Ken Kallish, chairman of the corporate/commercial group at Toronto’s Minden Gross LLP, recalls reading a helpful book by Jim Collins called From Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t. In it, the author answers the question: “Can a good company become a great company and if so, how?” Kallish says it’s recommended reading for those in mid-size firms.

 “The factors he concluded that existed where these firms went from to good to great are: knowing who you are, staying true to your core principles, not trying to be something you’re not, and making sure you have the right people on the bus . . . that’s the approach we’ve always used.” It’s an approach that’s worked for 50-lawyer firm Minden Gross and for countless other mid-size business firms in Ontario. Their key to success is knowing what they want to be and focusing on their strengths.

Servicing clients

Almost every firm Canadian Lawyer spoke to for this article had no more than a handful of core practice areas, combined with a sprinkling of personal services. Within those confines, clients can range anywhere from large institutions to mid-size, owner-operated businesses. “Primarily, especially in the entrepreneurial mid-size owner operated businesses, it’s just a fundamental understanding that they are very similar to what we are,” says Jeffrey Cohen, managing partner of Toronto’s 72-lawyer Torkin Manes. “We’re basically all owners of our business, we feel that way. We understand the mindset and we can bring an understanding of that mindset to the legal services we provide that client base.”

Lisa Borsook, managing partner of Toronto’s 80-lawyer WeirFoulds LLP, agrees and says that just as these clients grow, so too does the firm. “They started out as small-growth companies and their needs have gotten more sophisticated, and I think it’s fair to say we’ve gotten more sophisticated,” she says. “We act for a lot of entrepreneurs, a lot of new listings, a lot of what you call mid-market equity work, which is in the $100-million to $500-million private equity investments.”

Mike Peerless, executive committee member of London, Ont.’s Siskinds LLP, is experiencing the same thing, despite the firm’s location 180 kilometres southwest of downtown Toronto. “A lot more big companies are figuring out you don’t necessarily visit your lawyer on a weekly or monthly basis. It doesn’t really matter where your lawyer is located, so I think the costs of providing legal services out of a smaller city like London are attractive,” he says.

Michael Appleton, managing partner of Toronto’s 80-lawyer firm Fogler Rubinoff LLP, says the firm’s focus is on business law and its corporate department is much larger than those of larger firms. As a result, the client base is a mix of banks, brokers, and large public companies. While the mid-size firm may do some aspect of legal work for a large corporation or bank, the M&A work is usually doled out to the large national firms. “We don’t act for BCE and Alcan didn’t call us on their latest deal,” says Borsook, “but you know what? That’s OK.”

Going global

With the growth and expansion clients and corporations are going through, cross-border legal matters are continuing to grow in scope, and not just with our neighbour to the south, but around the world. “One issue we’ve noticed is that the international borders seem to be fading somewhat in that increasingly clients and their work [are] crossing borders,” says J. Gregory Richards, chairman of WeirFoulds’ marketing committee and former managing partner. “The U.S. is close by, so a lot of it is coming from that direction, but there are other directions as well.” As a result, the firm has been adapting and is initiating geographical practice groups, playing off the strengths of lawyers within the firm.