It’s the biggest legal news story of the year that you won’t find in Law Times’ annual Top News, Newsmakers, and Cases supplement.
Sadly, the announcement by Ogilvy Renault LLP that it was joining the international legal practice known as the Norton Rose Group came out just after the supplement had gone to press. (Yes, we work ahead of time.)
You’ll find lots of great content in the supplement this week. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that it was a big year on Bay Street. A flurry of activity began with news last month that Lang Michener LLP would fold into the McMillan LLP brand through a merger of the two firms.
Ogilvys followed up with its blockbuster deal with Norton Rose shortly after. Then, in a smaller but still noteworthy development, Miller Thomson LLP revealed its deal with Balfour Moss LLP (
see Law Times, page 3).
The news about Ogilvys has had lawyers talking. In joining the legal behemoth whose revenues are set to pass $1 billion as a result of the changes, Ogilvys has made a bold move that appears to be a bid to outmaneuver its Canadian competition on the international scene.
Ogilvys has a reputation for moving cautiously on expansion, generally choosing to open new offices in Canada on its own rather than growing through mergers, and has been reticent to start up international outposts in comparison to other big business firms.
But the Norton Rose deal marks a significant departure from that tradition.
Whether that will be good for the firm and its Canadian lawyers is still up for debate.
On the one hand, Ogilvys has emphasized the need to follow the shift of economic activity to emerging markets. In joining Norton Rose, it has bypassed the conventional model of expansion through often-small outposts abroad.
The route it has chosen may help it garner more international files with Canadian aspects but, of course, the reverse could be true in that other Norton Rose partners may get some of its work.
At the same time, the lack of a Norton Rose presence in the United States is a gap it has yet to fill.
Overall, the deal makes sense for Ogilvys given the absence of overseas offices other than its branch in London, England. It may also help it attract other firms’ partners along with their international clients. Miller Thomson’s latest move also looks good as Saskatchewan is a top economic performer right now.
As a result, it’s likely we’ll see similar deals in the future, whether through mergers between equals (Lang Michener and McMillan); between giants and regional players (Miller Thomson and Balfour Moss); or between national and international firms (Ogilvys and Norton Rose).
The changes may have negative implications for some individual lawyers caught up in the tide, but despite the legal industry’s largely protected status in Canada, firms are wise to follow the shifts in economic activity if they’re going to grow and prosper.
