The social, cultural, infrastructure, environmental, and ecological needs of the North make growing a business a challenge.
With a deep commitment to reinvesting in our communities, Field Law is committed to the growth and development of Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon. Situated in downtown Yellowknife and regularly travelling across the North, our lawyers handle various complex matters for businesses, bands, governments, boards and tribunals.
Northern Businesses
Northern businesses want to maximize economic opportunities for the benefit of their youth and to secure the futures of their communities. With a good understanding of the culture and history that makes the North unique, Field Law knows how to support economic development while respecting culture, language and traditions.
Southern Businesses
Companies doing business, or wanting to access resources in the North, benefit from Field Law's comprehensive understanding of the culture and history that makes the region unique.
With a foot in each culture, we provide insights into what it takes to do business in the North and have experienced diverse people who live in the North. This team is supported by many southern Field Law lawyers and staff who have a passion for and regularly travel to the North.
Clients like that Field Law offers flexibility, versatility, and value for their dollar no matter where their business is based. These qualities are part of our culture. They allow us to understand our clients' business and adapt to their needs, customizing our service levels and staffing structures accordingly.
Our team of experienced lawyers provides extensive services and governance advice across Northern Canada in areas that include:
We take pride in collaborative personal relationships and deliver value through strategic, relevant solutions.
Please contact Ayanna Ferdinand Catlyn or any of our Northern team for an initial consultation (free of charge) to answer your questions about growing your business in the North.
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Getting to the heart of a matter
A privately-held Indigenous development corporation in Western Canada wasn't happy with a complex joint venture into which it had entered with a US conglomerate and wanted formal resolution. Jack Williams, from our Yellowknife office, talked with both sides and assessed the work flow and the relationship issues. "In collaboration with our client, I figured out a way for the minority shareholder to sell their shares and part with the company amicably." Based on a valuation of the joint venture, the parties negotiated and agreed to split up the assets. "My clients took its share of the assets and moved forward." The file was essentially an issue of relationship management.
Understanding our client's business
A multi-million dollar construction contractor was in distress when it sought Jack Williams's help. "It was over budget on several major jobs in Western Canada." As a team, Jack and his client assessed what to fix and how to proceed. That included restructuring a major contract, selling redundant assets and restructuring bank terms and security. "In addition, the client switched banks, renegotiated terms on other contracts, strengthened its governance and put financial management controls in place."
Drafting easement agreements in the North
Teresa Tomkinson worked with a large commercial developer in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Her client needed to prepare various easements for access, use and utilities, which would affect multiple properties. The Northern climate impacts the way infrastructure is developed, which poses complications for the drafting of easements. For example, permafrost means that utilities are not run underground in many areas - but rather above-ground - which can impact development. The statutory legislation in the Northern territories is applied differently than in other provinces, and the Registrar in the North requires different procedures in how easement agreements are drafted and registered. Teresa and her team engaged legal counsel in the North and worked very closely with the Registrar to understand the procedure, and then successfully drafted the easement agreements.