Duggan, a business-law specialist, is spearheading efforts within his firm to focus on mediation as a remedy. “Combined with a lot of support and understanding from court staff, we’re finding that mediation, of the type that has parties splitting the legal costs,
is working as an ideal substitute for the courts’ lack of ability to catch up with schedules. When they do catch up, they just get busier again.” The Simmons Da Silva firm is one of several law firms in the vicinity of the Courthouse on Hurontario Street south of Steeles Ave., but the downtown law firms are experiencing similar backlogs and are recognizing mediation as a partial fix. More than that, lawyers are being trained in mediation methods to the point where an increasing number of cases can be prevented from reaching court.
“We’ve made progress,” says Duggan. “Judges try to resolve cases early. In business law we now have pre-trial conferences, collaborative law and prioritization. In other words, court trials are becoming a last resort.
“Brampton’s justice system has matured, too – since the time when there were a single county judge plus occasional visits from a Toronto Supreme court judge. We have a bigger panel of judges. But we still face rapid urban and commercial growth as our biggest challenge.”
In spite of reduced exports from Brampton’s massive manufacturing sector, the advanced manufacturing segment is doing well, particularly aerospace companies and especially those who supply Bombardier, according to Duggan. “They’re even what I would call stressed, and buying lots of capital equipment from the U.S. with our higher loonie.”
The good thing, he adds, is that the dollar at U.S. par does no damage to companies dealing with Canadian customers such as Bombardier.
Law firms are also affected by major growth in the warehousing and distribution sector, which is another big chunk of Brampton’s economy in a city that essentially is a rail and 400-series transportation hub. “People do complain about Airport and Derry Roads being frightful and noisy with transport trucks, but it’s also a sign of progress,” said Duggan.
Head offices are another sector that has blossomed in Brampton, where office space is a shocking 25 per cent of downtown Toronto rates, and that means about $15 per square foot with a friendlier tax structure. Head offices bring good business to the service industry and the real-estate and commercial lawyers in the city.
“Along with systems and infrastructure maturing, the downtown core is looking better to our corporate citizens every day, with magnets such as Gage Park and the Rose Theatre.”
Simmons Da Silva is a do-all law firm with a dozen lawyers specializing in corporate and commercial law, civil litigation, commercial and industrial real estate, wills and trusts, and family law.
Legal specialists
Workplaces and manufacturing environments are a major focus in corporate and commercial law, and Crawford Chondon & Partners (CCP) specializes in this niche, as part of the law community around Brampton’s County Court.
“Employers have to contend with an ever-changing landscape of federal and provincial workplace-related laws and regulations,” says Sue Crawford, a labour and employment lawyer who started the firm ten years ago with her husband, David Chondon.
The complexity of staying within the law is a challenge for large employers. CCP operates a consulting service to handle human-resources issues or essentially, to manage employers’ HR divisions. Called “Employers’ Choice”, the department helps companies develop their HR systems and trains their HR staff.
