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Nova Scotia Legal Firm Bucks Merger Trend in the Region |
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Written by Wire Services
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Wednesday, 29 March 2006 |
Lawyers in one large Nova Scotia law firm have decided to buck the merger trend.
Halifax and Truro-based lawyers in the firm Patterson Palmer will not merge their firm with another regional player, Cox Hanson O'Reilly Matheson. Patterson Palmer lawyers in the other Atlantic Provinces chose to go with the merger.
Dennis James, speaking for his partners with Patterson in Nova Scotia said their decision was based on the best interests of clients, and the firm's deep Nova Scotian roots. The Nova Scotia lawyers worried that conflicts following the merger could mean they would be unable to continue to work for some of their clients.
Patterson Palmer originally grew out of the Truro firm Patterson Smith Matthews and Grant and Kitz Matheson in Halifax. Frank Patterson, a legal icon in Nova Scotia and former judge, was a founding partner of the firm in Truro.
The province's highest courts and public offices have, for generations, been populated by men and women who practiced law with those firms. Mr. James said the firm will change its name to Patterson Law to more accurately reflect its Nova Scotian roots. |
