A former member of St. Albert city council has assumed the position of chair of one of the country’s leading law firms. Kent Davidson was recently appointed chair of Miller Thomson, a Toronto-based law firm with offices across Canada.
Davidson, who sat on council from 1992 to 1995, and again from 1998 to 2001, said he’s worked with the firm for 13 years. His new position will require him to work with the company’s executive committee representing the company's different legal firms.
That means ensuring that several hundred staff members can do their jobs effectively and are professionally fulfilled, he said.
“I always had an interest in ensuring that we not only serve our clients but we do it in a way that is productive and that enables us to provide employment for our staff and managers,” he said. “I’ve taken that as a challenge for myself and I really quite enjoy working with clients and with lawyers.”
Miller Thomson employs 450 lawyers in 11 offices across the country, two of which are located in Edmonton and Calgary. It offers business, advocacy and personal law services to corporations, banks, businesses, governments and individuals.
Davidson first started with the company's Edmonton office in 2001, working as a lawyer in the firm’s commercial litigation and labour and unemployment law department. (He previously worked with another Edmonton-based law firm for 11 years, having moved to Alberta as a university student in the mid-’70s.)
He later became the managing partner of Miller Thomson’s Edmonton office, holding the position for six years before taking over management of both the Edmonton and Calgary offices in 2013.
“What’s attractive about the organization is that they have a tremendous national platform,” he said. “It’s an organization that came about through a series of mergers of sophisticated, well-established firms in a variety of cities across the country. They are all deeply-rooted in the communities in which we practice.”
While he also intends to continue his work as a lawyer, Davidson said he will now be required to travel across the country more often. But his home remains in St. Albert, he said.
