Terra Law adds bench strength

A month after opening its doors, Terra Law Corporation has added four talented lawyers to its ranks, doubling the size of its legal team.

Vancouver, B.C. — Within the past month, Terra Law Corporation (www.terralawcorp.ca) has doubled the size of its legal staff to eight, welcoming Greg Fabbro, Natalie Garton, Jonathan Carter and Gillian Piggott. The four additional lawyers add bench strength to the Terra Law team and bring experience in the firm’s key practice areas.

Glenn Leung, Russell Benson, Beverly Ellingson and Elizabeth Yip, veterans of Vancouver’s commercial real estate scene, left a leading national firm earlier this summer to set up Terra Law Corporation, a boutique law firm specifically designed to meet the needs of developers and other commercial real estate players. Terra Law advises clients on the purchase, sale and financing of all commercial real estate asset classes, commercial, residential and mixed-use development, leasing, joint venture/partnership structuring, hotels and hospitality, municipal law and energy and infrastructure projects. The firm opened its doors on July 8, 2013.

“The real estate market remains healthy in virtually every segment, and demand for our services from existing and new clients has been strong.” said Leung. Benson added “To provide the first class service and responsiveness we are known for, we needed to add some depth. We’re very lucky to have these young, talented lawyers join us”.

Fabbro has practiced for 11 years in all areas of real estate law. He was enthusiastic about his move from a large firm to a smaller, more entrepreneurial office setting. “The fact that I get to work with leading real estate players in our market is icing on the cake.”

Garton, a transactional lawyer with significant development and leasing experience, was looking for a way to balance her practice and the needs of her young family: “Terra Law offers me an arrangement that fits my needs perfectly. The expectations are manageable, and I’m more productive than ever.”

The addition of younger associates Carter and Piggott increases Terra Law’s depth and enhances its ability to deliver service efficiently and cost effectively. They both saw excellent career opportunities when they decided to join the new firm. “You can’t beat the level of the work available here – our clients are involved in plenty of interesting and complex matters so there’s always something new to learn” said Carter. Piggott noted “We get great mentoring from the senior lawyers who really take a personal interest in our development.”

While additional legal staff may well be added in the future, those decisions will be made strategically because the owners are not interested in seeing Terra Law grow too large. As Ellingson put it: “Ultimately, our growth will depend on our clients’ needs, but we will ensure that it is calculated and strategic.” According to Yip “After our first month in business, I can confidently say that everything is going very much the way we hoped it would, and we could not be more pleased.”.