Lax O’Sullivan Scott Lisus LLP has become the latest Canadian firm to go global, announcing a merger with London-based firm Kronick Blatter Peign, a Swiss verein.

Following on the heels of Ogilvy Renault LLP’s tie-up with Norton Rose Group and rumours global powerhouse DLA Piper is scouting for a Canadian partner, the Lax O’Sullivan deal caps a busy few months in the Canadian legal marketplace.

The 14-lawyer Toronto litigation outfit will join KBP’s global network of more than 1,400 lawyers, under a new name, Lax Blatter. The firm will offer service in more than 43 countries in 39 languages, according to Clifford Lax, managing partner at Lax O’Sullivan.

“Our clients are increasingly international in scope and require their lawyers to serve their needs throughout the world,” he said

Ulrich Blatter, chair of KBP’s executive committee also welcomed the merger.

“We have wanted to have a Canadian presence for many years and we are delighted that Lax O’Sullivan Scott Lisus now forms part of our worldwide family,” he said in a statement, which also announced the firm will relocate its global headquarters to Toronto.

When reached by phone for further comment on the merger, all Lax would say was: “Ha, ha, ha.”

Lax did confirm the firm’s April Fools Day prank had been quite a success, with a variety of others calling to congratulate as well.

Canada

Priszm files for creditor protection in Ont. court, The Province

Courthouse brawl breaks out after shooter sentenced to life, Toronto Star

Supreme Court denies Hells Angel's trafficking appeal, The Vancouver Sun

United States

Alabama woman's family sues over IV contamination, Reuters

Judge denies Texas brothers' bid to dismiss SEC lawsuit, Reuters

International

GE not expected to face liability over Japan nuclear crisis, Reuters

UN court won't hear Georgia's case against Russia, Reuters

He called himself a dreamer, but noted, like John Lennon sings, “he’s not the only one.” With that, Ontario Chief Justice Warren Winkler offered up his recipe for success in the profession to about a 100 guests at a Women’s Law Association of Ontario dinner at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto last night.

Chief Justice Warren Winkler has had a fair bit of success in the legal profession. Photo: Gail J. Cohen

1.    Law is a helping profession. Help others without looking for something in return.
2.    People want to help you. Graciously give them the opportunity to do so. “Everything good that happened to me came from others,” said Winkler. As far as he’s concerened, there’s no such thing as climbing the ladder to success. Success comes from getting a hand from above to help pull you up the ladder.
3.    Respect your elders. Respect your youngers. Respect those of the same age. Respect your peers. Basically, treat everyone with kindness and respect.
4.    Be loyal. Loyalty begets loyalty.
5.    Do not exaggerate. Do not mislead the court.
6.    Get a mentor. Get several mentors.
7.    Be a mentor. Mentoring is a two-way street and you are never too old or too young to have or be a mentor.
8.    Always go to events early. That way the next person who comes in has to meet you and they’ll most likely remember you.
9.    Join organizations and speak at any event that you’re asked to. Winkler said he often got new clients that way.
10.    If you have no work, go to your office anyway. You never know what will crop up.
11.    Take advice from your mother, your grandmother, your granddaughter. . . .
12.    Get a dog. Buy a lot of CDs. Read a lot of books. Clients want you to be balanced. And following on that, Winkler said: “If you love doing what you’re doing, people will want to work with you.”

And as a bonus point, Winkler said if you follow his tips, you won’t have to worry about problems with collegiality and civility.

A new survey is sounding the alarm on the plummeting portion of Quebec companies listing on Canadian stock exchanges.

The study released yesterday by Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that companies in the province accounted for 26 per cent of new listings on the TSX Venture Exchange in 2004-2005. That number has since taken a nosedive, dropping to just nine per cent in 2008-2009. The decline is particularly distressing when you consider that Quebec makes up 23 per cent of Canada’s population, and 21 per cent of the country’s economy.

“We know that companies that will really grow and create jobs are those that are well capitalized,” FMC president Michel Brunet tells Legal Feeds. He adds that the province must pursue a growth policy that targets companies that are best positioned to grow quickly.

The survey flowed from interviews with about 60 senior executives from private companies, public companies, private investment funds, and brokers. The authors believe it offers decision-makers a sophisticated look at the circumstances that have led to the trend, and presents solutions to reignite economic growth in the province. They say a quick fix is particularly important in light of Quebec’s aging population and the government’s rebalancing of public coffers due to high debt levels.

The report recommends the following key steps to help turn the situation around:
• Conditions must be created to ensure liquidity on the TSX Venture Exchange;
• capital gains must be eliminated for those who purchase shares of qualifying companies and later sell them;
• the misperception among owners of private companies that going public is inconvenient must be corrected;
• levels of entrepreneurship within the province must increase.

PwC managing partner Guy Leblanc acknowledged that listing on the stock exchange is not a cure-all for Quebec businesses, but it is generally viewed as a positive step.

