small centres.indd

BEYOND

BIG CITY LAW

A publication of the Canadian Bar Association Alberta Branch

Access to Justice Committee

Table of Contents

Foreword

Ola Malik

Introduction

Cyril S. Gurevitch, QC

Alberta Lawyers by the Numbers

Jocelyn Frazer

Attracting Lawyers to Smaller Centres: The Medicine Hat Experience

Cathy Regier

Local Law Schools Facilitating Connections

Maryanne Forrayi and Patricia Neil

The Rural Energy and Agriculture Law Students’ Society

Susanna Gafarova

Rural Law Practice: Succession Opportunities

Robert Harvie, QC

Succession Planning Part I: Solo and First Generation Law Firms

Arthur G. Greene, Esq. and William E. Howell, MBA, CPA/ABV/CFF ASA

Succession Planning Part II:

Valuing Ownership Shares of a First-Generation Law Firm

Arthur G. Greene, Esq. and William E. Howell, MBA, CPA/ABV/CFF ASA

Checklists for Succession Planning

Jocelyn Frazer

Big Opportunities in Smaller Communities

Anna Choles and Suzette Golden-Greenwood

Tips and Pointers for Attracting Summer/Articling Students to Your Town

Ryan Armstrong

iii

I, along with my co-chairs of the Canadian Bar Association,

Alberta Branch Access to Justice Committee, Kendall

Moholitny and Kelly Ann Fenney, are delighted to present

you with this electronic magazine devoted entirely to the

issue of practising law outside of Calgary and Edmonton.

This publication is timely given the challenges which our

profession is grappling with as far as ensuring that all

Albertans have access to legal services. Much of this current

discussion regarding access to justice focuses on a shortage

of family lawyers, the increasing numbers of self-represented

litigants, the dearth of lawyers willing to do work on a limited

scope retainer basis, or the inadequate funding of Legal Aid.

But there is growing concern of the effect that the retirement

of lawyers working in communities outside of Calgary and

Edmonton is having on access to legal services in those

communities.

There is much to be worried about. Once a smaller

community loses its lawyer to retirement, it loses an

important thread in its community fabric. For lawyers are

much more than just legal advisors in these communities:

they become trusted members of boards, city councils, and

volunteer organizations, they provide a calm voice when

community affairs turn stormy, and they often lead in times

of crisis. Lawyers are essential to all of our communities, but

especially so in smaller ones.

But there are also signs that times may be changing. As

Jocelyn Frazer points out, there has been a recent inﬂux of

younger lawyers in our smaller communities. It may be that

they are recognizing that legal practice in these communities

is modern, vibrant, busy, challenging, and proﬁtable. A

young lawyer in these communities will do work far beyond

their year of call as compared with their colleagues in a big

Calgary or Edmonton law ﬁrm. As these communities grow

(and fast), the legal work is becoming ever increasingly

complex and challenging. And there are other advantages

too. If you practice in one of these communities, you’re likely

to be on personal terms with your circuit judge, court staff,

your mayor, civic and business leaders. Business is booming

and business is good.

As we know, our younger lawyers are struggling with the

challenges of maintaining a rewarding work-life balance in

the big cities. Billable demands are high, commutes take

hours and by the time they get home, it is hard to believe

that lawyers have any energy left to put their kids to bed.

That’s not to say that the practice of law in our smaller

communities is casual. Talk to any lawyer who practices

in these communities and they’ll tell you that they’re often

busier then they’d like to be and that they’re not sure how

they can get the work done. But they’ll also tell you of the

rewards of being able to spend time with their families, see

their kids grow up, or truly feel at home in a community that

they are helping to shape.

The purpose of this publication is to provide you, who

practice in communities across this province, with some

practical advice and information about how you can attract

younger lawyers to come practice in your communities.

The solutions for attracting lawyers aren’t in Calgary and

Edmonton, but reside with you, in the experiences you have

gained working in your communities over a lifetime.

You might feel that you need some help, though. You might

be nearing retirement and haven’t turned your mind to

what you want to do with your practice. Maybe you haven’t

had the time to think about creating a ﬁrm website. Maybe

ill health has sapped you of your energy. You love your

community but feel powerless to confront the reality that

one day you’ll no longer be there to help your neighbours or

your friends in the way that you always have.

This publication is written for you. Cathy Regier can tell

you what out-of-the-box creative thinking has meant for her

community. Maryanne Forrayi, Patricia Neil and Susanne

Gafarova are here to help and are coming up with creative,

energizing ways to create linkages between our law schools

and our communities who are in search for lawyers. Anna

Choles, Suzette Golden-Greenwood and Ryan Armstrong

share their insight on how lawyers in smaller communities

can attract younger lawyers. And Jocelyn Frazer, Arthur

Greene, William Howell and the ever indomitable Rob

Harvie, share some ideas as to how you can plan your ﬁrm

succession.

This brings me to Cyril Gurevitch. Cyril has been relentless

in sounding the clarion call for more attention to be paid to

our communities outside of Calgary and Edmonton. He is

seeing what’s happening in Grande Prairie where a growing

city is losing its lawyers. He devoted his CBA Presidency

to exploring ways in which the CBA could attract lawyers

to communities like his. His work with Dean Ian Holloway,

Maryanne Forrayi and Cathy Regier in laying the groundwork

for the Medicine Hat initiative speaks of his passion, energy

and great love for communities across this province and for

his commitment to the principle that the people in those

communities should have access to a lawyer.

Cyril, this publication is dedicated to you.

- Ola Malik

CBA Alberta Branch Access to Justice Committee Co-Chair

Foreword

Ola Malik is a Municipal Prosecutor

with the City of Calgary, a

Canadian Bar Association Partner

Organization. He is one of the

co-chairs of the CBA Alberta Branch

Access to Justice Committee

alongside Kendall Moholitny and

Kelly Ann Fenney.

iii ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

I think they asked me to do the introduction

because I am the oldest lawyer they could ﬁnd

whose passion relates to a legal practice in smaller

centres outside of Edmonton and Calgary. As an

old codger, I guess that means I bring perspective.

What interests me about a magazine devoted

to rural practice is that it has been a long time

coming. When roughly 1000 of the 8000 lawyers

in Alberta work outside the two large metropolitan

cities, we tend to be forgotten. But realize that

those small legions of lawyers provide valuable

legal services to approximately half the population

of Alberta!

For the most part, the small town lawyer is a dying

proposition. If they’re lucky, regional centres

are holding their own but are ﬁnding it harder to

recruit articling students and junior lawyers. When

I arrived in Grande Prairie from Edmonton almost

35 years ago, there were about 20,000 souls and

35-40 lawyers. Today, as the regional population

approaches 120,000, we are only now up to

about 50 lawyers. Many villages and towns have

either had their practitioners bought out by the

larger regional ﬁrms or have lost them entirely to

retirement. Talk about having no Access to Justice!

So what have I learned from my 35 years as a

lawyer working and living in Grande Prairie? The

practice of law is inspiring, fulﬁlling and rewarding.

The legal issues are complex, the work plentiful

and the ﬁnancial rewards arrive without having to

be made senior partner. Family life is much easier

when you can drive home in 7 minutes for lunch

or take your kids to their activities across town in

about the same amount of time. One can become

a pillar of the community and play varied roles as

professional expert and charitable contributor.

As I see it, the major downsides to rural practice

are reﬂected in the lack of mentorship, the distance

and signiﬁcant cost to attend continuing legal

education courses, and the dearth of knowledge

on important legal issues and cases which is more

easily available in Calgary and Edmonton.

And so this publication on the practice of law in

our rural heartland is important. The quality of the

contributors and their easy-to-understand practical

tips and advice will hopefully spur a broad ranging

readership who will learn and beneﬁt from their

knowledge and expertise.

From this grey-hair, may we pass the torch!

- Cyril S. Gurevitch, Q.C.

CBA Alberta Branch Past President (2012-13)

Introduction

Cyril S. Gurevitch, Q.C. is a solicitor

practicing with the Gurevitch Burnham

law ﬁrm in Grande Prairie. He is a

Past President of the CBA Alberta

Branch, where his objective was to

create a greater awareness of the

challenges of rural and regionally-

based practitioners. Cyril is married,

and is an empty nester to three grown

children.

Alberta Lawyers by the Numbers

By Jocelyn Frazer

INTRODUCTION

The changing demographics of the legal profession

mean that lawyers in smaller communities are facing

unique transition and succession issues. While the

overall number of lawyers in Alberta continues to

increase, the breakdown of those numbers is shifting.

Law society membership data indicates some general

trends: the profession is aging, more lawyers are

choosing careers outside of private practice and the

number of lawyers practicing in communities outside of

Edmonton and Calgary is declining.

There are now approximately 8800 active lawyers in

Alberta, 62% of which are men. Approximately 6150 are

in private practice and approximately 2650 are in-house

or government lawyers. Women make up 33% of the

private practitioners, while they constitute slightly over

50% of in-house or government lawyers.

Without undertaking a formal statistical analysis of law

society membership data, its hard to draw deﬁnitive

conclusions. However, some observations can be made:

• Overall membership numbers are increasing;

• The proportion of women in the profession is

increasing;

• There are more students seeking admission to

the Alberta bar than ever before;

• High numbers of lawyers, both men and women

are leaving private practice;

• The profession is aging;

• The number of active lawyers over the age of 60

has tripled in the past 10 years; and

• The percentage of lawyers practicing in Calgary

continues to increase while the percentage of

lawyers in communities outside Edmonton and

Calgary is declining.

MEMBERSHIP STATISTICS AS OF

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

PRACTISING

Male Female Total

Calgary 2937 1909 4846

Edmonton 1761 1155 2916

Other 762 341 1103

Total 5460 3405 8865

2 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

STUDENTS-AT-LAW

Male Female Total

Calgary 158 158 316

Edmonton 91 85 176

Other 34 34 68

Total 283 278 560

AGING BAR

Much like other sectors of the population, our

profession is aging. There are proportionally fewer

younger lawyers now than there were 25 years ago. In

particular, there were actually fewer lawyers between

the ages of 31 and 40 practising in 2010 than there

were in 1990.

The number of lawyers over the age of 60 has more

than tripled in the last 10 years. The numbers of younger

lawyers has, by contrast, remained relatively stagnant or

actually declined in some categories.

In 2011, the Law Society engaged a consultant to

conduct a survey of lawyers practising in smaller

Alberta communities. Survey data on respondent

demographics and retirement plans suggests that there

is a correlation between age and community size with

a higher proportion of older lawyers moving toward

retirement in the smallest communities.

GREATER OPPORTUNITIES ELSEWHERE

As is the case in other provinces, there are high rates

of attrition of lawyers from private practice. But unlike

other provinces, this isn’t purely a gender issue. Within

5 years of being called to the bar, 57% of women and

49% of men will have left private practice. Many will

move to in-house or government positions, but close to

30% (28% of women and 29% of men) will have left the

practice of law entirely.

ATTRITION OF LAWYERS FROM PRIVATE PRACTICE

_______________________________

Report on the Findings of the Survey of Lawyers Practicing in

Smaller Alberta Communities, Merrill Cooper, Guyn Cooper Research

Associates Ltd., June 29, 2011.

