The Lawyers Weekly - April 15, 2011

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
April 15, 2011 | 23

BUSINESS
CAREERS

GEOFF ELLWAND

The old equation that Oil + Gas = Legal Fees, has persuaded yet another national law firm, this time Torys LLP, to saddle up and ride into Calgary. It is an adventure that has excited anxiety among competitors, and got not a few restive lawyers dusting off their resumes. The question is, can Alberta’s energy industry produce enough legal work to go around?

“We certainly think so” is the assessment of Les Viner managing partner of Toronto-based Torys, “we think the next decade is going to be very bright.” He points to Calgary “as one of the two key economic centres in Canada” and believes the city will continue to attract “a lot of inbound capital as well as Canadian client developed business.” In March Torys LLP officially opened its new office in Calgary with seven lawyers hired locally. More than half of those lawyers were poached from Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP’s Calgary office. Blakes itself made the move West more than a quarter century ago.

The seven new hires with
Torys demonstrate exactly what
kind of business the firm will be
chasing. The new partners com-
bine expertise from the energy,
mergers and acquistions (M&A)
and finance areas and should
add some additional zip to the
already competitive Calgary legal
market. Viner said the firm is
actively recruiting associates and
is looking to hire 20 or 30 law-
yers within “a very short time.”
And in news that will further
discomfort established firms and
be the sweetest honey in the ears
of ambitious associates, Torys
said it does not plan to trans-
plant talent from Toronto. “We’re
looking at this over the long
term,” insists Viner. “We’re look-
ing for Calgary stars.”
It was only last year that
Ogilvy Renault hung out its shin-
gle in Calgary. It had been openly
mulling a move West for years,
and the speculation had centred
not so much on “if” as “how.”
Would it be a greenfield venture
or a merger? In the end Ogilvy

DAN PRAT/ ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
Canadian law firms are lured out West by the robust oil and gas industry.

Renault set up its own office, and after just over a year in the city it has seven partners and five associates. Calgary partner, Miles Pittman said the company is shooting for a legal staff of “ 30 plus by the end of next year” and buoyed with the June amalgamation with London-based Norton Rose has “a target” he said of 50 to 100 lawyers. Other industry people think that may be very ambitious, but if it happens it will make Ogilvy Renault one of the biggest firms in town.

With the arrival of Torys almost all of Canada’s major national legal players now have offices in Calgary. That has got senior people in a lot of law firms across the country speculating on whether anyone else will take a chance on Alberta and the energy sector. There is nothing public about any would-be new-

“Are we over-
lawyered?... I don‘t
think so. The pond
might appear small but
it’s plenty deep.

comers at the moment, but Perry
Spitznagel, the Calgary senior
partner at Bennett Jones LLP,
says “the prospect of new
entrants into the Calgary legal
market is always there. There’s
always firms considering.”
For long-establish national
firm Bennett Jones which was
founded in Calgary, the arrival of
more eastern rivals is perfectly
understandable. Spitznagel says
given Canada’s political, legal,
economic and social stability and
Alberta’s enormous energy
reserves national and inter-
national interest is inevitable.
“We happen to have everything
the world is looking for right
now” he says gesturing out of his
46th floor office window. In the
distance the snow-capped Rock-
ies can be seen glistening in the
morning sun suggesting there is a
lifestyle on offer in Calgary as
well as a vibrant business scene.