Top firm status 'a product of hard work and not resting on past success'

Brodie Lawson  02:37:56 

Welcome to Canadian Lawyer TV. I'm Brodie Lawson, today we are celebrating Canadian lawyers top personal injury boutiques for 2025 and I'm joined by Troy Lehman, partner at Oatley Vigmond LLP, the firm has once again been recognized among the top in the country for its trial work and commitment to client advocacy. Troy, thanks so much for being here. Thanks for having me. First off, congratulations to you and the whole team at Oatley Vigmond. What does it mean for the firm to be recognized once again as one of the top personal injury boutiques? 

Troy Lehman  02:38:30 

Well, to be recognized by your peers as one of the top personal injury boutiques in Canada is a huge honor. I came to olivigman about 20 years ago because of the firm's reputation for excellence, and I've been fortunate enough to work with outstanding trial lawyers at the firm, who continue to be at the top of the industry. So being recognized by one's peers, as I said, as a top firm, it's a product of hard work not resting on the firm's successes and taking cases to trial. And all of the partners at Oatley bigman are really proud and excited to to be recognized, and hope to continue to that pattern in the future. 

Brodie Lawson  02:39:15 

Your firm has earned a reputation for taking cases all the way to trial when necessary. Can you talk about how that trial experience sets you apart and how it benefits your clients? 

Troy Lehman  02:39:27 

Absolutely so you don't earn respect in this industry from insurers, from defense lawyers or from judges, without taking cases to trial, and even some hard ones. I did a trial against Oatly bigman when I was doing medical malpractice defense work about 20 years ago, and that was not an easy case, and I was hugely impressed by the firm's preparation, by their advocacy skills, by their innovation in the courtroom, which is different than what I saw in a lot of cases as a defense lawyer, and I witnessed all that firsthand, and it's why I came to the firm in the first place, because this is a firm that has resources to take cases to trial, compete with insurers, and you know, if necessary, spend hundreds of 1000s of dollars to get big cases ready for trial and to take on the risk in those cases, which is very real, as you know. And I think having that commitment to taking cases to trial really does benefit our clients, because insurers know that oldie Biggins affirm that that won't back down even in hard cases. 

Brodie Lawson  02:40:34 

You've had some significant wins in recent years. Is there one case or outcome that stands out to you as especially meaningful or precedent setting? 

Troy Lehman  02:40:45 

Well, for me, it would be a case called Little in sinton, and it stands out because it involved a child with a significant brain injury who needed to win what was a tough case to have a good life. And this is a case that was so challenging that the defense lawyer, who had about 40 years of experience at the time, did not offer much money because he and his client were convinced there'd be either no liability, liability or huge contributory negligence. So that the case involved a girl who's in grade eight on her last day of elementary school, and on the school bus that she was on. Other kids in prior years had developed a tradition where they jumped out of the back door of the school bus when they got home on the last day of school, and the bus driver had not reported it to the school over the years, but our client had been a bus Patroller. She knew it was against the rules, and she jumped out when the bus was still moving. So the defense figured that a juror would or a jury would find no liability on the bus company or 90% contributory negligence on this client, who knew better. But we did a number of focus groups and mustered evidence from a bunch of different sources, and we developed evidence and themes really centered around the need for adults to protect kids that resonated with a very jury, and we ultimately obtained a verdict of over $7 million which is the largest jury verdict for a child in Barrie, and 14 times higher than what the defense offered. And you know why the case stands out for me is this child's needs would not have come close to have been met with the defense offer, and the result that we achieved, which was with risk and lots of hard work, gave her enough money that she can live independently. And I know that because I visited her at her home since, and she's well cared for, and it's a case that makes me feel good, because we made a difference in a kid's life in such a big way.  

Brodie Lawson  02:42:48 

Yeah. That's one example of a case. But what types of personal injury cases does Oatly vigmont typically handle, and are there any trends in the kinds of cases you're seeing more of today? 

Troy Lehman  02:43:00 

Oatley Vigmond focuses on the most serious injury cases, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, serious orthopedic injuries and fatalities, in addition to motor vehicle cases and occupiers cases that just about all firms do, we also take on difficult product liability cases and medical malpractice cases that some firms avoid because of their challenges. And again, that's one of the reasons I joined the firm, because they they will take on difficult cases. In terms of trends, the second part of your question, I think, and I've been at this for about 25 years, I think the most significant trend that I've seen is that insurers seem to be increasingly resistant to pay really good settlement money unless they know the plaintiff is truly prepared for a trial. Back when I started, you could settle a case for fair money after the discoveries in many, many cases, but now you don't get the BEST OFFERS until the evidence is mustered, often with a trial date looming and with lawyers on the plaintiff side of the case with a history of doing trials. And that trend, which is real, I think, makes it even more important for seriously injured people to have lawyers acting for them with a reputation for taking cases to trial and doing well, and a firm like Oatly bigman that has the resources to take cases to trial. 

Brodie Lawson  02:44:32 

The strength of a firm often lies in its leadership. Can you share your thoughts on the current leadership team at Oatley bigman and what makes it so effective? 

Troy Lehman  02:44:42 

Absolutely. So Oatley Vigmond has always had great leadership, starting with our founding partners, Roger Oatley and Jim Vigmond, and they've been great mentors and examples to me and my other partners who've taken on more of a leadership role in the last decade at the firm. And I think the firm's leaders have been successful over the years because they don't take either success or leadership for granted. We think about leadership. We meet about it. We have retreats that are devoted to leadership. We bring in leadership consultants to think hard about what good leaders do. And so the leaders of the firm continue to example the firm's core values, which are integrity, excellence, innovation, compassion compassion and leadership. So the fact that leadership is one of those core values, I think, speaks to its importance within the firm. 

Brodie Lawson  02:45:37 

Troy, thank you so much for sharing those insights on the important work you and your team are doing on behalf of injured individuals. 

Troy Lehman  02:45:44 

Thanks again. And it's such a great honor to be recognized.  

Brodie Lawson  02:45:47 

Thank you, and congratulations again on that well deserved recognition and to our viewers, thanks so much for joining us. I'm Brodie Lawson, until next time.