Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate arm of Québec's largest pension fund, is transferring part of its legal team to the Toronto and Montreal offices of law firm Borden Ladner Gervais.
The move is part of a global legal services agreement that will transfer the management of Ivanhoé Cambridge’s Canadian shopping centres to BLG. According to a statement from the Toronto-based law firm, the new arrangements “go beyond the traditional provision of legal services and will offer an exclusive service to Ivanhoé Cambridge.”
Ivanhoé Cambridge announced in August it was turning over the operations of its Canadian shopping centres to JLL, the largest third-party retail property management company in North America.
"We are excited to partner with Ivanhoé Cambridge and JLL on this leading-edge legal offering, offering support to shopping centre operations, supported by streamlined commercial leasing management and integrated services,” said John Murphy, national managing partner and CEO of BLG, in a statement.
Ivanhoé Cambridge will be joining BLG Beyond, a division offering alternative legal services that BLG launched in January, according to the statement.
"Beyond Leasing has been using a national portfolio approach to manage legal services in the leasing industry," said Nicole St-Louis, national leader of BLG Beyond, in the statement. "Innovation and a focus on process underpins everything we do at BLG Beyond and we are pleased to see the evolution of legal services in action."