Read examples of results achieved for our clients.
Aggressive Litigators when Appropriate
The result: Our client obtained the results it was looking for without the legal and other costs that would have been incurred in a lengthy jury trial.
We were retained to assist a municipal organization whose top executive had been suspected of misappropriating funds. We guided our client through a complex investigation process which ultimately led to the dismissal of the executive for cause when the executive refused to admit to the misappropriation. The dismissal led to multiple lawsuits as well as a professional ethics complaint and our firm vigorously defended our client’s position that there had been a breach of fiduciary obligations and a misappropriation of funds. After an aggressive pursuit of our client’s interests through examinations for discovery, we were able to recommend a mediation process which ultimately addressed our client’s concerns and resolved matters. Our client needed our firm to be aggressive in pursuing its interests to maintain its reputation but also strategic in our advice which ultimately allowed them to obtain the desired results through a less adversarial process.
Multiple Forum Litigation
The result: A human rights case was deferred with the issues raised in it to be resolved in Court.
Our client was subjected to a court action and a concurrent human rights proceeding by a terminated employee. Faced with litigation over the termination in two forums, our client required strategic advice. In consultation with the client, we determined that it was in the client’s best interest to seek to have the issues determined by a court of law rather than a human rights tribunal. We made written submissions on our client’s behalf that convinced the human rights tribunal to defer hearing the case. The issues arising from the termination will now be resolved in our client’s preferred forum, a court of law.
Results Focused
The result: A reassessment of our client’s WSIB account, and significant cost-savings applied retroactively and on a go-forward basis.
Our client, contacted us to challenge the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s reclassification decision, which resulted from a random WSIB audit conducted at their location. The audit reclassified most of this employer’s business activities as construction-related activities. This reclassification resulted in an obligation to remit premiums for workers at a significantly higher rate than previously required under this employer’s former WSIB rate group.
After gaining a thorough understanding of the client’s operations, we provided advice and recommendations which included restructuring the employer’s business activities and properly segregating the company’s payroll to realize immediate cost savings through existing, multiple rate groups. We then successfully advocated that the WSIB reconsider the reclassification decision to allow the employer to report most of its payroll at a lower premium rate.
Trusted and Strategic Business Advisors
The result: Relying on our advice, the corporate merger of a unionized and a non-union business leads to the creation of a union free workplace.
The owners of our client, a federally regulated unionized transportation company, purchased a non-union federal transportation business. Initially, the owners wanted to operate the two businesses completely separately. However, over time, it became apparent that the two businesses could be operated more efficiently and profitably if certain assets and resources were shared. This optimal business strategy was not going to be achievable, however, as long as one group of drivers were unionized and the others weren’t.
We identified for the client a strategy and approach for resolving the labour relations issues and clearing the way for the business merger. Acting on our recommendation, both companies announced that they would be moving forward with a full integration of operations in order to achieve greater business efficiencies and economies of scale. This, as expected, caused the union to initiate sale of business proceedings under the Canada Labour Code seeking to impose unionization on the non-union drivers. In response, we asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to exercise its’ power to order a representation vote of all of the drivers in the merged businesses.
As expected, the Board accepted our request and a vote was ordered. We then proceeded to prepare and deliver a pre-vote employee information campaign in consultation with our client. At the end of the day, the merged group of employees rejected the union and all of our client’s business and labour relations objectives were achieved.