“The executives questioned are unanimous that listing on the stock exchange is certainly not a panacea and creates pressure on operations due to regulatory requirements of disclosure and accountability, but they also say that the contribution of public capital allowed them to grow quickly when they could not have achieved this otherwise,” he said in unveiling the report.

Canada

New conduct code for Brampton councillors 'vague': expert, Toronto Star

Immigration law ineffective for protecting migrants: lawyer, The Globe and Mail

Barreau du Québec under fire over backlog, The Gazette

United States

Ohio passes bill to block union bargaining rights, Reuters

Judge dismisses Freddie Mac pension lawsuit, Reuters

International

Syria panel looks into abolishing emergency law, Financial Times

Czech court rules data retention unconstitutional, The Canadian Press

McInnes Cooper has boosted its insurance law presence in Atlantic Canada, announcing today a merger with Halifax boutique Haynes Law.

“Merging our two firms under the McInnes Cooper brand will enhance client service and bring greater efficiencies to insurance industry clients at both firms,” said McInnes Cooper’s insurance industry group leader Wendy Johnston. “We’re thrilled to bring together such dedicated groups of lawyers. Clients at both firms will benefit.”

The move, which is effective May 1, brings Hayes Law’s Ross Haynes, Debbie Brown, Franco Tarulli, and Selina Bath to McInnes Cooper, which has about 200 lawyers overall.

“Our clients will greatly benefit from McInnes Cooper’s regional reach, and our lawyers will gain the strength and support of a growing regional business law firm,” said Haynes. “We will continue to service our clients seamlessly, with the attention and quality they have come to expect — now with support in additional locations wherever needed.”

The Association of Corporate Counsel is preparing an aggressive expansion into Canada.

The ACC plans to open a permanent office in Canada and add chapters in Alberta and British Columbia to supplement its existing ones in Ontario and Quebec, says a letter sent to its members.

The ACC also sent another letter to 4,200 non-member Canadian in-house counsel, urging them to join the organization. “We appreciate in-house counsel these days can belong to multiple industry groups, and we believe ACC should be top of that list,” says the letter, signed by some of Canada’s top general counsel.

In signing the letter, ACC board members David Allgood of the Royal Bank of Canada and Martine Turcotte of Bell Canada are joined by 20 other senior chief legal officers or general counsel representing companies in Halifax, Ottawa, Montreal, Regina, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. These include people like Daniel Desjardins of Bombardier Inc. and Simon Fish of the Bank of Montreal.

The letter promises ACC will provide expanding Canadian services, professional development programs designed by Canadian in-house counsel, and more Canadian advocacy initiatives. It also offers the invited in-house counsel trial access to members-only services on the ACC web site.

The ACC drive comes in the aftermath of the conflict between the Canadian Bar Association and its in-house counsel subgroup, the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association, which has had the dominant market position in Canada and for years provided many of the Canada-wide services the ACC is now trying to expand on. And the ACC appears be going after CCCA members. Though it won’t specify who the 4,200 in-house counsel are who received the invitation, that is roughly the same number of in-house counsel members of the CCCA.

Based in Washington, D.C., and with a global, but primarily American, membership, the ACC is a more recent arrival to Canada than the homegrown CCCA. The ACC has nonetheless had members here since 1987. By 1999, there were more than 60 members in Canada, and now that number is more than 800, according to ACC’s head office.

It differs from the CCCA in that the membership price, at $250 per year, is less than half of that of the CBA-CCCA’s roughly $650, but it has not had the geographic reach provided by the CBA-CCCA. And unlike the CCCA, which accepts law firm lawyers and government counsel, the ACC is open for in-house counsel membership only.

Canada

Lawyer threatens city council with lawsuit, Toronto Sun

Disgraced lawyer released with reprimand, Winnipeg Free Press

Vancouver law firms accuse banks of price fixing, Business in Vancouver

United States

Judge blocks proposed collective-bargaining law, Reuters

Lehman creditors ask judge to consider new plan, Reuters

International

Citigroup grabs U.K. lawyer to connect with British customers, Reuters

China withholds incarcerated lawyer despite pressure from UN, AFP

Ontario's Liberal government said on Tuesday that a tight cap on spending growth will keep it on track to eliminate its budget deficit by 2017-18, even as it allocates more to education and health care in hopes of winning reelection.

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan forecast that Ontario, which has the largest economy and population of any Canadian province, will run a deficit of $16.3 billion for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

This marks a decline from a record $19.3 billion two years earlier, when its manufacturing-oriented economy was ravaged by the global financial crisis.

The spending plan is being closely watched by domestic and international investors, who have scooped up the province's bonds, but also expressed concerns about the province's growing debt pile.

The Liberals are also under pressure from the opposition Progressive Conservatives, who have capitalized on the anger of some voters about higher electricity costs, changes to the province's sales tax and rising government spending.