So, while the numbers of practicing lawyers has

increased over time, that doesn’t necessarily translate

into an increase in lawyers who are actively engaged

in providing legal services to the public. Over the

last 20 years, there has been considerable growth in

the proportion of lawyers practicing in the in-house or

government sector, at the expense of lawyers in private

practice.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION SHIFTING

Geographically, 55% of Alberta lawyers are working

in Calgary and 33% in Edmonton, and the remaining

12% work in other Alberta communities. Compare this

to 2003, where 49% of lawyers were in Calgary, 32% in

Edmonton, and 19% in other parts of the province. That

means that while the number of lawyers in Calgary has

steadily increased, the numbers for Edmonton have

remained static, while the numbers in other parts of the

province have declined. The geographic distribution

for articling students is similar: 56% in Calgary, 31% in

Edmonton, and 12% in other Alberta communities.

STUDENT NUMBERS ENTERING THE PROFESSION

For many years, the number of students-at-law

registering in Alberta remained relatively consistent,

with minor ﬂ uctuation from year to year for any number

of reasons. For example, exactly the same numbers of

lawyers, 402, were called in 2011 as in 1982. In recent

years, however, there has been a noticeable increase

in the number of students-at-law who are entering

the profession. In 2013, 511 members were called to

the bar compared to 334 in 2003. There are currently

561 students-at-law registered with the Law Society

of Alberta. A large part of this increase is due, in part,

to the increasing number of internationally trained

lawyers seeking entry into the profession. Many of

these law graduates are Canadian-born candidates

who have gone abroad for their legal education, but a

large number are new Canadians with international law

degrees, many with prior practice experience.

The good news for lawyers outside of the major urban

centres is that there has been a steady increase in the

number of students articling in smaller communities in

the last few years. That increase can be seen in both

the actual number of students who are articling outside

of Edmonton and Calgary as well as the number of

communities that they are working in. In 2010, there

were 306 students, working in 23 different communities.

When you remove those students working in Edmonton

and Calgary, that leaves 36 students-at-law in 21

different communities in Alberta. In 2014, by contrast,

of 561 students-at-law, there are 68 students articling

in 30 different communities outside of Edmonton and

Calgary.

INTERPRETING THE NUMBERS

So what does this all mean in terms of transition

planning for lawyers in smaller practice settings?

There is a strong drive for young lawyers to want

to practice in the larger urban settings, particularly

in Calgary. Yet we understand that there is intense

competition for limited, high-end legal work. More

and more, law graduates are seeking admission to the

profession in Alberta and this creates opportunities for

lawyers in smaller centres.

Since 2005, the Law Society has conducted exit surveys

of lawyers moving from active practice to inactive

or retired status. The feedback from those surveys

indicates - except for those lawyers who have retired

due to age or moved to another province to practice

– that the greatest factors inﬂuencing the decision to

move to inactive status were:

• More personally rewarding opportunities

elsewhere;

• Lack of balance with personal life; and

• Dissatisfaction with the practise of law.

Law ﬁrms seeking to capitalize on this trend will market

to the newer segment of the bar, emphasising the

lifestyle opportunities afforded by practising in a smaller

centre, the opportunities to participate more fully in the

lives of clients and within the community, and the high

quality legal work associated with such a practice.

Some lawyers have created opportunities by sharing

information on SoloNet – an online community for sole

practitioners and lawyers in communities outside of

Edmonton and Calgary. This provides an opportunity

to share ideas, connect with other lawyers in similar

practice settings, and to share information relating to

practice and employment opportunities.

Other lawyers have created opportunities by afﬁliating

themselves with ﬁrms in larger centers and creating a

network of satellite ofﬁces.

Lawyers in smaller communities who are interested in

transitioning their practice as part of their retirement

plan are encouraged to plan ahead, develop

relationships with younger lawyers, or with the career

services ofﬁces at either of the Alberta law schools, or

be open to the potential that an internationally trained

lawyer may bring to their practice.

Jocelyn Frazer obtained her LLB from

the University of Alberta in 1989 and

was called to the Alberta bar in 1990.

She has practiced with a focus on

Real Estate, Condominiums, Wills and

Estates. Jocelyn currently holds the

position of Equity Ombudsperson and

Practice Advisor with the Law Society

of Alberta.

4 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

Attracting Lawyers to Small Centres:

The Medicine Hat Experience

By Cathy Regier

Nowhere is the access to justice more acute than in

communities outside of the large urban centers. What

may be surprising to many is that even in many of the

smaller cities in Alberta is there a shortage of lawyers.

As a result, there are legal services required in centers

such as Medicine Hat which are being provided by

lawyers who reside outside the community. In addition,

many of the lawyers in these smaller communities

are approaching an age where they are beginning to

consider retirement. As a result, the problem of ﬁnding

legal representation in smaller centres will likely grow.

The problem is particularly acute for legal issues where

services are provided by Legal Aid counsel – criminal

matters, child welfare and low income family ﬁles. As

the legal community continues to age and retire, the

problem is becoming more serious for clients that are

small and medium sized businesses or generational

farm/ranch families. This is an issue not only for the

clients but also for lawyers who are concerned about

how their long time clients will continue to receive

quality, affordable, and timely legal services.

In 2012, as he began his CBA presidency, Cyril

Gurevitch, Q.C. contacted our ofﬁce to request

our participation in what was then called the Small

Communities Initiative. After some brainstorming, we

determined that our ﬁrst step would be to convene a

meeting of a number of interested lawyers as well as

other stakeholders to determine what Medicine Hat

might offer for interested lawyers and what might be

done to ﬁnd lawyers and bring them to our community.

Because of the nature of the legal profession, this was

not a problem that could be solved in the same way as

a doctor or teacher shortage in the same communities.

There is no government program to pay incentives,

to assist with moving costs or to help lawyers set up

their ﬁrm. In addition, while it is easy for lay people to

see why it is important to have doctors and teachers

in their community, it is signiﬁcantly more difﬁcult for

people to understand why it is important to have a

vibrant legal community. Many people will have only a

ﬂeeting relationship with lawyers – to buy a house, draft

a will and administer their estate. However, for people

who require additional legal services – to get a divorce,

to advise and help them grow a business, or to help

them when they have been involved in a motor vehicle

accident – it is vital to have local access to legal help.

When we looked at the lawyers that were in our

community, one of the things that we noticed was that

many of them had a connection to Medicine Hat before

coming here to practice law. They had grown up in the

community or had spouses who had done so. At the

same time, we noticed that many of the students who

had come to Medicine Hat to article and did not have

a connection to the community had left at the end of

their articling year, or shortly after. As a result of those

discussions, we determined that we wanted to focus our

attention on trying to attract people who had grown up

in or close to the community.

Once we started our discussions, it was clear that

smaller communities do have a number of things to

offer law students. Many of us have known for some

time that our articling students get great variety of

work and they generally see court time long before

their big city colleagues. At the same time, many

lawyers in smaller centers have managed to ﬁnd a

work/life balance that is more to their liking. The bar

in many smaller communities is very collegial and

prepared to help less-experienced lawyers. In the

greater community, lawyers are often sought out for

positions on local boards or community groups and

are afforded a signiﬁcant degree of respect well before

having earned it. In addition, small communities have

a great deal to offer young families, including varied

educational opportunities and numerous extracurricular

activities.

We were very lucky to have the assistance of Dean Ian

Holloway, Q.C. and Maryanne Forrayi, Career Advisor,

from the University of Calgary. The most important

thing that they helped us to understand is that the small

community mindset for seeking articling students is no

longer congruent with the experience of many students.

In the last 20 years, there has been a signiﬁcant change

in how, and perhaps more importantly when, articling

students are recruited. In their ﬁrst few months of law

school, students are encouraged to think about where

they would like to have a summer student experience.

Large national ﬁrms begin to discuss summer positions

with students before the end of their ﬁrst semester.

They are looking to see if students might possibly be a

ﬁt for their ﬁrm culture and to entice the best and the

brightest students early on. A summer position gives

the ﬁrm an opportunity to look at the student but also

gives the student the opportunity to look at the ﬁrm.

If both sides determine that they wish to continue a

relationship, it is often that the student simply moves

into an articling position with the ﬁrm.

On the other hand, ﬁrms or sole practitioners in smaller

communities are often less certain about what kind

of workload they will have and what kind of articling

experience they will be able to offer students that far

in advance. By the time many small ﬁrms realize they

need an articling student, most, if not all students will

have found articling positions. This leaves the smaller

ﬁrms with no choice but to choose from a smaller pool

of students which may mean that they are unable to

get students who ﬁt with their ﬁrm culture or who are

interested in practicing in the areas of law that the ﬁrm

offers. The pool of students may be further reduced by

having spouses who are unwilling or unable to relocate

to smaller communities.

For us lawyers who practice in smaller communities,

one of the things that must be done to ensure that the

legal community continues to grow and be vibrant is to

change the way we think about growth and expansion.

There needs to be a mindful move towards succession

planning. For many small community lawyers, a

signiﬁcant part of our retirement plan involves having

someone buy our practice when we retire. If we do

not become more proactive in attracting lawyers to

our communities, our law practice will simply die with

no one providing continuing legal services for our

communities.

So, with Dean Holloway and Maryanne’s help, we

thought about how we could encourage lawyers to

move to smaller communities. For the last two years

in Medicine Hat we have had a send-off barbeque that

our local bar association sponsors for students who are

going to law school. The law schools have assisted us

by sending out invitations to students who are enrolled

in law school from our area. We invite the students to

meet members of the bar, some of our local and circuit

Judges and Justices, the CBA president, Dean Holloway

and Ms. Forrayi, and even the provincial Minister of

Justice. This is an opportunity for students and lawyers

to meet and get to know each other. This provides

student with contacts when they are looking to begin

their articles.

We have also been encouraging lawyers to consider

some alternate ways of offering articling or summer

student positions. Some sole practitioners may not

feel they have sufﬁcient work or time or enough

variation in their workload to provide students with

the types of articles that they would like and have not

taken on students in the past. However, lawyers with

complimentary practices should think about pooling

their resources and jointly hire an articling student which

will provide great assistance for lawyers and a varied

articling experience. We have yet to have any lawyers

work together in this way but we have some that are

considering the possibility.

Some of our local ﬁrms have also become active

with the Rural, Energy and Agricultural Law Students

Association at the University of Calgary (for more

on REAL, see Susanna Gafarova’s piece at page 10).

REAL is encouraging law students to think about

having careers in communities outside of Calgary and

Edmonton. They have had panels of lawyers from

6 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

smaller communities speak at functions and career

fairs which are speciﬁcally tailored for ﬁrms outside of

Calgary and Edmonton. Lawyers from Medicine Hat

have been attending these functions and are making

contact and developing relationships with students who

are interested in practicing in a smaller community.

One of the other ideas that we are still working

towards is having an interviewing date where students

interested in coming to Medicine Hat could come to

town and complete a number of interviews at once.

This would help students because they can complete

their interviews on the same day. Similarly, ﬁrms could

have the opportunity to survey all candidates rather

than having to see and decide on one candidate at a

time. We are not likely to have this type of initiative up

and running this year, but we are hopeful that we can

coordinate it soon.

The Law Society of Alberta Task Force on Retention and

Re-engagement discovered that 56% of women and

45% of men are leaving the practice of law in the ﬁrst

5 years. While it had been understood previously that

there were many young women leaving private practice,

this study showed that young men were also leaving the

profession. Lifestyle was one of the reasons that young

lawyers were citing for leaving the profession.

It is our intention in Medicine Hat to impress upon

young lawyers that by moving to a smaller center they

can earn a good living, do interesting and challenging

work, and maintain a lifestyle that provides a balance

between work and family life.

Catherine A. Regier joined Pritchard &

Company LLP as an associate in 1994,

and became a partner in 2008. Her

preferred area of practice is family

law - divorce, collaborative divorce,

mediation and adoption, where she

believes in empowering clients to

make sound decisions about their

futures.

