Levelling up lawyers in smaller communities
IN Partnership with
Stringam Law was built to serve the markets bigger firms ignore. Now, coming off three mergers in six months, lawyers across Western Canada are taking notice
More
"THEY'RE JUST like us, only bigger.”
That’s what the leadership at a British Columbia firm told their team when they announced they were joining Stringam Law. For CEO Kurt Schlachter, it’s the perfect tagline for what he’s trying to do.
“We’re just an operation with broader resources, not some
Stringam® Law is a regional law firm serving clients through our professional, tailored legal services. As a full-service law firm in Western Canada, they strive to always challenge the status quo by providing uncompromising solutions through innovative methods no matter how complex the case. They strive to offer compassionate yet assertive representation, treating every client like family.
Find out more
Stringam Law overview
Regional, multi-provincial law firm based in Lethbridge, Alberta
“We’re just an operation with broader resources, not some giant corporate conglomerate coming in from our suited ivory tower in the big city telling you how to be a lawyer”
Kurt Schlachter,
Stringam Law
giant corporate conglomerate coming in from our suited ivory tower in the big city telling you how to be a lawyer,” says Schlachter. “That’s the vibe we bring: we don’t want to get in your way; we want to level you up.”
Since Schlachter took the helm as full-time CEO in 2023, the Lethbridge-based firm has pursued an aggressive but measured expansion strategy. Stringam has built its identity around providing premium legal services in communities outside major hubs across Western Canada. It’s a unique business model in Canada, where regional, multi-provincial, and national firms exist but tend to cluster around the big centres of Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary. The BC firm merger is the latest and largest in a long line of like-minded firms.
“We want to be established in almost every corner of Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan at some point,” Schlachter explains. “We’re growing in a smart, sustainable way and finding the right firms to join us in doing so.”
A lot of room between big and small law The first half of 2026 alone illustrates the push, marking the firm’s most active M&A period to date. Stringam completed three mergers, bringing on firms in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, and Bonnyville, Alberta, as well as the BC firm. The latter added offices in Cranbrook, Kimberley, and Invermere in the East Kootenays.
Calling the BC merger “somewhat of a catalyst,” Schlachter plans to move further into the province and is already in conversation with other firms there. The geographic rationale makes sense given the extensive shared border between Alberta and BC. Albertans regularly own property in the East Kootenays, and residents of that area often cross the border
for commerce, while many business owners have connections in both provinces.
“It’s almost like a loop through that area,” says Schlachter, adding that practice area complementarity sealed the deal, along with the BC firm’s own need for support to grow.
Active conversations are also underway in Alberta and in Saskatchewan, though Schlachter’s experience has taught him the pace of these matters is hard to predict: some deals move fast while others are a slow burn, even when they seem like a slam dunk.
“We have to be pretty flexible in our approach,” he adds.
Schlachter anticipates another merger or two under the firm’s belt before year-end and expects 2027 to be another busy year as outreach continues.
The disconnect between big law and small law is Stringam’s wheelhouse. On one end of the spectrum sits what Schlachter calls the Seven Sisters environment, firms serving multinationals at a price point that reflects it. On the other are solo practitioners and small firms, often stretched thin. The mid-tier client – the individual navigating a real estate deal or divorce, the small business owner needing commercial guidance – frequently falls between them.
“We’ve figured out how to do that well, and it’s valuable and rewarding to be in that space,” says Schlachter. “We’re a community-based, grassroots law firm. We pride ourselves on providing that service.”
The network model enables something a solo or small firm cannot offer: internal referrals. A lawyer in a smaller community may not have a local employment specialist, but within Stringam that specialist exists somewhere in the firm. They take a “very team-based approach with files of any complexity,” Schlachter explains.
“Our clients are generally very happy with that. They don’t necessarily need their lawyer to be located right in the same
“You need to demonstrate that you’re planning to put down roots. Clients tend to look for that. They want to do business with people who are part of their community, which is something else we’re really good at.”
For lawyers at the other end of their careers, the conversation is about succession. Schlachter, who recently recorded a podcast on the topic and is set to speak on it further at the Canadian Legal Summit, calls it one of the sector’s most underestimated risks. Who takes over? What does the payout look like? What happens to clients and staff? It’s another weight easily lifted by Stringam, which provides a built-in buyer for the practice.
Operating this way wouldn’t be possible without the robust infrastructure behind the scenes. Three years ago, Stringam made what Schlachter calls a “big-ticket decision” to move everything to the cloud. It was a foundational call that made the distributed model viable and the risk relief real.
Dedicated internal IT support is available to every lawyer in the firm wherever they are, and centralized HR, finance, and marketing resources mean the administrative weight that typically defines solo and small firm practice isn’t felt in the same way. Everyone who joins expresses the same thing: relief.
“The lawyering, the client service delivery – that’s where we want them focused, as excellent practitioners,” says Schlachter. “We also create space for them to participate significantly in the future direction of the firm, from our board and committees to other leadership roles. That keeps everyone focused and connected around the vision and what we’re actually trying to achieve.”
The culture that underpins all of it is, by design, flexible. From the hours to where business takes place, Stringam trusts its people to deliver on their own terms.
“We’re serious about our work and our responsibilities, but we’re not stuffy,” says Schlachter, noting that he spent a good chunk of the summer working lakeside, and many other lawyers opted for a similar change of scenery.
Published October 19, 2026
Share
“We take that whole element of risk and fear away. It’s no longer their responsibility to worry about. It’s handled – they just need to make sure the clients are looked after”
Kurt Schlachter,
Stringam Law
Three mergers completed in the first half of 2026
Expansion footprint
Offices across Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan
New locations: Cranbrook, Kimberley, Invermere (BC); Kindersley (SK); Bonnyville (AB)
community with them; they just want to know that their needs are being looked after by someone they trust.”
What keeps small firms up at night? Stringam is also adept at communicating the value proposition for the lawyers coming on board. Along with administrative relief, joining forces alleviates other pressures. Data shows there’s a much higher risk profile for solo practitioners and small firms such as elevated rates of addiction, disciplinary matters, regulatory trouble, cyberattacks, and fraud.
Schlachter speaks at law firm management conferences on the subject, which he describes as the defining challenge for the sector. He frames it this way: what keeps you up at night? Is it compliance, performance management, technology concerns, billing?
“We take that whole element of risk and fear away,” says Schlachter. “It’s no longer their responsibility to worry about. It’s handled – they just need to make sure the clients are looked after, which for the vast majority of people who join us is what they really enjoy and want to focus on.”
For young lawyers, Stringam makes the case directly at law schools: you can go home again. The difficult choice between big law in a big city and a small-town firm is not the hard-line decision it once was.
“You can go back to your smaller centre if that’s where you’re from, and you don’t necessarily have to compromise the quality of your career,” explains Schlachter, who is actively recruiting up-and-coming litigation lawyers to meet rising demand in BC. Success in smaller centres hinges on “getting the right people who want to actually be there and want to stay put.”
“We accommodate without being rigid. So long as they’re getting their work done, we’re happy.”
The vision and mission continues For lawyers across Western Canada whose interest may be piqued, Stringam’s door is open: Schlachter wants to hear from you. With a clear sense of where he’s taking the firm – though he remains flexible on the timeline – the main message is straightforward.
“We’re really excited about our momentum, where we’re at, and what we’ve achieved in the three and a half years since we really dialled into this vision,” says Schlachter. “Stringam’s mission continues.”