Law Times

Law Times • June 11, 2018 Page 5 www.lawtimesnews.com Three trade and investment partners join BLG BY JENNIFER BROWN Law Times A t a critical time for trade relations in Canada, the U.S. and globally, three of the four partners who led the inter- national trade and investment practice at Bennett Jones LLP have left to join Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Toronto, with three associates going with them. Milos Barutciski, practice group leader, Jesse Goldman and Matthew Kronby moved to BLG June 1 and notified Ben- nett Jones two weeks prior. As- sociates Jacob Mantle and Julia Webster joined BLG in the days that followed, with Josh Schein- ert moving over to the firm on June 11. Darrel Pearson, partner and head of the Bennett Jones Inter- national Trade and Investment practice, remains at Bennett Jones. Barutciski was co-head of the practice with Pearson. A spokesperson from Bennett Jones said the firm wishes Barut- ciski, Goldman and Kronby well, but they declined further com- ment. "We're moving what was Canada's pre-eminent and full- service trade practice from Ben- nett Jones to BLG," Goldman said. "It was a gut-wrenching de- cision; it certainly didn't come easy for any of us. Speaking per- sonally, I left with a heavy heart and great deal of fondness for Bennett Jones and all the people there." Goldman is the incoming chairman of the International Trade Committee of the Inter- Pacific Bar Association and Ca- nadian delegate to the Business and Industry Advisory Com- mittee to the OECD China task force. The move comes soon after U.S. President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and Canadian Prime Minister Jus- tin Trudeau responded with new tariffs on certain American goods. "It's a time when clients are paying close attention to trade is- sues in a way they may not always have been. They have to pay at- tention to those issues now and, therefore, it creates opportunities for the kind of trade practice we have here," says Kronby, who was director general of the federal government's Trade Law Bureau and served as the bureau man- ager and lead counsel for more than 15 years. Barutciski says that, for the past 20 years, trade issues have not been on the radar of the cor- porate C-suite in Canada like they are today. "What you have now, for the first time since the late '80s and early '90s, is the C-suite pay- ing attention, and that's what's changed. Now, CEOs want to be briefed. I've had three calls since I got here from counsel asking 'What can I tell my CEO and CFO?'" In moving to BLG, the three partners saw the ability to grow their practice in specialty areas. "This is a more expansive ap- proach with international trade and it's a firm that really em- braces specialty practices. We're thrilled to be here to service our existing clients and broaden our client base and expand the reach not only in Canada but interna- tionally," says Goldman. He says the group has been approached by "many large firms" in Toronto in the past, but nothing felt like a good fit until now. "We weren't really looking to move from Bennett Jones," says Goldman. "But there was a coalescence of factors. We were looking to grow and expand our practice. What was really important was the firm's genuine support in embracing an international trade practice as a core part of its vision going forward." Goldman says BLG has a strong arbitration practice that provides scope and reach to grow the practice in areas such as investor-state arbitration as well as to expand the portfolio of clients who are looking for treaty negotiation and advisory work. Barutciski adds that it was BLG's "vision of the future of law and international trade law in particular" that they saw as an attractive reason to move to BLG. "This firm understands that the future, to a considerable extent, of law in Canada is ser- vicing not just the corporate fi- nance and litigation needs of cli- ents but also their line business — the speciality areas. Those are the areas that are immune from the attack of U.S. firms," he says. "The big London and New York firms that generate M&A, they run those deals in Canada these days." IP, environmental law, inter- national trade and tax to a cer- tain extent will become "criti- cal components" of a successful full-service firm in the future, says Goldman. "The platform here was very attractive for that reason and supportive of that vision and shared that vision," he says. 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NGUYEN, GENERAL COUNSEL & CORPORATE SECRETARY, RESOLVER INC. *Discount applies to in-class only REGISTER BEFORE AUGUST 24 AND SAVE UP TO $300* MANAGING CYBERSECURITY RISK Toronto In-Class Course • Online Live Webinar | September 27 Register online at www.lexpert.ca/legal-programs For questions and group rates, please contact: Toll-Free: 1-877-298-5868 • Direct: 416-609-5868 Fax: 416-609-5841 • Website: www.lexpert.ca/legal-programs • Email: cpd.centre@thomsonreuters.com Untitled-1 1 2018-06-07 9:19 AM Jesse Goldman, Milos Barutciski and Matthew Kronby have moved to Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Barutciski says BLG's 'vision of the future of law and international trade law in particular' is what drew them to the firm.

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