Law Times

PAGE 14 FOCUS Niche practices Lifestyle lawyers combine passion with legal work C BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times lifestyle lawyers Ashlee Froese and Sara Zborovski of Toronto firm Gilbert' players in the fashion industry to build up and protect their brand while Zborovski brings a food- industry slant to her regulatory practice. "I have a personal interest in fashion," says Froese. "It's some- Trademark lawyer Froese helps s LLP. ombining your pas- sion and your practice is the recipe for a per- fect career, according to to comment on the latest legal developments in the field as well as look at news items or scientific advancements that catch her eye. Froese also runs her own blog on the fashion industry, canadafash- ionlaw.com. "It' day sometimes," says Zborovski. "I like to sit on the couch after the kids are in bed and write about something I want to write about. I think we're lucky that we're genu- inely enthusiastic about what we do every day. s kind of a highlight of my Zborovski says her blog, the- foodlawyer.ca, gives her an outlet s fun." thing I enjoy on a personal level, and I think that when you can marry your hobby and your job together, you're not work- ing. It' fascination with food intensified after having children. "I became more and more Zborovski says her lifelong " aware of the food we feed our- selves," she says. "I've always been interested in what we're putting into our bodies, the way food is marketed, and the evolution over the years in terms of what we care As Canada's largest group of personal injury lawyers, Lerners has the experience, resources and tenacity to handle even the most complex injury cases. We relentlessly pursue the best possible outcome and, if necessary, won't hesitate to proceed to Court to get it. Trust the proven strength of Lerners, where referrals are valued and respected. Contact our Toronto office today and turn our experience to your advantage. about as consumers." Early on in her career, Zborovski's regulatory practice largely focused on work involv- ing pharmaceutical and natural health-product companies, but now she says food law is ready to explode. "We're going to see many, them through the approval pro- cess for new products and deals with import and export issues once they've reached the market. She encourages clients to bring her on board as early as possible. "When you get an idea, call many health-conscious Canadians continue to push the food industry to do good things and innovate in healthy ways and I'm excited to be a part of it," she says. "I've heard loud and clear that the food industry is in need of representation and there don't seem to be a lot of food lawyers out there. ment-relations side of the busi- ness has underserved the food industry. She intends to help cli- ents learn lessons from the lob- bying practices of pharmaceuti- cal companies. She says some of her clients have been unhappy with the regulatory roadblocks thrown up by some agencies. "We've been very involved in Zborovski says the govern- " that instinct and trying to help fashion brands to build up their own portfolio. me. At the early formulation stage, you want to maximize the allowable label claims so you can say, for example, 'very high in fibre' as opposed to 'high in fibre. tweak in your formulation. Then you can roll out an actual plan with the client for how you're going to bring the product to market without any hiccups." Froese also likes to get in ' That might just be one little ly on the high-profile dispute between Yves Saint Laurent and French shoe designer Christian Louboutin over a trademark for distinctive red-soled shoes. When Yves Saint Laurent launched its own line of red-bottomed shoes, Louboutin applied for an injunc- tion to stop them. "When I talk about this, Froese has blogged frequent- " on the ground floor with cli- ents when it comes to talking through the registerability of trademarks and the potential opposition from other parties. "It' advocating on behalf of pharma- ceutical companies for changes in the law in both Canada and the U.S., and I don't see food companies banging down the doors in the same way, "There needs to be an industry approach where you find com- mon ground and present a unit- ed front to government." Zborovski works with compa- " she says. do that work at the outset than to turn around and relaunch your product and your brand after you've invested all this money and maybe acquired some pub- licity, of view to be going back on yourself. "It's not good from a PR point " " she says. nies to take advantage of food- label claims that Health Canada must approve. She also guides try is also an underserved mar- ket when it comes to lawyers. She notes she often has to fight against preconceptions when enforcing intellectual property rights in the field. "There seems to be an idea with fashion that because it's so Froese says the fashion indus- s a hell of a lot cheaper to people have a very strong reac- tion, they think it's ridiculous and " says Froese. "Generally, why should one company have exclusivity over the colour red for shoes. But if it' tive of one source and you see a girl wearing shoes with red bottoms and you automatically think, 'Wow, that' s distinc- an $850 shoe,' well those things s indicative s a Louboutin, add up. The whole purpose of a trademark is that it' of one source. Why should that not be protected, notwithstand- ing that it' nies are also unaware of their rights when it comes to brand- ed social media sites. She helps them obtain Twitter handles and LinkedIn pages and navigates them through the resolution process when disputes arise. "There' Froese says some compa- s a functional shoe?" functional that it shouldn't be afforded the same intellectual Let us open right door for you the We specialize in Employment and Labour Law in Canada Kuretzky Vassos Henderson is a leading employment and labour law fi rm situated in the heart of Toronto. We are comprised of eleven lawyers, all of whom specialize in the area of employment and labour law. We act for many prominent public and private sector employers as well as for individuals. Kuretzky Vassos Henderson LLP Our work includes extensive experience in the areas of: Toronto: 416 867 3076 1 888 742 1113 www.lerners.ca Kuretzky_LT_July11_11.indd 1 ntitled-2 1 12-04-30 4:09 PM www.lawtimesnews.com Wrongful dismissal • Human rights • Labour relations/Labour law/Collective barganing • Workplace health and safety • Sexual harassment • Employment standards • Employment contracts • Canada Labour Code • Class actions • Mediation/arbitration/ADR www.kuretzkyvassos.com • 416.865.0504 7/5/11 3:32:01 PM if it's the online world, there's no police force, which is not true," LT s a misconception that she says. property protection like other industries," she says. "I'm kind of fighting against July 9, 2012 • law Times

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