Canada's 2014 Leading Corporate Lawyers START-UPS | 29
Pletcher, Fred R.
Borden Ladner
Gervais LLP
(604) 640-4245
fpletcher@blg.com
Mr. Pletcher advises on
all aspects of corporate
fi nance, M&A,
commercial transactions,
corporate governance and
continuous disclosure,
with a strong focus on
public companies in the
domestic and international
mining industr y.
Powys-Lybbe,
Karrin A.
Tor ys LLP
(416) 865-7829
kpowys-lybbe@torys.com
Ms. Powys-Lybbe focuses
on corporate fi nance,
M&A and related- party
transactions in a variety of
industries. She counsels
issuers and investment
banks on debt and equity
off erings, and provides
ongoing corporate and
securities advice for clients.
Pukier, Brian M.
Stikeman Elliott LLP
(416) 869-5567
bpukier@stikeman.com
Mr. Pukier is a partner in
the Toronto offi ce and
former head of Stikeman
Elliott's M&A group. He
focuses on cross-border
M&A, private-equity
transactions, corporate
fi nance, complex
corporate reorganizations
and public policy.
Ponder, Dale R.
Osler, Hoskin &
Harcourt LLP
(416) 862-6500
dponder@osler.com
Ms. Ponder is the fi rm's
Managing Partner. Her
business law practice
has focused on M&A,
securities regulation and
corporate governance.
She has had extensive
experience leading
M&A transactions
and advising boards of
public companies.
Pressman, Emmanuel
Osler, Hoskin &
Harcourt LLP
(416) 862-4903
epressman@osler.com
Co-chair of the National
M&A Group, Mr.
Pressman advises
acquirors, targets, selling
shareholders, special
committees, boards
and fi nancial advisors in
take-over bids, going-
private transactions,
negotiated acquisitions
and restructurings.
Raizenne, Robert
Osler, Hoskin &
Harcourt LLP
(514) 904-5626
rraizenne@osler.com
Mr. R aizenne's tax practice
includes cross-border
and domestic M&A,
corporate reorganizations,
restructurings, corporate
fi nance, trusts, dispute
resolution and tax
litigation. He teaches tax
at McGill and University
of Toronto Law Faculties.
bankers in early to mid-level rounds of
fi nancing. But they will all still need law-
yers. Are the law fi rms ready? You better
believe it.
Start-up Clients
Start-ups are an essential part of the busi-
ness plan at LaBarge Weinstein LLP, says
Deborah Weinstein.
"We do hundreds, or even thousands,
of start-ups every year," she says from her
Ottawa base. With offi ces in Waterloo,
Vancouver and Toronto, LaBarge Wein-
stein stays close to major start-up clusters
and has a payment policy designed to at-
tract skittish would-be entrepreneurs.
For "qualifying start-ups" (those that
have passed the fi rm's informal due dili-
gence, Weinstein says), clients are pro-
vided with start-up kits where fees are de-
ferred until the new business can pay —
which is either when they've raised some
money through a fi nancing or started to
generate some revenue.
e client determines what they're
comfortable paying, and the fi rm starts
billing them at that rate. How do the
partners know for sure when revenues
start coming in? Weinstein says they
don't. ey rely on their clients to be
honest. How long will the fi rm wait for
repayment? "Years, if necessary," she says.
"Many never come to fruition and we
have to write off those
accounts. We just
hope the person will
call us for their next
start-up."
If the venture is suc-
cessful and the client
either sells the busi-
ness, closes a major fi -
nancing or decides to
move to another law
fi rm, LaBarge Wein-
stein only asks them
to pay the accrued fees
interest free.
"We look at it very
simply: Many com-
panies come in to
us, some work and
some don't. Some we
get to bill and some
we don't. But it's
amazing what hap-
pens when you align
yourself with a client
who has no money, and you take a very
small risk — relative to my business, one
client is a very small risk but relative to
their business it's a very big thing I'm
doing for them. So we end up having
clients for life.
"I can think of two clients, for example,
who came to me a er the tech bubble
burst, about 13 years ago. I worked with
both of them for over a year before I ever
saw a single dollar. One of them is still my
client today and paying bills. e other
one is BelAir Networks, and it sold to Er-
icsson for a lot of money."
Sandra Rubin is a eelance legal aff airs writer.
"WHAT'S HAPPENING IN SILICON
VALLEY IS THAT SOME OF THE
MAJOR WELL-KNOWN VENTURE
CAPITAL FIRMS ARE LOOKING AT
SETTING UP FUNDS SPECIFICALLY
TO DO CROWDFUNDING. SO
THEY'LL BE ANGEL INVESTORS
IN A START-UP – THEY'LL HAVE
DONE A DUE DILIGENCE – AND
THEN THEY PROMOTE THAT ON A
CROWDFUNDING SITE. SUDDENLY
A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE ARE
GOING TO BE VERY INTERESTED
BECAUSE THEY'RE TOTALLY A-LIST
VENTURE CAPITAL FIRMS."
– Gary Solway, Bennett Jones LLP
