Lexpert Roundup on the Business of Law
Lexpert identifies and reports on emerging business issues and practice areas in the business of law. Whether online, in our magazine or in the DealsWire e-newsletter, we chronicle deals and lawsuits of interest, and cover issues of broad concern to the legal profession and those who purchase legal services. We hope you enjoy this sample of our latest content
From the DealsWire: Honeywell closes Com Dev deal, PSP picks up hydro assets
The Lexpert DealsWire (subscribe here) documents facts, figures and key legal players behind recent deals. This week's announced deal spotlight features the key players and figures in PSP Investments' $1.2-billion (U.S.) purchase of hydroelectric assets in New England.
In our closed deals section, we look at the sale of Com Dev to Honeywell and spin out of exactEarth, as well as GFL Environmental acquiring the Matrec division from TransForce.
We also look at the players behind Gran Tierra Energy acquiring Petroamerica Oil. Finally, we give you the legal teams on the Cott Corp.'s purchase of AquaTerra.
SCC class-action trilogy raises scrutiny
Plaintiffs seeking leave to file secondary-market securities class actions in Canada will face a steeper incline than they have in the past. For this, they can thank the Supreme Court of Canada's December decisions in a trilogy of securities class-action cases: CIBC v. Green, Silver v. IMAX and Trustees v. Celestica, all emanating from the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Canada's new anti-spam laws scaring away U.S. business
Canada's stringent new anti-spam law claimed its first high-profile casualty recently: the U.S. television show Jeopardy! Citing "new rules" set down by the Canadian government, Jeopardy has excluded Canadians from taking the online test used to determine whether someone could become a contestant. "For some U.S. organizations, the cost of retooling and managing compliance along with the complexity and severe liability seems not worth the hassle for the small market," says Martin Kratz, who leads the anti-spam practice group at Bennett Jones LLP.
How in-house legal departments can become truly innovative
From implementing agile and lean methods to physically changing their work environments, in-house legal departments can become increasingly efficient and even generate revenue. But this will require a major culture change in the profession.
Sales glue
Given the dire need to maintain current work levels (never mind finding more work) the five-letter word that seems to have a four-letter connotation, "sales," is one that lawyers would be wise to add to their lexicon and adopt into their culture, writes Heather Suttie in this month's legal marketing column.
Globalization is here
Why are big-name law firms merging with firms from abroad? In this month's Change Agent column, Scott Jolliffe, former CEO and chairman of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, explains why Gowlings made the bold decision to become part of a global law firm with offices in 18 cities around the world under the name Gowling WLG.
Lexpert Zenith Awards: celebrating diversity and inclusion
We are pleased to announce that the 2016 Lexpert Zenith Awards will take place on Mon. June 20, at the Arcadian Court in Toronto. This year's Awards will celebrate Canadian lawyers' contributions toward achieving diversity and inclusion, within the profession and society. Winners may be drawn from law firms, corporate and governmental legal departments, academia, the judiciary, and alternative legal careers relating to law. To access the full nomination criteria, please click here.
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