"The 2011 budget builds on the government's plan to eliminate the deficit and at the same time protect education and health care," Duncan told reporters.

Ontario's ruling Liberal party, reelected with a majority in 2007, has sought to revive the province's economy partly through initiatives like building infrastructure and expanding green power, as well as increasing spending on education and health care.

The province said its total expenses will be $124.1 billion in the coming fiscal year, up from $122.9 billion in 2010-11.

Total program spending, which excludes interest on debt, is projected to come in at $113.8 billion, an increase of less than 1 percent. Even so, health and education spending are set to rise more than 4 percent in 2011-12.

The government forecast overall program spending will rise by just 1 percent per year between 2010-11 and 2013-14. Measures to control spending include cutting 1,500 public service jobs and getting rid of redundant agencies.

Duncan also announced a commission that he said will review the public service with an eye to speeding up deficit reduction while protecting health care and education - which make up 70 percent of government spending.

Total revenues in 2010-11 were $106.2 billion and are expected to rise to C$108.5 billion in 2011-12. Corporate tax revenues are projected to increase over the medium term due to stronger than expected economic growth and corporate profits. There are no tax increases or tax cuts in the budget.

Overall, revenues are projected to increase at an average annual rate of 3.3 percent between 2010-11 and 2013-14.

The province, which relies heavily on manufacturing and the export of autos and auto parts to the United States, said its economy grew 2.8 per cent in 2010. It predicted its economy would grow 2.4 per cent this year, slightly below the private-sector average call for 2.6 percent. It said it is likely the economy will have surpassed pre-recession levels by the first quarter of 2011.

NET DEBT BUILDING UP

The province's deficit for the fiscal year to the end of March fell by $2 billion to $16.7 billion compared to its fall economic statement, but the budget kept the province's plan of returning to balance by 2017-18 unchanged. Duncan forecast a $15.2 billion deficit for 2012-13.

The government said its net debt would rise to $241.5 billion in 2011-12, up from $217.3 billion in 2010-11. By 2014-15, Ontario's debt to GDP ratio is seen peaking to almost 41 per cent.

For now, lower interest rates are helping the government finance that debt easily. But the biggest wild card is the prospect of higher interest rates in the near future, said Sebastien Lavoie, assistant chief economist at Laurentian Bank Securities.

The province said its long-term public borrowing need for the current fiscal year was $39.9 billion, an increase of $200 million from the forecast last spring but up $1.2 billion from fall targets.

Gadi Mayman, chief executive of the Ontario Financing Authority, told Reuters the increase was due to healthy investor appetite that allowed the province to pre-borrow for the next fiscal year.

The budget shows this figure declining to $35 billion in 2011-12, down from $38.8 billion predicted in the last budget. The program will then increase to $38.6 billion in 2012-13 and $42.2 billion in 2013-14 due to refinancing needs of maturing long term debt, Mayman said.

The province was able to return to its historical preference for domestic issues, borrowing 59 per cent at home in 2010-11 versus 49 per cent a year earlier.

Canada’s enforcement of the foreign bribery offences act is attracting a lot of attention this week, following the release of a highly critical report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The OECD report, made public yesterday, says Canada’s regime for enforcement of its Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act remains problematic in important areas. It also calls for urgent action to boost efforts to prosecute Canadian companies and individuals for their actions involving foreign officials.

“Although Canada has recently made progress in investigating the bribery of foreign public officials by Canadian businesses, Canada has only completed one prosecution since it enacted its foreign bribery law in 1999,” notes the OECD report.

The report warns that Canada’s ability to successfully prosecute these investigations will be in jeopardy unless the Public Prosecution Service of Canada is given the resources it needs to prosecute the large volume of cases that may soon follow the investigations.

It adds that given the size of Canada’s economy and its high-risk industries — oil, gas, and mining — Canada should review its law and approach to enforcement.

The working group behind the report also says it welcomes Canada’s recent enforcement efforts, as the country now has more than 20 CFPOA investigations and one ongoing prosecution.

“Recent progress in investigating CFPOA violations is largely due to the establishment of the RCMP International Anti-Corruption Unit, which has been making substantial efforts to investigate allegations of the bribery of foreign public officials and raise awareness of the offence,” says the report.

Canadian companies need to be aware now more than ever about their actions abroad and what constitutes a violation of Canadian laws in this area, lawyers with Miller Canfield LLP told a Toronto audience at a seminar this morning.

They also warned that in an addition to Canadian regulations, companies based in this country and doing business overseas need to prepare to comply with stricter U.S. and U.K. anti-bribery laws, which often end up affecting Canadian companies.

This afternoon, a group of top expert and enforcement officials will also discuss the subject at a University of Toronto Faculty of Law event.

Canadian Lawyer InHouse will offer more coverage on this topic in the coming days and weeks.