Local Law Schools

Facilitating Connections

By Maryanne Forrayi and Patricia Neil

THE NEED

Attracting good legal talent to regional and rural

communities outside of Calgary and Edmonton is a

priority – whether to keep pace with regular growth

in ﬁrms or to ensure adequate succession planning

for retiring lawyers. At the same time, some students

studying at our law schools inform us that they are

interested in working in the communities in which they

grew up but that opportunities are not always available

when they approach ﬁrms, particularly for summer

positions. In response, the law schools at both the

University of Calgary and University of Alberta have

made outreach to these regional and rural communities

in Alberta a priority.

INITIATIVES AT THE LAW SCHOOLS TO SUPPORT

REGIONAL OUTREACH

The University of Calgary and the University of Alberta

together have made it a priority to reach out to regional

communities, as well as offer opportunities to showcase

opportunities in our regional and rural communities with

the broader law school population.

The University of Calgary hosts a Small & Regional

Firm Day in the winter term and has had great success

proﬁling regional opportunities to our students. The

event has attracted small ﬁrm participation from centers

throughout Alberta, including Lethbridge, Red Deer,

Medicine Hat and Grande Prairie. Over the years, the

University of Calgary has hosted lunch events with

panels of lawyers from regional and rural communities

and has partnered with our student group, the Rural

Education & Agriculture Law Society (REAL), to

organize events of interest to our students and those

that raise awareness of regional opportunities. REAL

organized a Lethbridge judge shadowing project in

the spring of 2014, and is organizing a Red Deer Firm

Hop in the spring of 2015, for students interested in

practicing in Central Alberta. The Career & Professional

Development Ofﬁce staff have visited ﬁrms in Medicine

Hat, Lethbridge and Red Deer, which has also

contributed to helping make connections between our

students and local ﬁrms.

For the past twelve years, the University of Alberta

has organized an annual Small Firm Career Day which

includes small ﬁrms from throughout Alberta. To

inform our students about the practice in rural and

regional communities, the University of Alberta has

offered students a seminar on ‘Opportunities Outside

of Edmonton and Calgary’. Participating lawyers

speak about their experience and it has resulted in

8 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

an increasing number of our students interested in

pursuing practice in many of Alberta’s regional and rural

communities. To provide our students the opportunity

to observe regional practice in central Alberta, the

University of Alberta has held an annual Red Deer Firm

Hop for the past four years. For other regional and rural

opportunities, the University of Alberta’s annual Job

Shadowing Program allows students to experience a

day of practice in those communities.

ACCESS TO JUSTICE: SMALL CENTRES

PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL BAR ASSOCIATIONS

The partnerships which the University of Calgary and the

University of Alberta have developed with the Canadian

Bar Association (CBA) and the local bar associations,

have been increasing the proﬁle of opportunities in

regional communities. In our initial planning, an idea

emerged that the best way to bring students back to

their communities to practice law was to interest them

to these communities before they accepted summer

or articling positions with big city ﬁrms. We did this by

showcasing the wonderful opportunities available in

these communities. Hence, the University of Calgary and

the University of Alberta collaborated with interested

local bar associations, the CBA, and the Law Society

of Alberta, and piloted “summer barbecues” with the

communities of Medicine Hat and Grande Prairie.

Law students from these communities (those about to

enter law school and those already in law school) were

invited to hear from, and mix with, local bar members.

Our law schools continued with the event this summer

with the Medicine Hat & Brooks Bar Association and

extended the event to the Central Alberta Bar Society.

These events were well attended by the profession, and

students from both law schools were excited with the

opportunities that these communities offered to them.

Other communities have started to show interest in the

event. This fall, the Lethbridge Bar Association hosted

university students at its 2014 Fall Meet and Greet.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HIRING A SUMMER STUDENT

Students ﬁnd out that ﬁrms are in search of the brightest

and best law students very soon after they enter law

school. In Alberta, the reality is that ﬁrst year and second

year law students are quickly recruited by Calgary and

Edmonton ﬁrms. “Generally, students hired on for a

summer position are hired back by that same ﬁrm for

articles,” comments Neil. Forrayi adds, “It is important

that regional and rural ﬁrms also consider the option

of hiring a summer student if they want to access that

pool of students.” Hiring a summer student allows

the law ﬁrm to expose the student to the type of work

and practice that the student could have in their local

community. It will also give both the student and law

ﬁrm an opportunity to get to know each other. If there

is a ‘ﬁt’ between the law ﬁrm and student, and a long-

term commitment by the student to the community, a

strong relationship can develop with the student where

the discussion about potential articles is a possibility.

“One of our students went back to their community in

the summer seeking summer work with a long-term

interest in developing a practice in their hometown.

Unfortunately, none of the ﬁrms were able to offer that

student a paid summer position and this left the student

looking at options outside their community” shares

Forrayi. “If the local bar is willing to consider a summer

student, it can pay off in the long-run for their practice,”

adds Neil. Some law ﬁrms have been leading the way

in hiring summer students and have had success in

attracting these students back to join the ﬁrm after law

school.

HOW CAN A SUMMER STUDENT ASSIST THE FIRM

Some of the tasks that could be asked of a summer

student, under the supervision of a lawyer, as published

in the CBA “Recruiting Summer Students - Strategies for

Success” document, include:

• Participating in client intake meetings to give the

student a sense of the client-focused approach

maintained by many rural law practitioners;

• Researching interesting areas of law relevant

to client ﬁles. This includes having the student

prepare a memorandum on the relevant

legislation, case law, and administrative

decisions;

• Drafting pleadings (statements of claim,

statements of defense, afﬁdavits);

• Drafting letters to clients, the courts, opposing

counsel and other relevant persons;

• Helping lawyers prepare for court by organizing

ﬁles, researching law, ﬁlling out court forms;

• Reviewing and improving internal law ﬁrm

management practices and procedures. This

might include having the student revise the

ﬁrm’s retainer, human resources practices, client

accounts receivable processes;

• Preparing general client correspondence (i.e.,

newsletters, online blogs) about relevant legal

topics and assisting with ﬁrm marketing; and,

• Helping service pro bono or low income clients

under the supervision of a lawyer.

MAKING THE CONNECTIONS

Making the early connection is important. The career

ofﬁces at the University of Calgary and the University of

Alberta provide starting points to help facilitate these

connections. Please call us! The more we know about

your interests and needs, the better we can direct

students who will be a good ﬁt. We also recommend

a few other key things to increase your proﬁle with law

students:

• Attend any local events where the local bar

association from your region hosts our students.

• Attend our respective Small and Regional Firm Days.

• Provide a formal job posting to our ofﬁces – tell

us what you are looking for in a student and when

you would like to hire. Given much of student

communication is done online, it is important to

provide us with this communication piece.

• Proﬁle yourself in our Career Handbooks. We are

pleased to include or update a proﬁle for your ﬁrm.

• Proﬁle yourself through the Canadian Directory of

Legal Employers – for ﬁrms of 10 lawyers or less

there is no charge to include a proﬁle in this national

database of law ﬁrms that is accessed by law

students from across the country. Register at https://

employers.nalpcanada.com/employer_login.

END NOTE

We have a good number of students who grew

up in regional and rural communities and who are

interested to practice in those communities. The

University of Calgary and the University of Alberta

are very interested in assisting regional ﬁrms to make

the connection with students and to promote what is

offered by their practice and the beneﬁts of being part

of their community. Our students who have worked

in these communities are our best ambassadors for

why practicing in these communities is an attractive

proposition.

If you are interested in organizing a local event with

students and/or hiring a student for your ﬁrm, we would

be excited to make that opportunity available to our

students.

Maryanne Forrayi is the Director

of the Career & Professional

Development Ofﬁce in the Faculty

of Law at the University of Calgary

and regularly provides advice

to law students and law ﬁrms on

recruitment strategy and career

planning. Contact (403) 220-2177;

forrayim@ucalgary.ca.

Patricia Neil is Career Development

Ofﬁcer at the University of Alberta,

Faculty of Law. Pat has been assisting

students and law ﬁrms through

the Career Services Ofﬁce at the

University of Alberta, Faculty of Law

since 2002. Contact (780) 492-7305;

[email protected].

10 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

The Rural Energy and

Agriculture Students’ Law Society

By Susanna Gafarova

The Rural Energy and Agriculture Students’ Law Society,

also known as REAL, is one of the youngest student

run clubs at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law.

The club was founded in 2011 by a group of law

students, Eric Dalke, Virgil Lowe, and Darren Schmidt,

who recognized the under-representation of career

opportunities available in smaller communities during

the formal student recruitment period.

There are a number of factors that contribute to this

under-representation and consequent lack of student

migration to smaller communities. First, smaller ﬁrms

and ﬁrms outside of Calgary do not have the resources,

especially time resources, necessary to organize

a formal recruitment process. Second, these ﬁrms

generally cannot anticipate their needs for summer

students, while the formal recruitment period tends to

take place early in the academic year. As a result, the

majority of ﬁrms that do participate in the formal hiring

process are large city business ﬁrms. Therefore, it is not

surprising that students tend to assume that majority

of jobs are found in big law ﬁrms or that they actually

want to practice corporate law after obtaining their law

degree. This is an interesting phenomenon because

after ﬁrst year of law school, many students still do not

know what area of law they are interested in or what the

practice of law actually entails.

What is important then is that a law student keeps

an open mind and stays informed of all available

opportunities. In other words, it is important to avoid

developing tunnel vision with respect to one’s choice

of law practice or even place of practice. Students may

underestimate that a summer position in a smaller

community is a great employment opportunity. A

student in a smaller community is more likely to receive

more of hands-on, practical experience where he or

she will deal with real problems, real people, and the

associated learning curve will prove to be much steeper

than in a summer position with a big city ﬁrm.

In light of these issues, REAL set its mandate as

promoting opportunities for students to network and

secure summer and articling jobs in rural and mid-sized

communities in Alberta. In particular, REAL promotes

initiatives that inform law students about general law

practice management, agricultural law, and energy law

in these communities. A secondary purpose to REAL’s

core mandate is to support access to justice in Alberta.

Initially, REAL’s membership was small and events

hosted by the club were informal guest-speaker events.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

the Honourable Verlyn Olson attended one such event.

Mr. Olson spoke about his legal career path before

assuming his current political role. Although these

events were well attended, interesting, and engaging,

they provided little opportunity for students to network

and form connections with ﬁrms potentially interested in

hiring a summer or an articling student. As a result, REAL

began to actively recruit and retain members to assist

with the planning of events that would directly support

REAL’s mandate.

At this time, REAL is involved in organizing and

supporting the following events:

• Small Firm & Regional Career Day;

• Rural Judge Shadowing; and

• Red Deer Firm Hop (new event being launched

this spring).

SMALL FIRM & REGIONAL CAREER DAY

REAL has been closely working with the Career &

Professional Development Ofﬁce (CPDO) at the

University of Calgary’s Faculty of Law with the goal of

hosting an event where students have the opportunity

to network with potential employers. This event formally

became known as the Small & Regional Firm Career

Day. In January 2014, this event consisted of a formal

panel discussion represented by the lawyers practicing

in smaller ﬁrms and in communities outside of Calgary.

The panel discussion was then followed by a cocktail

reception to cover the networking component. The

Small & Regional Firm Career Day was a great success:

over one hundred attendees representing practitioners

and law students were present. The event also led to

a number of students successfully securing articling

positions with attending ﬁrms. In addition to being one

of the event sponsors, REAL also supported the CPDO

with organizing this event.

RURAL JUDGE SHADOWING

REAL organized a judge-shadowing event for the ﬁrst

time in February, 2014 at the Lethbridge court house.

