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If you think of traditional mid-size firms as sleepy legal backwaters where lawyers are inoculated – whether by size or regional limitations – from the pressures faced by the large national and international firms, you need to talk to James Casey, the managing partner of Field Law LLP.

Field is not the biggest of the mid-sizes, but it's on the larger end, with 66 lawyers in Edmonton, 55 in Calgary and four in Yellowknife. There's one critical difference between Field and the large national and global firms, Mr. Casey says: Its hourly rates are about 20 per cent lower. As to why, "part of it is lower overhead – lower lease costs, a lack of national and global management structure to finance and lower overall costs."

Lexpert contributor Sandra Rubin reports at lexpert.ca/globe

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