Total Lawyers: 32

Lawyers by Office: Truro, N.S., 20; Halifax, 12

Core Practice Areas: corporate-commercial; tax; litigation; property; family and child protection; employment and labour

Key Clients: Canadian National Railway Co.; Stanfield’s Ltd.; CBCL Ltd.; Scotsburn Dairy Group; Wagner Forest Products; N.S. counsel for several insurance companies

Notable Mandates: Canadian National Railway Co. retained the firm to defend against a class action proceeding alleging environmental liability related to Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens; represented Wagner Forest in the largest land purchase in the history of Nova Scotia; in Kings Mutual Insurance Co. v. Ackermann, represented a local farmer in a winning action against Kings Mutual when the insurer denied the insurance benefit sought after Hurricane Juan

Star Alumni: former premier Robert L. Stanfield; former premier and senator George Isaac (G.I.) Smith; former N.S. Court of Appeal justice Kenneth Matthews; former N.S. Supreme Court justice William J. Grant; N.S. Court of Appeal Justice Jamie W.S. Saunders

Affiliations: None

The Firm: In 1928, a Truro law firm was established which ultimately became Patterson Smith Matthews & Grant, a firm with a provincewide practice. In 1986, a merger with Kitz Matheson created Patterson Kitz, and in 1995, Patterson Kitz merged with three other firms from Atlantic Canada to become the regional firm Patterson Palmer Hunt Murphy (PPHM). In 2006, Patterson Law emerged with offices in Halifax and Truro after dissolution of PPHM. In 2008, Harris Neonakis, a tax boutique, merged with Patterson Law.

Dennis J. James, the co-managing partner at Patterson Law, says, “In 2006, we made a decision to remain a Nova Scotia-based firm and not to continue to remain a part of a larger regional partnership, largely due to our fidelity to our base, and we demonstrated we could be successful at that. Our evolution as a Nova Scotia firm makes Patterson Law unique in the marketplace.” He adds that working with clients that are medium or small businesses is rewarding and challenging at the same time. “We understand the pressures of the economy.”

8. Ottenheimer Baker

Total Lawyers: 21

Office: St. John’s

Core Practice Areas: commercial and civil litigation; corporate-commercial; labour and employment; real property; natural resources law

Key Clients: Bank of Montreal; Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (Department of Natural Resources); Altius Minerals; Loblaw; Fairmont Hotels

Notable Mandates: worked with the government of Newfoundland and Labrador on the negotiation and preparation of royalty agreements for the development of Hibernia South, White Rose, and Hebron offshore oilfields; worked on the Cameron Inquiry (Eastern Health), appeared and provided advice with respect to ER/PR Inquiry; appeared and provided advice with respect to the inquiry into Cougar helicopter crash

Star Alumni: William Marshall, former deputy premier, cabinet minister, and Court of Appeal judge; Chief Justice of Newfoundland and Labrador J. Derek Green; N.L. Court of Appeal Justice Charlie White; senator Gerald Ottenheimer; N.L. Supreme Court Justice Raymond P. Whalen

Affiliations: Meritas Law Firms Worldwide

The Firm: Founded in 1972 as Marshall and White, Ottenheimer Baker has provided legal services to corporate and private clients in Newfoundland and Labrador for over 38 years. It evolved from an early focus on banking, corporate-commercial, and property law to a full-service firm.

William C. Boyd, who heads Ottenheimer Baker’s managing committee, says these are exciting times for the province. “There is an enthusiasm in the business community,” he says. “The investment in residential and commercial development creates opportunity.” That’s because the focus in offshore development has brought in more businesses in the area, which also translates to more opportunities for law firms. On a personal note, Boyd says many partners are graduates of Dalhousie University and follow the law school’s Weldon tradition of maintaining open-door access.

9. Burchells LLP

Total Lawyers: 24

Office: Halifax

Core Practice Areas: commercial litigation; insurance defence; aboriginal; corporate-commercial; administrative law

Key Clients: Bank of Montreal; TD Canada Trust; Economical Insurance Royal and Sun Alliance; Lawyers’ Insurance Association of Nova Scotia; Trustees of the NSAHO LTD Plan Trust Fund

Notable Mandates: represented Sonco Gaming New Brunswick Ltd.; partnership in the negotiation of agreements for Casino New Brunswick; represented the Mi’gmawei Mawiomi and the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council before the Supreme Court of Canada in the companion cases of Sappier Polchies and Darrel Grey

Star Alumni: Supreme Court of Nova Scotia Justice David MacAdam; Federal Court Justice Robert Barnes
Affiliations: The ARC Group Canada

The Firm: The firm started operations in Halifax in 1912 with the original members being A.K. MacLean, C.J. Burchell, and J.L. Ralston. By 1926, with the addition of new partners, the firm name became Burchell Smith Parker and Fogo. The firm is unique due to having “the largest aboriginal law practice in Eastern Canada, which mixes well with our general client base which is corporate commercial litigation. More and more, aboriginal work isn’t simply dealing with land claims or interaction with government but also assisting them with their own corporate endeavours,” he says. 

10. Benson•Myles PLC Inc.

Total Lawyers: 16

Office: St. John’s

Core Practice Areas: real estate; general litigation; insurance; corporate-commercial; labour and employment

Key Clients: some of the larger commercial and residential developers; a large number of insurance companies; a chartered bank and a number of other financial institutions; a large number of small- to medium-size businesses and several health-care institutions and facilities; health-related professional regulatory and disciplinary bodies

Notable Mandates: represented Persona Inc., Canada’s sixth-largest cable operator, in an ongoing private transaction valued at approximately $406 million; International Royalty Corp. in connection with the acquisition of a stake in the Voisey’s Bay nickel-copper-cobalt project and a related IPO and unit offering; the dominant cable operator and a telecommunications service provider in Trinidad and Tobago in a US$120-million refinancing with an international syndicate of lenders; and the Barbados-based borrowers of US$100 million in secured financing

Star Alumni: N.L. Supreme Court Chief Justice David Orsborn; former N.L. Supreme Court justice H. James Puddester

Affiliations: State Capital Global Law Firm Group; Canadian Litigation Counsel

The Firm: Benson•Myles PLC Inc. was originally formed in 1980 by two lawyers, H. James Puddester and David Orsborn. Throughout the 1980s, the firm enjoyed rapid growth and expansion of its practice. A merger in 1980 with Mercer Buffett McLaughlin LLP followed by a merger with Fowler Pike & Madden LLP in 1991 provided further growth. 

Gary F. Peddle, chairman of the firm’s management committee, says Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy wasn’t really affected by the worldwide recession. “Out of all the provinces, ours has the brightest future and the greatest outlook for prosperity,” he says. With that he notes “there is an increase in the complexity of transactions, and we find clients are becoming more sophisticated.”