Feldberg says Fasken's strengths include its tech and mining practices and professional development
Canadian Lawyer recently spoke with Peter Feldberg, firm managing partner of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, about managing one of Canada’s largest law firms, the resilience of mining and being recognized as a top employer.
Feldberg is a judge at this year's Lexpert Rising Stars Awards, honouring leading lawyers under 40 from law firms, in-house departments, and other practices. Nominations are open until July 7; winners will be announced on November 23.
Tell me about your practice.
I started as a litigator, doing tax and employment litigation. I then moved to commercial and public litigation in the resource sectors and shifted to utility and regulatory law. The last phase of my practice was advising on significant project approvals like transmission lines and dams, which included public law and hearing processes.
Fasken’s firm managing partner is a full-time role, so I don't practise law now other than through the client contact I have in my role.
How did you end up taking on a leadership role at Fasken?
I came straight from practice in 2011 when the firm asked me to chair our partnership board, which oversees the firm’s management. In 2015, I was elected as firm managing partner.
How did you find that transition from practicing to taking on that kind of leadership role?
It is a shift from managing a team, supporting a client or a project to managing a firm, which requires a much broader consensus-seeking approach.
What are your most noteworthy internal initiatives at Fasken?
Initially, my work focused on the twin aspects of our vision, which is to be a top firm and a great place to work. We have spent a lot of time and investment over the last several years developing our knowledge management platform, and we've also focused significantly on the people side.
We have intensely focused on recruitment, development, and preserving our culture and mental health initiatives, particularly over the pandemic. We're not alone in this. Every firm now focuses more on the people journey of its legal and business professionals.
We are one of the largest firms in Canada, and we are leaning in on that because we have one of the broadest ranges of specialties in the country. We are strong in sustainability, infrastructure, private equity, and technology.
The size, breadth and practices enable us to look at new areas of practice and industries and lean into them. We have an entrepreneurial firm, so a lot of that bubbles up from below.
The knowledge management initiative was one of your first as the managing partner
We started with improving our technology, which proved wise when the pandemic hit. More laterally, we have focused on knowledge management to leverage technology and provide a consistent platform for lawyers. We are getting to the end of that major project.
What major macroeconomic trends are you seeing in your client work?
We have a broad range of practices, which have all grown over the last few years. It's been a good time for the legal industry. The M&A and corporate commercial practices, real estate, banking and finance really stand out.
From a sector and industry perspective, technology has been the most significant growth area for us, although it's been a little bit slower this year. In the long term, though, Canada is well positioned in that sector and so is our firm.
Mining has shown good growth, which might surprise some. In some respects, that reflects our sustainability practices, the convergence of the need for rare earth minerals worldwide and a low carbon economy. Yet traditional mining is strong as well, which we do internationally.
Financial and insurance services have also been a good area of growth. I don’t like to guess much about what's hot in the short run, but we're well-balanced across many industries and practice areas in the longer term.
What are your recent areas of challenge?
Whether you call it a challenge or an opportunity, managing our people is a continuous preoccupation. Law firms generally, and certainly ours, have been very focused on changing how we manage people to improve their career arcs and their mental health and ensure they are managed more equitably and inclusively.
We hired a chief equity, diversity and inclusion officer two years ago. That was partly to give us a strategy to make our firm look more reflective of our communities.
We have a program we call a responsible business. This includes our EDI, climate action, Indigenous reconciliation, and pro bono programs. We are making those four elements and the plan overall more structured, more measurable and developing that practice.
What trends do you predict for your firm in the next 12 months?
I can’t predict what the economy will do over the next 12 months, but the role of a leader in a law firm is to consider various scenarios. Like many big firms, we have practices that are counter-cyclical and cyclical. We have the insolvency and labour and employment practices, which are good even in a bad economy. In a good economy, we have the M&A practice. We also have a significant litigation group, which trucks along no matter what.
What is Fasken doing in recruiting and attracting the best legal talent?
We focus on our practice and professional development programming because that's important to attract talent. We have programs for legal skills, making our people tech-savvy, knowledgeable about business, client service, and diversity. Forbes named us one of the best employers for 2023, so something is working there.
Our EDI officer is a very senior position; from a strategic perspective, EDI is a very data-driven strategy. Whenever we do surveys and ask, “Why are you here?” the first answer is because we like the people we work with. It's really that simple. That's a culture we want to continue to preserve, and a good part of that is autonomy.
We try to balance training, development, and autonomy for our people, and in terms of hiring, retention, and development, that's the story we tell the people. Our selection and hiring process has been very successful over the last many years.
Has the recruitment environment become less competitive in the last year?
We're not seeing the US firms entering Toronto and looking for our associates like they were before. So, it feels like a more normal competitive atmosphere.
What is your advice to young lawyers on succeeding in a competitive legal landscape?
Stay flexible and look ahead. Most of the careers they will have are not yet invented, thinking about potential disruptions like generative AI and industry and practice changes.
If you engage with the world and stay curious about new areas, you'll find yourself making change happen rather than struggling to keep up.
What has stood out to you before when judging the Lexpert Rising Stars?
I'm always astounded at the breadth of talent when I read the summaries. The range has increased over the last six years since I've participated in the program.
Winners come from all walks of life and work in all aspects of our society. They're making changes in places that go far beyond what a traditional legal practice was considered to be in the past.
*Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
