THE AMPERSAND 
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Welcome to October. It has been an incredibly busy September for Pekarsky Stein. While successfully filling the WinSport General Counsel search, several HR related roles, and a high profile finance position, we found ourselves out and about at various community and business events.
After battling the elements golfing at the University of Calgary Chancellor’s Challenge as a proud Bronze Level sponsor, we traded in our spikes for Stilettos and Walked A Mile In Her Shoes raising $4,915 for the YWCA of Calgary as it works to break the cycle of family violence and help keep women and children safe. We will let you be the judge as to who has the best calves among the Pekarsky Stein Heel Hunters. A sincere thanks to all those who donated generously and cheered us on as we clumsily completed two laps of Olympic Plaza without falling into the reflection pool.
Once our heels healed we spent an enjoyable lunch with Managing Director of Google Canada Chris O’Neill at the Venture 250 luncheon. His talk provided the perfect segue to next month’s non-billable commitments, specifically a speech I’m giving on October 10th to the Alberta General Counsel Association about current trends in the marketplace. “Power used to come from controlling data” O’Neill remarked at one point during his talk, “now power comes from sharing it.” While my talk to the General Counsels is neither about power nor data, it is about the irrefutable fact that generational tensions are at the root of most of the hiring trends and retention challenges of the day.
The expectations of Gen X and Gen Y’rs, not only of their employers, but of themselves has created a huge volume of interesting articles and research, some of which I’ve included here. Later this week I will be moderating a panel in Lake Louise on the topic of whether rumours of Big Law’s death are greatly exaggerated and no doubt some of the conversation will revolve around the efforts to attract the best and brightest to a profession seen by some as in decline.
Finally, as part of my endless, selfless, and tireless efforts to market our firm, I concluded the month by dutifully spraying Pekarsky Stein golf balls up and down the Oregon coast during 3 memorable days in Bandon Dunes with my usual band of brothers and my actual brother, no less. Lest you think I’ve retired full time to the golf course and the speaking circuit, our PS team enters this quarter full of optimism about the market we’re a part of and the community we so enjoy serving. Keep those searches coming and happy harvest.
Regards,
Adam
This months articles:
– ‘I didn’t go to law school to become and academic.’ Future lawyers push for more practical skills
– Dentons in fresh merger talks with US outfit McKenna Long
– When e-discovery meets big data, can case analytics be far behind?
– Calgary teaching business skills to law students
– Opportunities and risk: Top Ontario regional firms
