Regional firms rule the roost

There are no national firms with operations in Manitoba but the legal community is more than adequately served by a number of strong regional firms.

The largest is Aikins MacAulay & Thorvaldson LLP, which has 91 lawyers covering a full range of disciplines, including: intellectual property; family; labour and employment; bankruptcy, insolvency, and corporate recovery; and banking. It also takes great pride in its volunteer work, highlighted earlier this year by most of its staff lending a hand in the construction of a Habitat for Humanity house in north Winnipeg.

Pitblado LLP is focused strictly on business law with its team of more than 60 lawyers. The areas of expertise at the more than 100-year-old firm include: banking and financial institutions; corporate and commercial; information technology, intellectual property, and privacy; insolvency, bankruptcy, and restructuring; labour and employment; real estate and construction; securities and corporate finance; and taxation.

Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP, with 79 lawyers, is one of the oldest and largest firms in the province. The full-service firm is a founding member of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms. Some of its areas of practice include: aboriginal; environmental and sustainable development; intellectual property; property and development; and securities.

Fillmore Riley LLP is a full-service law firm with nearly 60 lawyers. Its practice areas include: aboriginal law; commercial litigation; construction; insolvency and restructuring; real estate; securities; technology and intellectual property; transportation; and wills and estates.

Taylor McCaffrey LLP has 59 lawyers. The full-service firm takes great pride in the role its lawyers play in continuing legal education, including lecturing at the faculty of law at the University of Manitoba and the bar admission courses. Several of its lawyers can provide service in sign language.

Hill Abra Dewar isn’t one of the biggest firms in Manitoba but it has handled some of the highest-profile cases recently, including the $5.9-million lawsuit against Astra Credit Union. The nine-lawyer firm also represented Domo Gasoline Corporation Ltd. in its recent $6.5-million win against Shell Canada Products Ltd., a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest corporations. It has also been active in litigation against the Crocus Investment Fund.