Hockey night in Ottawa

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Gowlings Grit
Hockey night in Ottawa
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP takes to the ice to benefit
charity and build camaraderie.
The players range in age from 22 to 66, and
represent the gamut of professional opportunities
found at the firm, from tech support to articling
student to associate to senior partner.
Team manager Scott Robertson (standing, right) of the Gowlings Grit,
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Ottawa
O
n a frigid Monday evening in mid-January, a
group of lawyers and staff from the Ottawa
office of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP met
at Scotiabank Place, home of the Ottawa
Senators. They weren’t there to negotiate a
player’s contract, or even to take in an NHL game from
the comfort of a corporate box. They were there in full
equipment to hit the ice, sticks in hand, in a game against
a client, the accounting firm Welch LLP.
The “Gowlings Grit” are excited to play on the Sens’
home ice, says Gina Cristello, the team manager, who
takes care of booking ice time, registering for tournaments, and informing team members of practices and
upcoming games. But her boss, John Harris, partner in the
firm’s High Tech Patent Group and team captain, admits:
“I find I don’t play as well at Scotiabank Place.”
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The Gowlings hockey team formed a couple of years ago simply because a group of
employees wanted to play hockey — first
against another firm, Ogilvy Renault, then by
participating in local tournaments. Participation and enthusiasm was so high, it became clear that the hockey team was a business development opportunity and a way to
bring employees throughout the Ottawa
office together. The team asked for and got
the full support and sponsorship of the firm’s
management committee.
About 20 to 25 players make up the full
roster on the Gowlings Grit, although a core
group of 16 come out to most practices and
games. The players range in age from 22 to
66, and represent the gamut of professional
opportunities found at the firm, from tech
support to articling student to associate to
senior partner.
“We coach by committee,” says team
organizer Scott Robertson, an associate in
the intellectual property department. “Anybody can play … and there is a very wide discrepancy in
terms of skill.” Robertson says the team considered joining an organized league, but decided not to, for fear it
would discourage less-skilled players from joining.
The Gowling Grit brings the firm definite business
advantages. The regular interaction among players from all
departments has led to cross-selling and the exchange of
information through what has become known as the
“Hockey Network,” an information exchange that
would not have taken place otherwise.
The team also breaks down certain barriers that are
often found in a big law firm. “It’s really good for the
young guys,” says Cristello. “They get to say ‘hi’ to the
senior lawyers in the hall. They drop by to see John … I
have to tell them he’s working,” she laughs.
“It’s a big equalizer,” confirms articling student Max
Binnie, describing the time fellow student Laura Snell
“throttled” a senior partner in a fight for the puck in a
pick-up game among players. “I kind of roughed him up
in the corner,” Snell admits with a smile, adding she
thought he was another student under the hockey mask.
“He was good about it. We all had a good laugh.”
Entering into local tournaments like the Corporate
Hockey Challenge has provided the team the opportunity to
play against clients, potential clients, and other law firms.
The Grit also arranges games with other organizations,
N AT I O N A L
March 2009
MIKE PINDER
By Alison Arnot
02-Profile:04-Profile
2/11/09
4:03 PM
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La soirée du hockey
à Ottawa
Gowlings découvre les aspects positifs du sport d’équipe.
D
MIKE PINDER
es avocats en uniforme de hockey
sillonnent la patinoire de la Place
Banque Scotia, le quartier général
des Sénateurs d’Ottawa. Leurs adversaires?
Des comptables, évidemment, du cabinet
Welch & Compagnie.
À l’origine, Gowlings avait formé son
équipe pour relever le défi d’affronter
leurs confrères d’Ogilvy Renault, il y a
quelques années, puis prendre part à des
tournois locaux.
Encourager l’activité physique, promouvoir l’esprit d’équipe, et profiter d’une
occasion de développer les affaires : toutes
les raisons étaient bonnes pour convaincre
la direction d’assurer le financement de
l’équipe. Les membres du cabinets sont
invités pour assister aux tournois et encourager leurs collègues.
L’équipe est formée de plus d’une vingtaine de joueurs âgés de 22 à 66 ans. En plus
du plaisir associé au jeu, l’interaction entre
joueurs issus de différents
départements a permis de
créer des liens impossible
autrement. Le jeu abat les
barrières hiérarchiques et
celles entre les générations,
ce qui profite à l’harmonie
qui règne dans la firme.
Les tournois locaux comme le Corporate Hockey
Challenge ont permis à l’équipe de jouer contre des
clients existants et potentiels, d’autres cabinets juridiques, des départements gouvernementaux et des firmes comptables.
Des articles promotionnels sont distribués durant ces événements, de même que
des rondelles de hockey comportant le logo
de l’équipe. Après le tournoi, les joueurs se
réunissent dans un pub local, une activité
toujours appréciée par les clients.
Les tournois permettent également
government departments, and accounting firms, like the match
at Scotiabank Place.
At these events, team members distribute promotional items
like pucks imprinted with the team logo. And the games are often
followed by drinks and a snack at a local pub, where members
can network and build business relationships. Cristello emails
notices of upcoming games to the entire firm, so anyone can
come out to watch and meet the players on the opposing team.
“Business cards are being exchanged,” Robertson confirms.
Harris enjoys the camaraderie these games produce.
“When playing against other law firms, it can get quite competitive,” he says. “There’s a different atmosphere when playing clients…. If the teams are lopsided, we’ll swap jerseys….
Mars 2009
d’amasser des fonds substantiels pour des
organismes locaux comme le Roger’s House,
un établissement pédiatrique de soins palliatifs. L’organisation d’un encan silencieux
est prévue cette année, ainsi qu’une vente
de pâtisseries à des fins caritatives.
L’équipe de hockey est même devenue
un bon argument de recrutement auprès
des nouveaux étudiants et avocats. N
— Yasmina El Jamaï
We’ll get together for drinks afterwards and try to figure out
what the score was.”
The tournaments also provide the firm with the opportunity to fundraise for local charities, like Roger’s House, a hospice for pediatric palliative care. Gowlings was the top
fundraiser in the 2007 Corporate Hockey Challenge and participated in a cheque presentation ceremony at Roger’s House.
The firm was beat out by client and hockey rival Accenture in
2008, even though the team raised more money than it had the
previous year.
“It all goes to a good cause,” says Robertson, who lists a
number of fundraisers planned for the coming season, including
a silent auction and bake sale. Last year’s bake sale raised $500,
which the firm matched. There’s even talk of a team calendar featuring a different player for each month. “I don’t know how successful that will be,” Robertson laughs.
The firm has not aligned itself with a specific charity, he
stresses, because of the politics surrounding which charity to
choose. “It was decided from the beginning to affiliate ourselves with a tournament, and whatever charity that tournament chooses, that’s what we’ll jump on board for.”
The hockey team has even become a recruitment tool, a
selling point in enticing potential new students and associates.
When asked whether there was truth to the rumour that he
chose Gowlings over other firms because of the hockey team,
Binnie smiles sheepishly. “That may have had something to do
with it,” he says. “It suggested something about the firm
atmosphere that I found appealing.” N
Alison Arnot is a freelance writer in Ottawa.
w w w. c b a . o r g
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