Practicing family law
By Chris Simon

Lawyer Patrick Duco, left, recently welcomed son Marc into his practice. Earlier this month, the father and son team changed the name of the practice to Duco and Duco.

Patrick Duco is preparing to pass the legal torch to his son.

After nearly 20 years of serving the Innisfil community from his Alcona office, Patrick welcomed his son Marc into the practice over a year ago. Marc, who has been practicing law since 2005, was excited to pair up with his father.

"We have mutual respect and trust, and shared values," said Patrick. "We have the same philosophy on how to treat people. That's what makes it work."

After working at a large Toronto firm for a year, Marc told his father about his decision to practice in Alcona during a trip to a Buffalo Bills football game. The two have always been closely bonded by sports. Patrick was Marc's hockey coach, and escorted him to early morning practices for several years.

The bond has held tight ever since, allowing the pair to work well together for the last year.

On the eve of the practice's 20th anniversary earlier this month, the transition began, with the business being officially renamed Duco and Duco.

Although Patrick has no plans to retire, he realized the importance of sharing responsibility for the business, helping groom Marc into a well known and respected lawyer. The confidence shown quickly paid off, said Patrick.

"After all these years of practicing, I have this enthusiasm and enjoy the work," he said.

"I know if (Marc's) seeing a client, I know how he's going to treat them. I have complete confidence. He's very conscientious in his work. We take pride in our work."

Marc says the pair, combined with their professional staff, create a fun and exciting office environment. Marc lives with Patrick in Woodbridge.

They commute together each day, but seeing each other and working together never become tedious or tiresome.

"Growing up, I was able to see what he would deal with people. It's a good profession to be connected with people. Growing up, we'd be going to hockey games together, we were so close, I was almost in the business growing up.

"I knew what the daily functions were like," he said. "Just spending so much time together (through hockey) ... had a big influence."

Marc decided to become a lawyer in university, after originally taking courses in urban planning development. His father never pressured Marc into law, and he soon found out why. Years of expenses and tedious studying were grueling, he said.

But Marc now knows he made the right decision.

"I didn't lean (into law) until my second or third year of university," he said. "I was taking courses unrelated to law, to get a broad spectrum of what was out there. Come third and fourth year, I (knew) this (was) the next step for me. It was being able to see what the profession was like through his eyes, and it was something I found interesting."

And Patrick couldn't be happier with his son's career choice.

"I didn't want to influence him. To me, it's important that you're happy in what you do in life," said Patrick. "I don't want him going into law if he's not going to enjoy it.

"It was important to follow his own path. As a parent, you have to let them follow their own way in life."

Patrick says the practice has been successful because he is constantly keeping upto date on new laws, attending seminars and working hard to meet client needs.

"We're always learning new things and constantly improving," he said. "If you don't enjoy your work, it becomes a job. This isn't a job."