The Lawyers Weekly - September 17, 2010

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
September 17, 2010 | 25

BUSINESS
CAREERS

GEOFF KIRBYSON

The providers of a new after-the-event insurance product are confident it will give plaintiffs the confidence and peace of mind to refuse early and inadequate settlements and fully pursue their cases.

Pierre Gregoire, president of Waterloo, Ont.-based Lexinsure Inc., says its OCI (opponent’s costs indemnity) offering is geared primarily towards people involved in a lawsuit who don’t want to take the risk of having to pay the defendant’s costs. He says such an order could impose a significant burden on plaintiffs, who may have already paid large sums in expert witness and legal fees.

“The legal system is a very
expensive system, any lawyer will
tell you that,” Gregoire says.
“OCI is another strategic risk
management tool for plaintiffs. If
the case isn’t meritorious, we
aren’t going to underwrite it.
[OCI] gives a chance for those
with a good case to move forward
with it.”
He says plaintiffs fundamen-
tally take three gambles in a law-
suit: whether they will win or
lose; the cost of funding the law-
suit; and if they lose, that they
may have to pay significant court
costs to the defendant.
“OCI addresses one aspect of
it. I have seen cases where costs
were enormous. It depends on
the cost award of the judge and
the type of case. Some cases take
a long time at trial and will have
a very high input of experts. That
drives up the court costs for both
sides. People try to control the
risks. Even large corporations
want to minimize their expos-
ure,” he says.

Gregoire says OCI would also be attractive for out-of-province claimants who have to file security for costs so if they lose the case, the winning defendant doesn’t have to travel out of their home province to collect what’s coming to them.

Kenning Marchant, chair of the access to justice committee for the Ontario Bar Association, says after-the-event insurance or financing is “fairly well established” in the U.K., where the legal system is similar to Canada’s.

“It’s really only for litigation that is considered highly likely to succeed and where the defendant has deep pockets and therefore will be able to pay. If this com-

See Insurance Page 26
Announcements

Michael Lacy of Lacy Barristers

Joseph Wilkinson of Wilkinson & Associate
Are pleased to announce the merging
of their practices and the creation of:

Lacy Wilkinson LLP

144 King Street E.
Third Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1G8

Tel: 416.362.3681
Fax: 416.366.1762
mlacy@lacywilkinson.ca
jwilkinson@lacywilkinson.ca
They are also pleased to announce that:

Bradley Greenshields (formerly of Crown Law Criminal) &
Catherine Schaefer (their former articling student)
will be joining them as associates.
Lacy Wilkinson LLP will continue to serve clients in the area of
Criminal Law focusing on complex trials and appeals.
Visit us online
www.lawyersweekly.ca
We are pleased to
announce the addition
of seven new Associates.

In our Toronto office: Thomas W. Agnew thomas-agnew@hicksmorley.com Tel.: 416.864.7227

Joseph Cohen-Lyons joseph-cohen-lyons@hicksmorley.com Tel.: 416.864.7213

Hilary E. Jarvis hilary-jarvis@hicksmorley.com Tel.: 416.864.7324

Erin M. Miller erin-miller@hicksmorley.com Tel.: 416.864.7326

Richelle M. Pollard richelle-pollard@hicksmorley.com Tel.: 416.864.7537

In our Ottawa office: Cheryl A. Waram cheryl-waram@hicksmorley.com Tel.: 613.369.2120

In our Waterloo office: Mike H. Hamilton mike-hamilton@hicksmorley.com Tel.: 519.883.3124

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