REAL contacted the Honourable Mr. Justice Jerke, who

kindly assisted REAL in realizing this event. Twelve

students expressed their interest in participating and

REAL arranged for the travel to Lethbridge. This event

proved to be more than just an opportunity to shadow

a judge. One student who was interested in articling in

Lethbridge used this trip as an opportunity to reach out

to ﬁrms in Lethbridge. The student was successful and is

now completing articles in Lethbridge.

RED DEER FIRM HOP

Based on student and ﬁrm interest, REAL’s Marketing

and Communications executive member is looking to

host Rural Alberta Firm Hop for University of Calgary

Law students this coming spring, 2015. Expanding on

the CBA outreach held to Red Deer ﬁrms in August, this

would create an opportunity for students who are keen

in practicing in Red Deer to meet and tour various ﬁrms

there.

WHY IS REAL ABLE TO ATTRACT MORE STUDENTS

AND WHAT DO STUDENTS SEE AS ITS VALUE?

REAL has become more active in promoting and

marketing itself as a club since its foundation. REAL’s

involvement in the Small & Regional Firm Career

Day certainly earned the club the spotlight among

other clubs at the Faculty. Students who are not

directly involved with the club see REAL as a “bridge”

connecting law students to employment opportunities

not openly advertised during a formal recruitment

period. The value that students see in getting involved

with REAL is the opportunity to directly connect with

ﬁrms in smaller communities. Students also see the

value of skill-development by being a member of REAL.

It is an opportunity to further enhance interpersonal

skills and problem solving skills by working in a diverse

team of students.

REAL is always open to collaborate with lawyers or law

ﬁrms in regional and rural communities. The CPDO will

be the ﬁrst point of contact on events related to hiring

but REAL is happy to provide support by organizing

events that promote the practice of law in regional and

rural communities. If you are interested in working with

REAL, please contact us at: r[email protected].

Susanna Gafarova is a third year law

student at the University of Calgary,

Faculty of Law. Susanna became

involved with the Rural Energy and

Agriculture Students’ Law Society in

her second year of law school and is

the club’s current President. The club

plans, organizes and hosts events to

help students connect with small and

rural ﬁrms.

12 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

Rural Law Practices:

Succession Opportunities

By Robert Harvie, QC

In my humble opinion, the practice of law is hard and

only getting harder. The courts, Law Societies, internet

legal information, non-lawyer service delivery options,

and the higher expectations that the public has of

lawyers have made our jobs more challenging than

would have been true 20 or 30 years ago.

As such, no lawyers, particularly the already-busy

sole practitioner or the small ﬁrm lawyer, looks fondly

to adding another challenge to their full basket of

practice obligations. This is more than understandable.

However, we are in Alberta and elsewhere seeing a

“greying” of our profession in rural practice areas as the

average age for practicing lawyers has trended ever

upwards. This is resulting in a potential perfect storm

for lawyers, clients and rural communities.

Two years ago, I wrote an article for Law Matters where

I encouraged lawyers to be mindful and take prudent

steps towards succession planning for their practices

(“Succession Planning, Not Now But Right Now”, Law

Matters Summer 2012). In that article, I referenced

a British Columbia study showing the average age of

lawyers in small communities was 50 years old with

some communities having an average age of over 60.

The recent CBA Futures Report on Demographic Trends

from June 2013 afﬁrms this general trend and tells us

that:

a) The proportion of lawyers with more than 25

years of practice has increased from 20.4% of the

profession in 2001 to 31% of the profession in 2010,

all the while the proportion of younger lawyers has

declined; and

b) Nationally, 82% of young lawyers with less than

5 years’ experience practice in an urban centre

while only 8.7% reported to be practicing in a rural

environment.

We know that fewer lawyers are choosing to practice in

rural communities. We also know that legal practices

everywhere, including those of lawyers in rural

communities, are becoming more complex. This is

creating a perfect storm of a problem which is quietly

sitting on the horizon for rural lawyers all over Alberta.

Those who choose not to consider transition and

succession plans for their practices may suddenly ﬁnd

themselves running into circumstances where they

have to retire on relatively short notice. Health fades,

the ability to continue the rigors of the practice wanes,

and those who have not made plans for succession will

leave their clients and their community in a very difﬁcult

position. Trying to sell a practice to a non-local lawyer

with no community connection is difﬁcult at best. If

the rural lawyer’s health fails, their legal practice, while

initially a relatively signiﬁcant asset, will quickly diminish

in value. Further, clients and the communities that have

come to rely upon that lawyer for legal assistance will

ﬁnd themselves without access to legal advice and

assistance.

But I’m a “glass half full” kind of guy.

I don’t see the current climate as a predicament but as

an opportunity. How so? Well, as former Chair of the

Law Society of Alberta Retention and Re-engagement

Task Force, we have recently noticed a trend where

lawyers have been choosing to leave the glamour of

their downtown, large ﬁrm practice in growing numbers.

While the reasons vary, a common theme for those

responding to ongoing exit surveys conducted by

the Law Society of Alberta seems to relate to lifestyle

considerations.

The former “holy grail” of the big ﬁrm isn’t necessarily

the beacon of practice that it once was. More lawyers

today than previously are making decisions to earn

somewhat less of an income for a more controlled and

predictable environment – in particular, the in-house

practice.

Those same demographic considerations create an

opportunity for small-city and rural practices to market

themselves in a way which is more alluring than might

have been the case 20 or 30 years ago. The lawyer in

the small community has some very distinct advantages

to big city practice:

• Commutes are shorter and less frantic;

• The relationship with clients is more direct and

“person” oriented;

• The control over your environment is much

more signiﬁcant;

• You, rather than a committee of a hundred, gets

to decide how to run your practice and decide

on matters such as your letterhead, your ofﬁcer

hours, or your waiting room artwork;

• For the younger lawyer in particular, being

available to your children, their schools and

activities can be a reality that may not exist when

you work in a large urban law ﬁrm.

Also consider that the relatively lower numbers of

lawyers currently practicing in rural centres makes

the potential income much more attractive than in

years gone by (lower competition = higher return on

investment). One local Lethbridge ﬁrm has taken

to ﬂying lawyers on a weekly basis to Fort McMurray

Alberta. Why? Well, I’m guessing it’s not to increase

their frequent ﬂyer miles, and it’s not for the balmy

mid-January weather. The opportunity for return on

investment may be quite good in smaller communities

while the number of lawyers (and competition) in large

centres continues to grow.

So – for the rural lawyer, the opportunities to attract

qualiﬁed and energetic young lawyers to practice in

their town or community is very real and timely.

The trick, however, is to make the effort to seek out the

future owner of your ﬁrm. It won’t just happen by itself.

If you’re in the “over-50 crowd”, the time is NOW to

bring in younger lawyers to facilitate a transition – not in

the ﬁnal year of your practice.

For the young lawyer considering practice in your

community, if the offer is to sell them your practice a

month before you leave, the reality is that they may see

the lack of transition support as risky and awkward in

a community they have no current ties in. Worse still,

they may choose to just move in and “take it” from you,

by setting up shop across the street. Prudent planning

is a win/win for the new lawyer and the retiring lawyer.

And remember that unexpected events such as health

issues may force you to speed up the transition process

in a way that doesn’t give you, the incoming lawyer, or

your community, time to properly adjust. By providing

the new lawyer with support with transition issues and

making the introduction to existing, or important clients,

you are maximizing the value of your practice. That is

good for you, the incoming lawyer, and your community.

So what’s the moral of the story? While no one wants

to add work to their plate, the need to plan for your

retirement is real and ultimately cannot be avoided. You

can either have retirement forced upon you or you can

take control and make it work for you.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “You may delay, but time

does not.”

Robert Harvie, QC is a partner at

Huckvale Wild Harvie MacLennan

LLP in Lethbridge, AB, where he has

practiced in family law for over 27

years. In addition to his practice,

Rob has taught business law at the

University of Lethbridge, and chairs

the Editorial Committee for the CBA

Alberta.

14 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

Succession Planning Part I:

Solo and First Generation Law Firms

By Arthur G. Greene, Esq. and

William E. Howell, MBA, CPA/ABV/CFF ASA

If you are the founder of a solo practice or small law

ﬁrm, chances are you think about the long-term future of

your ﬁrm on a regular basis, yet the day-to-day demands

keep you from taking steps to address it in any proactive

fashion. Developing a plan is not as hard as you may

imagine and the beneﬁts from the effort spent are well

worthwhile.

The goals of a succession plan should be (i) to make

sure your clients’ ongoing needs are well taken care

of, (ii) to provide you with the ﬂexibility to enjoy some

personally rewarding retirement years, and (iii) to

maximize the value you receive for the law practice you

have built through years of hard work. It is only through

a process of planning that begins well in advance of the

time for the ﬁrm founder’s retirement that these goals

can be achieved.

First generation law ﬁrms are usually founded by

lawyers who are both strong leaders and exceptional

rainmakers. If the ﬁrm has grown over the years, the

founder’s focus in hiring additional lawyers has been for

the purpose of servicing their clients and performing

legal work, without succession in mind. As a result,

the supporting lawyers frequently do not develop the

skills necessary to generate business on their own

and successfully lead the ﬁrm. Without a successor-

type lawyer in place, the retirement of the founder will

challenge the very existence of the ﬁrm.

In this respect, every solo practitioner or small ﬁrm has a

succession issue. Even those lawyers who say they love

their work and have no plans to retire may be surprised

to ﬁnd that, over time, their feelings may change to, “I

want to work when I want to work.”

Sometimes, this feeling can creep in unexpectedly. By

the time most lawyers reach their sixth and seventh

decades of life they no longer want the demands of a

full-time practice. In many cases, their practice or small

law ﬁrm ends dismally due to unexpected events like

illness, disability or death. Lack of any forethought in

retirement planning results in some lawyers winding

down their practices and closing the doors, an

unfortunate ﬁnale to what could have been a lasting

legacy.

Every founder of a solo practice or small ﬁrm needs

to consider what they want for a retirement plan and

whether the alternatives include transitioning the

law practice to a hand-picked successor. Making the

decision may seem daunting and implementing it may

seem formidable. In many instances, this is the cause of

inaction. But many who take the steps say they wish they

had done it sooner.

The ﬁrst thing to recognize about succession planning

is that it is a process, not an event. If your ﬁrm has

ever created a strategic plan or long range plan, the

approach and work involved are similar. The process

should begin at least ﬁve to 10 years before the solo

practitioner or founder of the ﬁrm intends to begin a

transition. Identifying a successor and developing a

step-by-step shift takes time. In most circumstances, if

you are in your mid-50s, now is the time to set a plan in

motion. Waiting until you reach 60 or 70 is waiting too

long.

ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSION PLAN

There are several aspects to a long range succession

plan. They include:

• Generational Spread of Partners – Some aspects

of succession planning are pretty simple. For

example, as you grow your ﬁrm, make sure you

hire from different generations. You would be

surprised to learn how many small ﬁrms grow by

adding lawyers from the same generation as the

founder and end up with all the partners in the

same age group.

• Leadership Requirements – Rarely do we see

a successful ﬁrm without strong leadership,

which therefore becomes a critical succession

planning issue. Some believe leaders are born,

not developed. Others embrace the concept of

leadership training. We won’t solve that debate,

but the point to take away is that successful

succession involves identifying or developing

one or more effective leaders to succeed the

founder.

• Management Responsibilities – Management

is unlike leadership and involves different

skills. Every law ﬁrm needs individuals who

are organized and have the ability to carry out

policies and effectively implement new plans.

As ﬁrms grow, the majority of the management

duties can be delegated to an ofﬁce manager.

