q&a
TALKING SHOP A Q&A WITH FILLMORE RILEY MANAGING PARTNER GLEN R. PETERS
How has Fillmore Riley evolved over the last few years? The last few years have been characterized by measured, steady growth, with a focus on strengthening our regional presence and the scope and depth of our services. In addition to the continued growth of our traditional core strengths, such as banking, finance, tax, insurance and labour, we have established strength and depth in securities, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory, environmental, aboriginal, business immigration, alternative dispute resolution and other emerging practice areas. We responded to our clients’ need for national and international services by aligning with TAGLaw, a global alliance of quality, commerce-oriented law firms. We now truly offer a full-service, one-stop shop for our clients’ legal needs. As one of North America’s first ISO-certified law firms, we adopted a culture of continuous improvement long ago. This has greatly assisted our ability to react and adapt to our clients’ needs and has translated into better service offerings and savings for our clients. What makes Fillmore Riley different from other law firms? Our clients tell us our approach differentiates us from other firms. Our lawyers treat our clients with respect and take a direct, pragmatic approach to files. We make an effort to understand our clients’ business goals and needs and then to work with them as a part of their team. This team approach also greatly assists and fosters the continued growth of our agency relationships with national and international firms. Our clients know and expect that they will be well taken care of and will receive prompt responses from their lawyers from start to finish. How do you balance your roles as Fillmore Riley’s managing partner and a practising commercial lawyer? I find the two roles give me a unique perspective in that I am a practising lawyer but I am also managing the firm and make business decisions on a daily basis. This provides me with first-hand knowledge of the challenges businesses face in the current economic environment and assists me in offering practical, results- oriented advice to our clients. What does the firm’s future look like? It looks very bright. As always, our clients come first and we will continue our tradition of exceptional client service. We will look for opportunities to grow and develop our role as a full-service, regional firm, continuing to offer our clients leading-edge, relevant legal solutions. No one knows for certain what the professional services playing field will look like down the road, but I am very confident that our people and our models and systems will allow us to adapt quickly and successfully to our clients’ evolving needs and expectations.
GLEN R. PETERS AT A GLANCE: EDUCATION: University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Laws, 1985 NUMBER OF YEARS WITH FILLMORE RILEY: 29 COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Member, Board of Directors, CancerCare Manitoba Foundation; Member, Board of Governors, St. Charles Country Club; Member, Major Donor Cabinet, United Way of Winnipeg (Founded in Manitoba more than a century ago, Fillmore Riley LLP is a premier, full- service law firm based in Winnipeg. With a team of lawyers, paralegals and support staff more than 130 strong, Fillmore Riley brings a pragmatic, action-oriented approach to help clients solve any legal challenge in over 20 practice areas.)
BIZ ’peg MAY 2014 18 |
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