Kicking back in the’Peg

There are about 1,850 lawyers in Manitoba, including 1,500 in Winnipeg, but the province’s hospitality industry isn’t benefiting as much as you might think.

Bruce King, managing partner of Pitblado LLP, says Winnipeg lawyers typically don’t flock to certain watering holes at the end of the working day as their counterparts in many other cities do. He says most people from outside the city don’t recognize how concentrated the industry is in Winnipeg.

“You’re riding up and down the elevators with two-thirds of the business lawyers in the city. You eat in the same food court. . . . If you want to have a conversation in the Velvet Glove lounge, you’ve got to make sure the lawyer from the other side isn’t sitting at the next table,” he says.

Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP’s John Stefaniuk says many of the city’s younger lawyers can often be found at Earl’s on Main after work while their mentors are more likely to be sitting in Rae and Jerry’s, the steak house just as famous for its prime rib as it is for its 1950s décor. During lunch, lawyers of all ages hit up Garry’s Deli and Nathan Detroit’s Sandwich Pad in Winnipeg Square.

“By and large, people are interested in putting in their time at the office and going home to spend time with their families. That’s part of the quality of life we have in Winnipeg,” Stefaniuk says.