• Entrepreneurial Spirit – Lawyers who

are founders of a small law ﬁrm have an

entrepreneurial spirit. Without it, they would not

have embarked on becoming business owners.

Unless you focus on this factor in your recruiting

process, you are likely to make hiring decisions

that surround you with lawyers who are not and

never will be entrepreneurial and therefore not

the ﬁrm’s successors.

• Transitioning Clients – Clients are not

commodities that can be easily transferred

from one lawyer to another. They are not like

mortgages that can be transitioned from one

lending institution to another, with minimal

notice to the consumer. The lawyer/client

relationship is intensely personal. The successful

transition of clients to successor lawyers takes

more effort than most lawyers appreciate.

These elements need to be part of a comprehensive

plan that will include recruiting, training, career

development and sharing of clients. For some the

effort may seem burdensome, but for those who can

implement such a plan the ﬁnancial rewards and lifestyle

beneﬁts will be well worth the effort.

ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES

Most small ﬁrms are unprepared when the founder

wants to retire. At that point, what are the possibilities?

Fortunately, there are still a number of approaches to

take. For example:

• Recruit a Successor – Solos and small ﬁrms with

no apparent successor may consider engaging in

a process to hand pick a successor. The successor

can be an experienced younger lawyer that can be

groomed to become the owner of the business.

There would likely be a fast track to partnership and

an exit strategy with an appropriate compensation

arrangement for the retiring lawyer. This succession

approach covers a ﬁve- to 10-year period.

• Merger – Solos and small ﬁrms can consider

merging with another small law ﬁrm. This type

of arrangement usually involves a two- or three-

year period to execute. Often, the retiring lawyer

is provided an Of Counsel arrangement with

appropriate compensation and beneﬁts. The duties

of the Of Counsel may vary, but a critical component

is continued involvement with the clients as matters

are transitioned to one or more other lawyers.

Experience has shown that some continuing

involvement of the retiring lawyer is critical to the

new ﬁrm retaining the clients.

• Acquisition by a Large Firm – Solo practitioners

and small boutique ﬁrms with a highly specialized

practice, strong revenues and a solid client base

can be attractive to some large ﬁrms. There have

been numerous instances where large ﬁrms have

brought in successful solo practitioners and offered

16 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

a mutually advantageous exit strategy for the solo. It

must be noted, however, that only a few solos have

practices that would produce the revenue necessary

to be attractive to a large ﬁrm.

These approaches involve an analysis of the

marketplace and identifying the most appropriate

candidates for conﬁdential inquiry. This process can

identify ﬁrms that may have an interest, but, like so many

lawyers, are so caught up in day-to-day business that

they haven’t found the time to focus on what may be

good ideas.

ADVANTAGES OF TWO-TIER PARTNERSHIPS

The advent of two-tier partnerships came in the 1980s,

at a time when many large ﬁrms found they had become

partner heavy and, therefore, needed to slow the

growth of partnership ranks. In recent years, more small

ﬁrms have begun to adopt two-tier partnerships for

different reasons. The primary advantage in small ﬁrms

is that it allows for a gradual transition into partnership

with the founder maintaining control of the most critical

decisions for a longer period of time. The additional

time also allows for development of the younger

partner.

Under a two-tiered partnership, the second tier is

made up of non-equity partners (sometimes called

“income partners”) who are salaried, not responsible

for ﬁrm debt, not required to buy in, and they have

no opportunity to share in the proﬁts, except for the

possibility of an employee-like merit bonus.

While the more signiﬁcant decisions are reserved for the

equity partners, the ﬁrm can be structured so that the

non-equity partners participate in practice management

issues and other routine decisions required by the ﬁrm.

It represents an internal distinction; to the community

and client base, they are “partners.” The non-equity

status provides time to groom lawyers and prepare

them for the responsibilities of ownership.

COMPENSATION ISSUES

A proper succession plan requires the successful senior

lawyer to begin transitioning clients to younger lawyers

three to ﬁve years prior to an anticipated retirement.

For this to work, the ﬁrm’s compensation system

needs to be structured so that the senior partner is

rewarded, not penalized, for sharing his clients with

the next generation of lawyers. While compensation is

a major hurdle, there are a number of techniques that

have been employed by innovative ﬁrms to protect

the compensation of senior partners during such a

transition.

CREATING VALUE

Financial considerations are always in the picture. How

much value have you created? What is the value of the

ﬁrm for the purposes of selling your ownership interest

in the law ﬁrm? Valuing the law practice or the ﬁrm for

purposes of selling an ownership interest to the next

generation of lawyers is deferred and will be addressed

in Part II of this article which [begins on page 18].

EXIT PLANS

When it comes to structuring the exit plan, Of Counsel

arrangements or consulting agreements are excellent

vehicles for providing the retiring partner with a

reduced role and appropriate compensation, based on

a variety of factors which may include the value of the

business being transitioned. Lawyers structuring such an

arrangement have great ﬂexibility. Only lack of planning

will stand in the way of developing an innovative

approach for succession from one generation to the

next and creating for oneself a beneﬁcial wind-down to

retirement.

CONCLUSION

Succession planning involves several speciﬁc

considerations, which every ﬁrm should address:

1. Making sure the ages of the ﬁrm’s lawyers are

balanced across more than one generation.

2. Making hiring decisions based on the eventual

future need for leaders and rainmakers.

3. Educating all lawyers in the business of law;

that is, how the ﬁnancial model works and what

is necessary to attract clients and lead to ﬁnancial

success and stability.

4. Looking for opportunities to involve all lawyers

in some aspect of management in order to evaluate

whether they have the skills to become future

leaders of the ﬁrm.

5. Making sure the evaluation of the ﬁrm’s lawyers

includes contributions to the culture of the ﬁrm

and its shared values in order to reinforce the

importance of those qualities in the future leaders of

the ﬁrm.

6. Having a valuation process that can be employed

to set a realistic value on the ﬁrm for purposes of

supporting the transfer of ownership interests in

connection with the plan for succession.

7. Developing a client transition plan which involves

the next generation of lawyers participating with the

ﬁrm’s most important clients, while protecting the

more senior lawyers on issues of compensation and

status.

But back to the critical point, which is that small ﬁrms

and solos need to plan for the future. Make decisions

about growing the ﬁrm and move beyond hiring for

the short term. Instead, create a ﬁrm identity and an

institutional approach. Address succession planning and

have an exit strategy that will allow clients to continue to

be well represented and, at the same time, will permit

the founder or other senior lawyers to retire gracefully,

achieving rewards for the value of the ﬁrm they have

created.

This article was originally published in the CBA Small and

Solo PracticeLink of September 2011 (http://www.cba.org/

cba/practicelink/solosmall_ﬁnances/succession.aspx). It is

reprinted with permission from the CBA.

18 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

Succession Planning Part II: Valuing

Ownership Shares of a First-Generation

Law Firm

By Arthur G. Greene, Esq. and

William E. Howell, MBA, CPA/ABV/CFF ASA

What factors are involved in valuing a law ﬁrm for

purposes of admitting new partners and retiring senior

partners? Regardless of the entity structure (partnership,

professional association or professional limited liability

company), law ﬁrms face issues of how to value interests

in the ﬁrm for purposes of internal transfers (which we’ll

assume to be partnership interests in this article).

While general business valuation techniques are

relevant, the personal service aspect of a law business

presents complicating factors. Valuing ownership

interests in a law ﬁrm is unique and far different than

valuing interests in a manufacturing company or a retail

operation.

BACKGROUND

Some ﬁrms do not require payment for acquiring an

ownership interest and are referred to as “free in, free

out.” In other words, new partners are not required

to pay for the purchase of an ownership interest and

retiring partners do not receive payment for selling

their share of the equity. In those cases, retiring partners

receive a return of capital and any other retirement-type

beneﬁts are usually limited to funded pension plans.

However, most law ﬁrms require new partners to pay

for shares and retiring partners receive value for selling

their ownership interest in the ﬁrm. Many ﬁrms are

motivated by the desire to reward the founders and/or

the current partners for the “sweat equity” involved in

developing, growing or maintaining a successful ﬁrm. In

other cases, the ﬁrms simply want the new partners to

feel invested in the ﬁrm and may set a modest price that

is more symbolic than actually representing a valuation.

In attempting to create a realistic valuation, it is

important to start with an understanding of what is

being sold. Likely to be included are hard assets,

work-in-process, receivables and goodwill (value of

clients retained going forward), with a reduction for

any debt. The value of the ﬁrm’s client base is both

the most important aspect and the most difﬁcult to

evaluate. The client retention possibility will depend on

the nature of the practice and the extent to which they

consider themselves ﬁrm clients, as opposed to clients

of individual lawyers. In a sense, what is being sold is a

network of contacts that represent nothing more than an

opportunity to retain or acquire clients.

When we look at the legal profession, we see three

methods used for valuing law ﬁrms:

ARBITRARY VALUATION PROCESS

For lack of a better approach, many small ﬁrms simply

set an arbitrary price when transferring an interest in

the ﬁrm between partners. Sometimes the amount to

be charged is set out in the partnership agreement and

other times it is set on an ad hoc basis when transactions

occur. Although common, such an approach is not

recommended. It lacks credibility and does not position

the ﬁrm well for the long term.

FORMULA TECHNIQUE

Some ﬁrms develop a common sense formula to value

the ﬁrm that focuses on ﬁnancial data, without applying

sophisticated business valuation techniques. A standard

formula would include:

• The value of the real estate (if any);

• The fair market value (or book value) of any

furnishings, equipment or other personal

property;

• A percentage (perhaps 80%) of the receivables

less than a certain age (say 120 days), after

eliminating clearly uncollectible receivables

from the list;

• A percentage (perhaps 70%) of the work-in-

process, after eliminating old work-in-process

that is unlikely to be billed; and

• Less any debt.

Formulas usually ignore good will, although that is not

always the case.

The formula amount is then divided by the number of

shares or points outstanding to get a value for each

share or point, for purposes of valuing any transfer.

BUSINESS VALUATION TECHNIQUES

To apply a business valuation technique, let’s start with

the fundamental principles for valuing a company’s

earnings or cash ﬂow. In such a process, the value of an

ownership interest is considered to be a function of the

factors listed below.

• The expected stream of beneﬁts, typically in the

form of cash ﬂow

• The timing of receipt of the beneﬁts

• The risk that actual beneﬁts will deviate from the

expected amounts and time frames

In the context of law ﬁrm succession, let’s consider:

• Beneﬁt stream – The purchase of an interest

in a law ﬁrm should result in an expected

beneﬁt stream, which can be in the forms of

higher compensation, higher bonuses, proﬁt

distributions, and so forth. The purchasing

partner needs to compare his or her expected

ﬁnancial relationship with the ﬁrm relative to

his or her market compensation. The difference

between the expected ﬁnancial relationship

as a Partner and market compensation can be

construed as the “beneﬁt stream.”

The ﬁrm needs to perform a similar analysis. The ﬁrm

is comprised of the current partners and there should

be an analysis that determines that the ﬁrm’s value is

enhanced by adding the new Partner. The enhanced

value may come from reduced risk by retaining talented

professionals and also an increased likelihood for the

achievement of buy-outs as Partners retire.

The expected beneﬁt stream can be considered to be

payments in any and all forms in excess of fair market

compensation for the work performed by the Partner.

Market compensation for a lawyer is not necessarily

a single amount, though. A range may be worth

considering, as many surveys will have results based on

average, median, quartiles, deciles, and perhaps other

metrics. The over-simpliﬁed use of average or median

amounts may or may not be appropriate.

