Lexpert Roundup on the Business of Law
Lexpert identifies and reports on emerging business issues and practice areas in the business of law. Whether online, in our magazine or in the DealsWire e-newsletter, we chronicle deals and lawsuits of interest, and cover issues of broad concern to the legal profession and those who purchase legal services. We hope you enjoy this sampling of our latest content.
From the DealsWire: Energy East's demise | Bombardier stock soars | Aphria shares fall
The Lexpert DealsWire (subscribe here) documents facts, figures and key legal players behind recent deals. This week, in our closed deals section, we look at the players behind the SNC-Lavalin acquisition of WS Atkins, the purchase of the Thompson Hotel in Toronto, as well as gold miner Eldorado in its acquisition of Integra.
We also look at Canadian natural gas producer Painted Pony Energy in its strategic financing by Magnetar Capital.
International Commercial Arbitration Harmony
As a multicultural, bilingual nation with civil and common-law jurisdictions, Canada should be a natural hub for International Arbitration. So why isn't it? Recent provincial amendments aim to make it so. For foreign parties, it's important to have a seat of arbitration that is neutral, efficient and where the courts won't mingle with the process is important. There is some debate, however, as to whether complete harmonization is necessary, or whether slight distinctions may provide an advantage.
The legal world is changing and in unexpected ways. Take third-party litigation funding, which used to be the domain of personal injury lawyers and class action firms. In Ontario, encouraging litigation for a share of the recovery – a practice known as "champerty and maintenance" – is still banned, although recent jurisprudence has made allowances for instances where funding facilitates access to justice. This shift in perception has paved the way for new players, along with new types of clients and some surprising new champions.
Investors to look elsewhere following Energy East termination
TransCanada Corp.'s decision earlier this month to pull the plug on its $15.7-billion Energy East Pipeline will likely dampen the appetite for Canadian energy deals because it remains too difficult to get the country's landlocked oil abroad, say lawyers who work in the field.
ECJ rules on transfer of airline records
The European Court of Justice has turned thumbs down on a proposed agreement between the European Union and Canada on the transfer and processing of airlines' passenger name records and associated data. Canada will again have to seek confirmation that its privacy laws comply with new EU legislation.
While law firm networks certainly haven't replaced global firms, there is an increased understanding that any law firm intending to expand needs to carefully weigh the pros and cons of which model suits them best, writes Lexpert 's editor-in-chief Jean Cumming.
Technology columnist George Takach outlines the key considerations for smaller – but critically important – buy-side strategic tech acquisitions.
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