Unpacked boxes are scattered about the offices and hallways, the file room has no files — nor cabinets to hold any — and though the new hardwood floors are firmly in place, an errant saw still lies on the ground. This was the scene at Walker West Longo LLP, a brand new property tax boutique at King and Jarvis, in March of this year when renovations were in full force.
The firm’s three founding partners — two from another property tax boutique, one from a large full-service firm — were brought together by the same desire: to create a firm that rejects internal competition. By collaborating, they believe they can make each other better lawyers, and thus more marketable in a narrow yet competitive field.
Two of the co-founders, Kenneth West and Jack Walker, started the new firm just after leaving a small property tax firm, Walker Poole Nixon LLP. The infighting, says West, had become too much to bear.
The philosophy of the new firm, then, would centre on teamwork. “That’s the concept I’ve always wanted to be involved in and that’s why I’m here,” says Walker, who’s already been practising law for 47 years, but has never felt so passionate about his work.
The two men did not, however, make the leap alone. They invited a third partner, Stephen Longo, who had been the resident property tax expert at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP for more than a decade. Unlike West and Walker, Longo is going from “as big as you can get, to just about as small as you can get.”
This begs the question: why leave? In part, he explains, because large firms often pay less attention to specialty practice areas like property tax. “There’s a tendency at the big firms to focus on the core areas, like commercial transactions, securities or big litigation,” says Longo. “So if you’re not doing one of those core practices, you can get lost in the shuffle.”
Take BLG: it has 300 lawyers in Toronto, but its property tax group consisted of, well, just Longo.
To improve as a lawyer, says Longo, it’s important to work with other people in your field, so everyone can challenge one another — an opportunity he didn’t have at BLG. In that sense, the camaraderie West and Walker want to cultivate at the new firm is more than idealism: it’s a smart way to build a practice.
“In boutiques you can bring like-minded people together,” says Longo. “It’s great to be part of a team now. It’s already been a lot of fun and it’s only been two weeks.”
Open house
Walker West Longo celebrated their new office with an open house on May 1st at 152 King Street East. Friends, family and members of the legal community gathered to tour the newly-renovated office featuring some fantastic original brick fireplaces and great views of King Street.