Compensation relative to market is a critical factor in the

analysis and requires the careful exercise of professional

judgment. Examples of factors to consider include

subjective and objective measures regarding:

• Internal ﬁrm factors - business

development, client relationships, active

participation in marketing activities,

staff utilization, billable hours, ﬁrm

compensation structure, and so forth

• External benchmarks – compensation

surveys and perhaps anecdotal

information on what other ﬁrms are

doing

Timing of receipt of the beneﬁts – The value is

dependent on the timing for receipt of the beneﬁts.

Given that the capital requirements of a law ﬁrm are

20 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

rather low, the cash basis proﬁt may generally be

available for distribution.

• Risk of deviation – Future beneﬁts are typically

discounted by a factor to reﬂect the risk

of receiving a return relative to alternative

investments that may be available to a buyer of

an ownership interest. Rates of return for mature

closely held companies can vary broadly, based

on an assessment of perceived risk factors.

Estimates in the range of 17% to 35% would not

be unusual. For professional service ﬁrms, the

risks may be within the range or possibly above

the higher end of the range. Risk is higher when

the proﬁts generated by the ﬁrm (i.e., after

considering market compensation) are directly

attributable to the personal relationships

between the law ﬁrm Partners and their

respective clients.

The valuation process is based on an analysis of the

ﬁrm and needs to include consideration of the above

factors. Several valuation methods can be useful for

determining the value of a ﬁrm based on its earnings or

cash ﬂow. Theoretically, they should all yield the same

result.

The aggregate value of the ﬁrm’s intangible assets

(i.e., workforce in place, customer relationships, going

concern value and so forth) is estimated by the extent

to which the value determined from earnings or cash

ﬂow exceeds the net tangible assets. To establish

a policy for buy-ins and buy-outs, there would be

additional considerations although we deemed them

to be beyond the scope of this article. Without being all

inclusive, such factors that may warrant consideration

include the standard of value, the premise of value,

professional/personal goodwill, existence of either

excess assets or a capital deﬁciency, applicability

of discounts and/or premiums regarding rights and

restrictions pertaining to the subject interest, state law

and so forth.

Predictable proﬁtability (after market compensation)

across a broad cross-section of professional legal

services (i.e., risk reduction) can signiﬁcantly improve

the transferable value of an ownership interest in a

practice.

CONCLUSION

Valuing the shares of a law ﬁrm is not a math problem.

In fact, the determinative factor will likely be whether

the beneﬁt to an associate moving into the partnership

ranks will be perceived as justifying the purchase

price. How much more will the associate earn as an

equity partner? Finding the right dollar amount is the

challenge. Valuing ownership interests in a law ﬁrm is

more an art than a science.

This article was originally published in the CBA Small and Solo

PracticeLink of September 2011 (http://www.cba.org/cba/

practicelink/solosmall_ﬁnances/valuation.aspx). It is reprinted

with permission from the CBA.

Checklists for Succession Planning

By Jocelyn Frazer

INTRODUCTION

Succession planning is something that should be

relevant to all lawyers in active practice, regardless of

the stage that they are at in their career. All lawyers

need to have a plan in place to ensure that client

interests are protected in the event of their sudden

illness, death, incapacity or impairment.

Essential information relating to client matters and the

ongoing obligations of the practice must be able to be

interpreted by an assisting lawyer regardless of whether

that is a partner, associate, friend or formal custodian.

For a lawyer in a small ﬁrm setting or sole practice, it is

particularly important to have arrangements in place for

another lawyer to step in and ensure that clients are not

prejudiced and that your staff and family are not placed

in an overwhelming position.

As the age demographic of the profession shifts,

the potential for more lawyers to ﬁnd themselves in

a position where they are forced to leave practice

suddenly is also increasing. When a lawyer does

make a sudden exit from practice, and there is no

succession plan in place, the plan is incomplete, or no

arrangements have been made relating to access to the

trust account, the costs to the practice and the risks to

the clients can be signiﬁcant.

In addition to circumstances beyond their control,

lawyers can decide to wind down their law practice for

any number of reasons: change of career, pursuit of

non-legal opportunities, retirement, moves to in-house

counsel positions, judicial appointment, or parental

leave. It is important to have a plan in place to deal with

these career transitions in a systematic way and to allow

sufﬁcient time to cover the necessary steps.

Where the exit plan includes the sale of a law practice,

prior planning can greatly impact the value that stands

to be realized. Good practice management over the

life of a practice (or at least the last ﬁve years) can go

a long way toward creating an asset that someone is

willing to purchase. There are both ethical and ﬁnancial

considerations that effect the sale of a practice and

ultimately a great range in the values that are placed

on these. It is important to be realistic in terms of what

a lawyer stands to recover, and to allow sufﬁcient time

to adequately prepare and ﬁnd the right person to take

over the practice. This is not something that happens

overnight and not every practice is salable.

The following checklists have been provided to serve as

a starting point in developing a succession strategy for a

law practice.

CHECKLIST: PLANNING FOR THE UNEXPECTED

1. Maintain an ofﬁce procedure manual outlining all

key aspects of your practice and a list of all law

22 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

ofﬁce contacts. Some lawyers prepare a letter

to their staff or spouse directing how matters

should be dealt with in their absence. (see

Chapter 57 of Flying Solo: A Survival Guide for

the Solo and Small Firm Lawyer Fourth Edition,

for a sample letter).

2. Maintain an ofﬁce limitation system and client ﬁle

diary system, accurately reﬂecting all deadlines

and all reminders so that next steps on ﬁles can

be easily reviewed. Keep these systems up to

date.

3. Ensure that each client ﬁle contains sufﬁcient

detail that another lawyer taking over the ﬁle

would know where the matter stood at any point

in time.

4. Keep your time and billing entries current.

5. Obtain life insurance along with a disability

policy to cover both your personal requirements

in the event of loss of your earning power, and

also to cover the costs associated with hiring

another lawyer to administer your practice and

cover cash ﬂow requirements as the practice is

closed or sold.

6. Make arrangements with a colleague or another

lawyer for them to step-in if you are not able to

practice, for whatever reason. Consider whether

a formal agreement is appropriate – possible

examples of such agreements are available on

the LSBC website but it is important to check

with your own Law Society’s audit department to

understand how these agreements will be

viewed. Law Society of Alberta R. 119.21(1)

requires approval by the Executive Director

for a lawyer who is not a lawyer of the law ﬁrm

to sign on a trust account. Consider including

provisions in your retainer agreement as to the

provisions in place in the event of your death,

incapacity or impairment.

7. Ensure that you have a valid will, including any

terms required to deal with practice related

issues. Also consider whether a Power of

Attorney is required to deal with banking

and trust accounting issues or your practice

generally.

8. Make sure that your staff, partners/associates,

and family are aware of the arrangements that

you have made.

CHECKLIST: SELLING YOUR LAW PRACTICE

1. Review open ﬁles and determine whether any

can be completed and closed.

2. Review closed ﬁles and determine whether any

should be destroyed, stored at an alternative

location, or will be transferred to a prospective

buyer.

3. Consider a timeline for your exit from the

practice. Do you intend to gradually step out,

see this as a ﬁve-year plan, or need to exit

quickly at any price?

4. Where possible, plan ahead and critically review

your practice. Ensure ﬁles are well organized

and well documented, that your limitations and

reminder systems are comprehensive and up

to date, that you have an effective system for

screening for conﬂicts, that you have an effective

trust accounting system.

5. Consider what you have to sell. Will you sell

your hard assets such as equipment, furniture,

leaseholds, or books? Generally, used books

carry little to no value – online reference

services have largely replaced law libraries.

Used furniture, ﬁling cabinets, computers

and peripherals, are not worth very much but

you can get an appraisal done to assist you in

determining the value of these items. Leasehold

interests may have value particularly if there is a

reasonable amount of time left on the lease.

What about the immediate practice sources of

revenue (receivables and work in progress)?

Receivables are often best left to the seller to

collect, but if included in the purchase price

should be examined carefully, discounted

for age, and the sellers cooperation interms

of information, taxation, and other collection

steps should be provided for in the agreement.

Consider selling these receivables to a collection

agency (subject to an agreement restricting

strong-arm tactics). The transfer of any current

ﬁles to a successor is obviously subject to client

consent.

What is your practice’s potential for generating

future income (goodwill)? It is hard to place

a value on the “goodwill” of a practice – the

location of the practice, nature and size of the

practice, terms of payment, stability of client

base among other factors can inﬂuence value.

Consider whether the selling lawyer will remain

during a period of transition, whether existing

staff are likely to remain with the practice,

whether efﬁcient, effective business systems

are already in place. Practices that have a high

degree of personal goodwill – where the practice

is dependent upon the personal characteristics

of the individual lawyer have little value. You

need to be evaluating your practice in terms of

factors that generate a proﬁt and are transferable

to a buyer. What a prospective buyer is looking

for is some degree of conﬁdence that they

will be able to achieve the same results going

forward.

6. Review your ﬁnancial records and ensure they

are up to date. A prospective buyer will likely

want to review items such as ﬁnancial reports

for the past 3 to 5 years, title to any assets to

be included, debt agreements, equipment

and ofﬁce leases, maintenance contracts and

subscription agreements for library services,

ﬁled business and payroll returns and any

policies for excess insurance coverage.

7. Establish a value for your practice and terms that

you would be willing to consider. A professional

business valuator can assist in determining a

ﬁgure. Factors that will inﬂuence value include:

a. Terms of payment.

b. Geography.

c. Nature of the practice.

d. Size of practice.

e. Stability of the client base.

f. Earn-out or pay-out based on collections

can give buyer comfort in only paying

for revenues received, and may provide

incentive for seller to encourage clients to

remain.

8. Describe what you are selling. Prepare a

conﬁdential information memorandum which

will provide key information about your practices

ﬁnancial picture.

a. Include a short history of your ﬁrm and your

practice areas.

b. Provide a general description of open ﬁles

and the billable workload (without divulging

any conﬁdential client information).

c. Create a current ﬁnancial picture of your

ﬁrms operations.

d. Consider having all potential buyers agree

to protect the conﬁdential information

relating to you practice by signing

a conﬁdentiality and non-disclosure

agreement.

e. At this stage in the sale process you should

not be disclosing any conﬁdential or

privileged information relating to clients

including their identities.

9. Advertise the sale of your practice in local bar

circulations or other sites as desired. Consider

hiring an agent to assist you in marketing. Talk

to other lawyers in your area. Internet bulletin

boards and email listservs may be affordable

alternatives for communicating the opportunities

associated with your practice.

10. In arriving at a mutually acceptable sale price,

other considerations may include how clients

will be advised of the sale and their options

regarding the transfer of ﬁles; whether the ﬁrm

name will be transferred, what role the selling

lawyer will retain and for how long.

11. Review Checklist: Closing down your law

practice for other relevant steps.

CHECKLIST: CLOSING DOWN YOUR LAW PRACTICE

Dealing with open ﬁles

As you close down your practice, here are some

suggestions for dealing with open ﬁles. Some of these

ideas may not apply in your speciﬁc situation.

1. Decide when you will stop accepting new ﬁles to

allow an orderly winding up of your practice.

2. Finalize as many open ﬁles as possible, ensuring

that all ﬁnal reporting is completed prior to wind-

up.

3. Consider whether you have any ongoing

obligations, such as undertakings, and make

arrangements to be relieved of them or to have

them transferred to another lawyer. Consider,

24 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

too, whether clients may be expecting you to

take care of things like renewals, options, etc.

