Stewart McKelvey

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an advanced optical device manufacturing company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stewart McKelvey?

We worked with Stewart McKelvey on a corporate fundraising project. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started working with Stewart McKelvey when we needed to conduct a financing campaign for our company. They specifically provided legal corporate services, acting as our counsel for the financing round.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from their team composed of one main counsel and two associates. 

How did you come to work with Stewart McKelvey?

Stewart McKelvey was recommended to us by a business associate.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $75,000 CAD (approximately $60,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from March–September 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We successfully completed the project, and the documentation around it was also completed well. Overall, Stewart McKelvey completed the job. 

How did Stewart McKelvey perform from a project management standpoint?

There was room for improvement in terms of their project management. I wasn’t always sure what Stewart McKelvey was working on, so I had to ask for updates frequently. Moreover, they weren’t inexpensive, so it was costing me money to reach out to them for updates. To communicate, we used emails, phone calls, and video calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Stewart McKelvey has high-quality attorneys, and working with them was a pleasant experience. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Stewart McKelvey should improve their communication style. They could’ve let us know what they were working on and what we should be doing. Moreover, I wasn’t provided an agenda until the end of the project when it should have been done at the start of the project. As a result, we ran into some high costs associated with that work. Better project management could’ve helped solve this issue. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get quotes ahead of time and make sure the quotes are being adhered to — make Stewart McKelvey provide basic management services ahead of time. In other words, hold them accountable for practicing good project management.