Lawyer Monthly - October 2021 Edition

OCT 2021 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM the synergies were immediately apparent in that the breadth of experience among the attorneys and expertise that is complementary and provides an opportunity to expand both firms’ practice areas. What legal and logistical considerations did you need to take into account when you decided to link your practices? Because the collaboration is unique, we had to consider first how it would work and how we would refer to our collaboration from a branding perspective. We ultimately settled on a dual brand and the process is ongoing. Working together was actually more natural than explaining the collaboration. Did you encounter any major obstacles in the course of joining your firms? Just as we announced the collaboration in March 2020, the world shut down due to COVID-19. This presented a challenge to joining our firms because our lawyers were not able to work in close collaboration to understand and engage in brainstorming ideas as a team as well as they might have because of remote work. We also faced To begin with, please tell us a bit about the nature of your collaboration. How do Damian & Valori LLP and Culmo Trial Attorneys work alongside each other? Damian & Valori LLP, a business litigation law firm, and Culmo Trial Attorneys, a plaintiff’s personal injury law firm, joined forces to help victims of financial wrongdoing and those who have been victimised by the wrongful acts of others, leading to serious injury or death. The goal of the collaboration is to leverage Tom’s trial advocacy skills on the complex business cases and expand the services we can provide to our clients and referral sources. For example, Melanie’s sophisticated understanding of corporate management, finances and the internal workings of businesses from the Receivership practice provides a resource for Tom in his dealings with private corporations and potential fraud cases. At the same time, Tom’s thorough investigation skills and extensive trial experience help the firm in its preparation for mediations, depositions, and trial in complex business cases. In addition, the two firms leverage each of our extended networks to benefit each of our respective practice areas and develop MY LEGAL LIFE - MELANIE DAMIAN & TOM CULMO The Key to a Successful Collaboration Between Law Firms Founding a successful firm is a challenge for any lawyer, but joining that firm to another is an even greater feat. This month we have the pleasure of speaking with two attorneys who have managed both. Melanie Damian and Tom Culmo of Damian & Valori LLP | Culmo Trial Attorneys speak with us on how their firms came to collaborate, the challenges they faced along the way, and the advice they have to give other lawyers who are considering joining their firms. “ Because the collaboration is unique, we had to consider first how it would work and how we would refer to our collaboration from a branding perspective. ” a robust network, and that has helped expand and grow the law firm and better serve our clients. What brought your firms into contact, and what motivated you to collaborate in this way? For several years leading up to the official announcement of our collaboration, our two firms regularly worked together on a variety of matters. From referrals to co- counselling on important cases, we had been naturally collaborating for several years. While an unusual collaboration, 29