4. Review wills to determine whether you have

agreed to be executor or trustee. If you no

longer wish to act in that capacity, consider

asking the testator to revise the will or to add a

codicil to appoint someone else. If the testator

cannot be located, you may attach a renunciation

to the will.

5. If you have any original documents held in

safekeeping, determine if they are held on

undertakings, on trust conditions, or on an

agreement that will continue to apply. Seek

written instructions from the necessary parties

to alter the arrangements and to transfer the

documents to a new location.

6. Write to clients with open ﬁles to notify them that

you will be closing your practice and they will

need to retain a new lawyer. Ask them to either

pick up the original ﬁle or sign an authorization

for you to release the ﬁle to a new lawyer. In this

letter, tell the client about important deadlines.

7. Before transferring ﬁles to other lawyers, give

them an opportunity to check for conﬂicts of

interest.

8. If a client is picking up a ﬁle, give a date by

which it should be picked up. Make a copy of

the ﬁle for yourself. Ask clients to sign a receipt

acknowledging that they received their ﬁles.

9. For each active ﬁle being transferred to another

lawyer, prepare a detailed memo on the nature

of the ﬁle and the work that remains to be done.

Clearly note limitation, trial, chambers, discovery,

or other pertinent dates. Keep a copy for your

own records.

10. For cases that have dates set for questioning,

court appearances, or hearings, discuss with

the client how to proceed. Where appropriate,

request new dates. Send written conﬁrmations of

these new dates to opposing counsel and to the

client.

11. Legal Aid certiﬁcates cannot be transferred

to another lawyer. You should notify the

appropriate Legal Aid ofﬁce of the ﬁles that are

affected, and your reason for withdrawing, and

send a ﬁnal bill, marked ‘Final.’ The client will

need to be notiﬁed, instructed to contact Legal

Aid and to seek a new certiﬁcate. (a note of

caution: given recent changes to Legal Aid,

the client may no longer be eligible and a new

certiﬁcate may not be issued).

12. Choose a date on which you will check to see if

all of your cases have one of:

• A ﬁled Notice of Ceasing to Act;

• A ﬁled Notice of Change of Solicitors; or

• When necessary, evidence of authority to

withdraw

13. Seek instructions from corporate clients for new

addresses for their registered ofﬁces, prepare

the necessary resolutions and notices, and ﬁle

a notice of change form with the Registrar of

Companies.

14. File a change of address notice at the Land Titles

Ofﬁce if named in any builders’ liens, caveats,

certiﬁcates of lis pendens, etc.

15. To inform the public and any clients you have

not been able to reach, place an ad in the local

newspaper that the practice will be closing on a

speciﬁc date and who to contact after that date.

Dealing with closed ﬁles

1. Review closed ﬁles to determine whether they

should be stored, destroyed, returned to the

client, or transferred to the lawyer who will be

assuming ongoing ﬁles. Check for anything

belonging to the client but not in the client’s

ﬁle, such as items in your safety deposit box.

Return all property held in safekeeping to its

owners. Refer to the article “File Retention

and Document Management” on the Practice

Advisors’ page on the Law Society of Alberta

website for further information.

2. Where ﬁle information is stored in electronic

format, consider how and where it will be

stored and retrieved after wind-up.

3. Decide whether you will store any original wills

or transfer them to another lawyer. Remember

that you will continue to be responsible for any

original wills in your possession.

4. Let the Law Society’s Records department

know where your closed ﬁles are located.

Finances

1. Review your time records and ﬁles:

a. Prepare and send out accounts for

unbilled work in progress and outstanding

disbursements.

b. If the billing is on a contingency fee basis,

refer to the provisions in the contingency

fee agreement relating to the amount to be

paid if the lawyer withdraws, otherwise you

will have to transfer the ﬁle to a new lawyer

on trust conditions and once the matter is

concluded the new lawyer will need to so

advise you and a quantum meruit allocation

will have to be applied.

2. Note that even after you cease membership

in the Law Society or take inactive status, you

may collect fees for work done while you were

practicing. You may also be compensated for

ﬁles transferred to another lawyer by receiving

a percentage of future billings for work done by

your practice.

3. Review trust accounts. After billing clients and

deducting fees and disbursements where

appropriate, return trust funds to the clients or as

directed in writing by the clients.

4. If trust money is held under agreements with or

undertakings to third parties, get the consent

of those parties before transferring the money.

If the money is held in trust, get the transferee

lawyer to assume the trust conditions and

get the entrustor to agree to substitute the

transferee lawyer as the new entrustee.

5. If you hold any unclaimed trust funds or funds

that you cannot attribute to a client, Law Society

Rule 119.27sets out the procedure for paying

them to the Law Society.

6. When all trust money has been disbursed, inform

the bank that the trust accounts can be closed.

7. Prepare your ﬁnal accounting form and ﬁle it with

the Law Society as required).

8. Pay any outstanding ﬁrm liabilities including

payroll, income tax withholding, trade debts,

GST, WCB, etc.

9. Determine whether it will be necessary to leave

open a general account with a reserve to satisfy

any outstanding obligations or for receipt of any

accounts receivable after your practice is closed.

Staff

1. Give staff sufﬁcient notice of termination or

compensation in lieu of notice. Verify statutory

notice requirement.

2. Make arrangements to cancel or otherwise deal

with any employee beneﬁt plans.

3. Direct your accountant or bookkeeper to

prepare Records of Employment, calculate all

necessary holiday pay or other beneﬁts accrued,

prepare T-4 slips and make all necessary

remittances to Revenue Canada.

4. If you have an articling student, make

arrangements to assign the articles to another

lawyer who is qualiﬁed to act as a principal.

Premises and ofﬁce equipment

1. Contact your landlord as soon as possible and,

if necessary, make arrangements to sublet or

assign your lease.

2. Contact law schools, community colleges,

and courthouse libraries to see if anyone will

purchase all or part of your library. Notices in

the local courthouse barristers’ lounge or in a

Canadian Bar Association newsletter might also

locate buyers. You can also check with the

Legal Archives Society of Alberta if you think you

might have items of historical interest.

3. Dispose of ofﬁce furniture and equipment.

• Where equipment has been leased,

contact leasing companies to end leases

and maintenance agreements or to

arrange assignments.

• When neither cancellation nor

assignment is possible, have sufﬁcient

funds available to continue the

payments on the leases or to pay them

out.

4. Notify publishers of legal directories and

cancel subscriptions to books and journals and

terminate any on-line advertising.

26 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

5. Send letters to all suppliers advising them that

the practice will be closing and notifying them

of the address to which future correspondence

may be directed.

6. Notify public utilities.

7. Arrange to forward your telephone calls and

mail.

8. If you have a website, consider running a notice

for a short time advising that the practice is now

closed and providing new contact information.

Memberships

1. Discuss membership status with the Law Society.

You’ll ﬁnd the forms required to resign or

become an inactive member on the Law Society

website at www.lawsociety.ab.ca A partial

refund on a pro-rated basis may be possible if

you move to inactive or retired status.

2. If you’ve paid for a Canadian Bar Association

membership within the past month, contact the

national ofﬁce at 1-800-267-8860 to ask for a

refund.

Professional liability insurance

1. Mandatory coverage — Contact ALIA to

terminate your coverage if you are not going to

be in private practice. You will still be covered for

future claims arising from professional services

rendered while you were insured, subject to the

terms in place at the time the claim is reported.

2. Excess insurance — If you have excess coverage,

check the policy for deadlines and terms for

extending coverage to future claims. Excess

insurance policies do not provide coverage for

future claims unless you speciﬁcally arrange for

it. If you purchased excess coverage through

the Law Society’s program, contact ALIA; if

elsewhere, contact your insurance broker. If you

will be practicing with a new ﬁrm, check to see if

they have excess coverage that protects you for

prior acts.

Other

1. Consider who else you need to tell about

closing your ofﬁce.

2. Appointments under a Power of Attorney

remain (subject to any speciﬁc provisions in the

document) in full force and effect regardless of

whether you are practicing – contact any clients

if you do not wish to continue acting and seek

instructions.

3. Your status as a commissioner for oaths and

notary public is dependent on your status

with the Law Society of Alberta. For further

information on what you can do, refer to the

article “Am I a Commissioner or Notary?” on

Practice Advisors’ page of the Law Society

website.

4. If you are leaving the practice of law, consider

the reinstatement requirements should you

return to practice in the future.

5. If you are no longer practicing law, but are

still acting as estate trustee, mediator, and

immigration consultant or otherwise providing

services that are often, but not exclusively

provided by lawyers, ensure that you are clear

to clients and others in which capacity you are

acting.

Jocelyn Frazer obtained her LLB from

the University of Alberta in 1989 and

was called to the Alberta bar in 1990.

She has practiced with a focus on

Real Estate, Condominiums, Wills and

Estates. Jocelyn currently holds the

position of Equity Ombudsperson

and Practice Advisor with the Law

Society of Alberta.

Big Opportunities in Smaller Communities

By Anna Choles and Suzette Golden-Greenwood

The biggest struggle for a student looking for articles is

to ﬁnd ﬁrms outside of the big cities that are interested in

taking on students. As law students, we saw big city ﬁrms

wine and dine prospective students. These ﬁrms sent out

representatives to campus, sponsored events and gave

out freebies. It was hard to imagine that there were other

ﬁrms in Alberta’s regional and rural communities who

might also be interested in hiring a student.

PUT YOUR FIRM ON THE (INTERNET) MAP

Students don’t necessarily realize how busy rural practice

can be. Consider that the staff of a smaller ﬁrm is working

at full speed. So, taking a day off for lawyers of a small

ﬁrm to travel to a career fair on campus isn’t exactly

practical. If you want to create interest in your ﬁrm and

attract a student, get a ﬁrm website. Surprisingly (or not)

students have all the time in the world to surf the web and

look for their dream article while they sit in class (that’s

student speak for “multitasking!!!”).

• Post job offerings for articling students and

associates online (use the CBA webpage) and

link to your webpage.

• Put together information about the ﬁrm, the town,

surrounding amenities, the court locations, and

describe how and when court sits.

• Describe the ﬁrm’s expectations for students

or young associates and the opportunities that

your ﬁrm and community can provide in terms of

community involvement and family life.

• Describe whether your ﬁrm pays for hotel and

transport for CPLED classes.

• Provide information on housing, local realtors,

show the affordability and how much further

ahead a student can be if they come to work

for you rather than staying in a larger, more

expensive practice centre.

PITCH YOUR FIRM

There can be great opportunities for lawyers in smaller

practice centers to quickly develop a busy and exciting

practice as well as a public and professional proﬁle.

Smaller communities are often very excited to see new

lawyers and other young people who come to their

community for work. These communities recognize

the importance of bringing in young professionals to

maintain and grow their community. Let your ﬁrm know

that students and associates are likely to have:

• Independence and conduct of own ﬁles early on;

• Possibility for rapid advancement;

28 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

• Team atmosphere; and

• Legal assistant and own ofﬁce space.

Emphasize the assistance you are able to provide in

growing and developing a practice. What are the unique

experiences about your practice and your community that

will make it an enriching experience for articling students

and associates? Students, especially those without a lot

of experience with life in smaller communities tend to

assume that the practice of law outside of large centres

will necessarily be focused on family, criminal, and real

estate law. They may also assume that they will not have

the same opportunities to develop a practice or gain

experience in business, commercial law, or civil litigation.

But this is wrong. Legal practice in smaller centers is

varied, broad and challenging.

