate you are, to compress a transaction of this complexity and nuance to 30 minutes . . . it poses huge challenges on everyone: on council, and certainly on the judg- es as well," he says. BCE Inc. lawyer Guy Du Pont, of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP in Montreal, de- clined Law Times' request for an interview regarding the case. Raynold Langlois of Langlois Court lawyer, having first appeared before it in 1965, and notably as a federal government lawyer dur- ing constitutional battles of the 1980s. That experience was vital on the BCE case, as he had just 24 hours to prepare a 15-page factum to the Supreme Court. Despite the time constraints Kronström Desjardins, who represented intervener shareholder Matthew Stewart, was called into the case after Stewart's original firm, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, withdrew due to a conflict. Langlois is a veteran Supreme faced by the court and lawyers, he says the quality of arguments and the court's decision won't suffer, even with one of the most important cases the court has handled being dealt with on one of the tightest schedules. Christian Tacit, a Kanata sole practitioner who acted for inter- vener Catalyst Asset Management Inc., praised the court for its abil- ity to adapt. "Kudos to the court for paying attention to this in this manner, and making it work on such a tight time frame," says Tacit, who gave oral arguments to the top court for the first time in this case. "They're not geared up for this pace normally, so I'm sure they've been stretched too." While the top court undoubt- edly had to alter many of its usual protocols for the case, Copeland notes it has encountered several other expedited cases over the years. She says a recent example is R. v. CBC , in which leave was filed on Oct. 17, 2007, and dismissed on Nov. 2, 2007. The CBC tried to have a publication ban quashed. Many expedited leave applica- tions aren't granted, says Copeland, adding appeals don't tend to be fast-tracked as quickly. She cites as a "very expedited" appeal the Tremblay v. Daigle case. There, a leave application was filed on July 27, 1989, and the court rendered a decision on Aug. 8, 1989. In that case, a man sought an order preventing his estranged girlfriend from having an abortion. Koehnen, meanwhile, says his life outside work essentially stopped for the BCE case. He plans to go on vacation next week, "someplace quiet where I can just sit and lie on a beach and do nothing else." LT THINK BIG. WIN BIG. Litigator keeps getting bigger and better In addition to tens of thousands of actual court documents in Civil Practice, Insurance, Torts, and Employment, Litigator™ now offers new document collections in Corporate/Commercial and Real Property. Litigator does the heavy lifting so you can do the heavy thinking Access tens of thousands of pleadings, motions, and facta from actual leading cases. Review quantum services that tell you instantly what a claim is worth. Analyze trends and patterns in the judge's rulings and opposing counsel's actions. Get the persuasive arguments, competitive intelligence, and big picture strategy you need to build a strong case. www.litigatoronline.ca AUTHORITATIVE.INNOVATIVE.TRUSTED. Untitled-2 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 5/30/08 9:17:46 AM 11540(T2) MM2 04/08

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