There is no question that practice in a regional and

rural community is busy, hectic and with the same

management challenges found in larger centers. You

only have so many hours each day, you’re dealing with

a ﬁxed judicial calendar in terms of judicial sitting, court

days, you have to turn clients away due to caseload and

sometimes, you end up with difﬁcult clients. You may

have to travel to neighboring towns and cities to meet

with clients and other lawyers. And, on top of that, you

need to ﬁnd time for your commitments to your family,

community and hobbies. In all, a very exciting practice

that needs to be fully explained to any potential student.

While it can be difﬁcult to develop a highly specialized

practice, this is not unlike the challenges that a lawyer in a

larger practice centre faces. The difference is that unlike

simply being a number in a larger ﬁrm where you get

pigeon holed into doing certain type of work, you’ll have

no choice but to diversify your practice area when you live

in a smaller centre.

Further, the local bars are often close knit, excited to see

new young lawyers coming to the area, and are often

willing to refer their overﬂow or ﬁles that they cannot take

on to the new lawyer in town as soon as they are aware of

your student’s practice areas.

PITCH YOUR COMMUNITY

While it’s important that you pitch the ﬁrm’s opportunities,

pitch the terriﬁc opportunities which your community

provides. But that requires an honest approach.

Recognize some of the potential issues facing articling

students when they move their families to smaller

communities. It can be socially isolating at ﬁrst and

there is often a deﬁcit of other young professional with

whom to network and develop connections. Recognize

that unless your student is originally from that area and

has friends and family there, they will lack social and

support structures. Help them build connections with the

community, invite them to community events, and help

connect them with other young professionals. This will

help them grow roots and make a strong connection with

their new community. Here are some of the things you

need to tell a prospective student about:

• How are the schools and childcare facilities?

• What are the types of social events in your

community (annual rodeo, pumpkin festival, garlic

festival, weekly farmers market)?

• What types of networking and community

involvement activities are available?

• What is the housing situation? What is the

affordability of housing in your community as

compared to a larger practice centre?

• What are some of the community associations or

volunteer organizations that could use a lawyer to

sit on their board or become involved?

• Is your community family friendly? What

opportunities are there for children in term of

sports and other activities? Does your community

have many other young families? Where is the

community’s main social hub where families get a

chance to meet and socialize?

CONCLUSION

Fundamentally, the most important element in attracting

potential articling students and associates to your practice

is letting them know that you are out there. Having an

internet presence through a ﬁrm website is essential. If

the students don’t know that you exist, they will never ﬁnd

you. Students who practicing law in a regional or rural

community have exciting opportunities to develop their

legal skills and build a practice. You know that. That’s

why you’re where you are. Now your job is to explain that

to someone else.

Anna Choles BA (Hons), LLB is an

associate at Pahl Howard LLP in Leduc.

As a law student she undertook

signiﬁcant legal research and policy

work through the Alberta Law Reform

Institute, the Centre for Constitutional

Studies and as a public policy intern in

Washington DC.

Suzette Golden-Greenwood BA

(summa cum laude), JD is an associate

at Lamoureux Culham LLP in St Paul.

Suzette was a research assistant

over three summers at the Alberta

Law Reform Institute. Before moving

to Canada, Suzette ran several

businesses in San Diego.

Tips and Pointers for Attracting Summer/

Articling Students to Your Town

By Ryan Armstrong

I can’t say that I have much experience trying to attract

articling students to Lloydminster. In truth, I’ve only had

to ﬁnd one student, and we were successful in getting

that student to accept articles with us for the 2015 year.

Recruiting students to Lloyd (as we call our fair city)

presents speciﬁc challenges. Lloyd is located on the

Alberta-Saskatchewan border, which means that lawyers

here practice in both provinces. We are some distance

away from Edmonton and the closest Queen’s Bench

Judicial Centre. Weather can be brutal, especially

during winter. But we also have two nearby law

schools to recruit from, being the University of Alberta

in Edmonton and the University of Saskatchewan in

Saskatoon. Our location gives our ﬁrm a tremendous

breadth of practice opportunities and makes for exciting

practice.

Law ﬁrms in Lloyd serve a broad and diverse range

of clients. Municipalities, oil service companies, oil

industry suppliers, farmers, agriculture suppliers, real

estate developers and builders, among others. We

provide advice to individuals and families who need our

help with employment, family law, real estate, criminal

and civil issues and more.

Here are some general tips and pointers that might

prove to be useful if you’re looking to attract a student

to practice in your community. I hope you’ll ﬁnd them

useful.

BE HONEST AND REALISTIC ABOUT THE

COMMUNITY YOU LIVE IN

I was born and raised in Lloyd. I worked here every

summer during my university years. My parents and

siblings still live here and I’m raising my family here.

So one could question whether I am biased about the

place in which I have made my home.

Lloyd isn’t for every student, at least not at ﬁrst blush.

You have to outline the pros and cons and create a

recruiting strategy. Those of us who live and work in

Lloyd are fortunate to have an economy and population

that is strong and growing. We are a younger

community with a need for legal service in all of the

general legal practice areas. As the need for legal

services grows, so too are the opportunities for doing

interesting, varied, and well-paying legal work.

If you want to advertise your community, ﬁnd out

what the prospective student is looking for. It could

be the nightlife (restaurants, bars/clubs), ﬁtness (gym,

30 ACCESS TO JUSTICE: BEYOND BIG CITY LAW

yoga or dance classes, conditioning classes), the

opportunities for community involvement (churches,

volunteer opportunities), or the outdoors. But it could

also be many of those quality of life issues that might

be less apparent: good schools with a great student-

ratio, affordable housing, employment prospects for a

spouse, and various child care options.

I live on an acreage outside of Lloyd which is a 20

minute drive from the ofﬁce (25 in bad trafﬁc or if I’m

stuck waiting for a train). If you live in a condo or house

in Lloyd, you’re probably only a 5-10 minute drive away

from work.

Larger cities have a greater number of entertainment

options in terms of the arts, theatre, concerts, and live

sports. That being said, Lloyd has a vibrant cultural

scene, hosts some great live acts as well as touring

shows, at affordable prices. And, if you feel starved

of NHL hockey, Lloyd is only 2 hours from Edmonton

and just a little longer to Saskatoon, if that’s where your

favourite band is playing.

Give the interested student an honest and realistic idea

of what life in your community looks like. Don’t be

negative or downplay the great opportunities that come

with living in a small centre community. But don’t sugar

coat it either. If you do, they’ll ﬁnd out sooner or later.

IF YOU DON’T HAVE STUDENTS KNOCKING AT

YOUR DOOR, THEY MIGHT NOT KNOW YOU ARE

THERE.

Law ﬁrms in smaller communities usually don’t have

annual summer student or articling positions. Similarly,

these ﬁrms don’t have the exposure created by large

advertising campaigns or the sponsorship of law school

activities. If you are interested in attracting a student for

either a summer student or articling student position,

it will have to be your law ﬁrm that takes the ﬁrst step.

Students are busy with their studies and aren’t likely

to make a drive out to a community (which they may

not know or have even heard of) to look to work there

without some information in hand ﬁrst. So take the

information about your ﬁrm and community and get

it out there…If you don’t, why would they ever come

knocking?

THINK LONG-TERM: GET INVOLVED WITH THE

YOUTH IN THE COMMUNITY

If you want to be a mentor for a young student who

might become a prospective summer or articling

student with the right guidance, act like one. Volunteer

to speak at a career day or career fair at a Junior High

or High School. Be a mentor for someone looking to

pursue a career in law, or “take a kid to work”. If you

step forward and offer your time to speak to students

to discuss career options in law, you might be surprised

by how often you’ll be taken up on that offer. At a

minimum, your community involvement will reﬂect well

upon the prestige of your position within the community

and will demonstrate that there is an opportunity for that

student to live and work in your community and earn a

living as a lawyer. While you may not remember every

student you appear in front of, someone out here will

remember you if they’re thinking about writing the LSAT

and applying to law school. If you make that connection

early enough, then while it may take years for you to re-

connect, there will be a student that simply approaches

you about an opportunity for a summer or articling

position. Remember, more people will notice you

than you think solely by virtue of the position you hold

and the trust you have garnered. Use your status and

position within the community to cultivate relationships

and serve as a role model for those seeking a career

in law. If you do, you may just have secured a future

student!

CONTACT THE STUDENT SERVICES (CAREER

SERVICES) OFFICE OF LAW SCHOOLS

In my experience with recruiting, the career/student

services’ ofﬁces at university law schools have an

abundance of information. It is their job to provide

information for students. They want information about

opportunities in your ﬁrm or community from you and

they will work with you to get that information out

to students. They are a great resource and I highly

suggest that they are the ﬁrst place you consider when

looking to obtain information before you advertise any

recruiting opportunity.

Find out what recruiting events the Career Services

ofﬁces put on and inquire generally about the services

they offer. It may be as simple as putting an email out

to students about an opportunity in your community,

or attending at a Career Fair and talking about your

experience in your community, or hosting your own

recruitment tour… The possibilities are endless.

BE CREATIVE IN THE WAY YOU MARKET YOUR

COMMUNITY

Law ﬁrms in Lloyd participate in a “Rural Project

Initiative” which is supported by the CBA in

Saskatchewan and the University of Saskatchewan’s

“Small Urban and Rural” Committee. The law ﬁrms

in our community planned a day of information and

networking (lunch, tour of the City, walking tour of

ﬁrms, and wine and cheese). The U of S organized and

paid for the transportation and promoted the event on

campus. It was a great event which only came about by

thinking creatively and proactively.

STAY COMMITTED

Attracting a summer student or articling student to

your community takes work. Don’t let your work go to

waste. Think ahead and provide your student with the

information in advance of when they’re going to ask for

it. If you can sell your community through the articling

or summering period, generate enthusiasm and be

knowledgeable about how life in that community feels

like, you’re student will be more comfortable that they’re

not taking a leap in the great beyond…

MONEY MATTERS

Whether it be during the ﬁrst meeting with a small

group of potential recruits or in discussions with a

student that has shown real interest, you know that the

issue of compensation is going to arise. You need to

be prepared to answer the compensation question. Do

your research.

For example, ﬁnd out the salary range paid in your

community (for articles and for ﬁrst year associates). If

there is no comparable, ask at the University or phone

some of your colleagues. Don’t be afraid to ask for

information – people are more than willing to provide

it along with some of their own advice. There will be

a broad range of salaries. A smaller ﬁrm in a smaller

community won’t be able to pay the top salary paid

by a larger regional or national ﬁrm, but that won’t

be expected. You may have to compete with other

employment options by way of salary, but you may not

have to...

All of the students will have basic living expenses, but

they may also have speciﬁc needs such as student

debt, a family to support, or kids’ activities. A smaller

ﬁrm or sole practitioner likely can’t “carry” the cost of a

student or associate forever, and this should be clearly

communicated. But the ﬂip-side to this issue is that an

associate who has established and developed a practice

will want to be paid better than at a typical 2nd, 3rd, or

4th year associate salary. If you are looking to transition

or slow down and you’re looking to hire a motivated

student, explain what the earning potential from a full

practice might be and give the student opportunities

to develop and expand their practice. The busier they

become, the lighter the load for you, and the reward

for the motivated student will be higher earnings and

better pay.

Ryan Armstrong was born and raised in

Lloydminster. He obtained Bachelors

degrees in Business and Law from the

University of Saskatchewan before

returning to Lloydminster to article

and practice with Robertson Moskal

Sarsons. Ryan resides on an acreage

outside of Lloydminster with his wife

and two children.

Beyond Big City Law

A publication of the Canadian Bar Association Alberta Branch

Access to Justice Committee

710, 777 - 8 Avenue SW, Calgary, AB T2P 3R5

Phone: (403) 263-3707 Fax: (403) 265-8581 Email: [email protected]

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