Heenan Blaikie

Last updated
Heenan Blaikie LLP
Type Limited liability partnership
Industry Law firm
Founded1973
Defunct2014
Headquarters Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Services Legal advice
Website heenanblaikie.com

Heenan Blaikie LLP is a defunct Canadian law firm. It practiced in the areas of business, labour and employment, litigation, taxation, entertainment law and intellectual property law. [1] The firm was founded in 1973 by Roy Heenan, Donald Johnston, and Peter Blaikie. [2]

Contents

Based in Montreal, at one time the firm had over 500 lawyers at offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Paris, [3] [4] with a representative office in Singapore [1] [2] [5] and a satellite office in Los Angeles. As of February 2011, it was the sixth largest law firm in Canada. [5] It became the largest law firm to close in Canadian history after its partners voted to dissolve the firm on February 5, 2014. [6] [7] The firm closed on February 28, 2014. [8]

History

The firm was founded in 1973 by Roy Heenan, Donald Johnston, and Peter Blaikie as Johnston Heenan Blaikie. [2] [7] After Johnston left to become a Member of Parliament in 1978, the firm was renamed Heenan Blaikie.

The firm was one of the first to expand across Canada in the 1970s, helping pioneer the concept of national law firms. [6] It also established a reputation as the landing ground for former Prime Ministers: both Jean Chrétien and Pierre Trudeau joined the firm after their respective political careers ended. [6] [7]

The firm had billings of $222 million and a profit of $75 million for 2013, its last full year of operation. [9]

Closure

At one point the home of over 500 lawyers, the firm began to suffer financial trouble in 2013. Hurt by falling revenues from a drop-off in business from resource companies, [10] the opening of a Paris office at a time the economy was struggling there, [6] and the end of several major cases at the same time, [11] the firm announced a drop in income per partner of 10 to 15 percent. The managing partners suggested two options, either a major downsizing of the firm, or a restructuring that could split up the Montreal and Toronto offices. One week later, the firm faced a rash of defections, with nearly 30 senior partners exiting for more profitable firms. [12]

While the firm was still profitable, Heenan suggested the loss of trust as the problem as the firm was recently torn apart by "infighting and clashing visions". After Heenan retired as chairman in 2012, a successor was not chosen to keep the firm unified and tensions between the Montreal and Toronto offices grew. [13]

The firm's partners voted on February 5, 2014, to start the orderly dissolution of the firm. It was the largest law firm dissolution in Canadian history, surpassing the previous record set by Goodman and Carr in 2007. [6] On February 28, 2014, the firm closed, leaving a skeleton crew of support staff to wind down the firm's operations over the next few months. [8]

Work

At the international level, Heenan Blaikie was counsel to the Canadian Employers Council, an organisation that represents Canadian employers at the International Labour Organization (ILO). Heenan Blaikie was also the Canadian member of the National Workers' Compensation Defense Network (NWCDN), an organization of independent law firms in the United States and Canada with an established workers' compensation practice and experience in defending employers and insurance companies in workers' compensation and related actions.

In addition to its European and Asian presence, its Paris office served as a foray into the African market. [3] However, the firm's activities in Africa garnered controversy, as its endeavours there included a working relationship with Ari Ben-Menashe, from whom the firm tried to distance itself. [14] [15] According to Jean-Francois Mercadier, "partners started to lose any kind of faith in the management of the firm", which resulted in the company's collapse. [16]

Past notable lawyers and alumni

Related Research Articles

Pierre Trudeau 15th prime minister of Canada (1968–1979; 1980–1984)

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. He also briefly served as the leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1980. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1968 to 1984.

Jean Chrétien 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003

Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.

Pierre-Marc Johnson 24th Premier of Quebec (1985)

Pierre-Marc Johnson, is a Canadian lawyer, physician and politician. He was the 24th premier of Quebec from October 3 to December 12, 1985, making him the province's shortest-serving premier, and the first Baby Boomer to hold the office.

Allan Rock Canadian politician

Allan Michael Rock is a Canadian lawyer, former politician, diplomat and university administrator. He was Canada's ambassador to the United Nations (2004–2006) and had previously served in the Cabinet of Jean Chrétien, most notably as Justice Minister (1993–1997) and Health Minister (1997–2002).

Don Johnston Canadian economist, lawyer and politician (1936–2022)

Donald James Johnston, was a Canadian lawyer, writer and politician who was Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 1996 to 2006. He was the first non-European to head that organization. From 1978 to 1988, Johnston was a Liberal Party member of the Canadian parliament and served in the cabinets of prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and John Turner. In addition, he was the president of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1990 to 1994. Johnston was an Officer of the Order of Canada, and an Officer of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour.

James Scott Peterson, is a Canadian former politician. He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1984 and again from 1988 to 2007 who represented the northern Toronto riding of Willowdale. He served in the cabinet of Jean Chrétien as Secretary of State and the cabinet of Paul Martin as Minister of International Trade.

Deborah Coyne Canadian politician

Deborah Margaret Ryland Coyne is a Canadian constitutional lawyer, professor, and author. She is the cousin of journalist Andrew Coyne and actress Susan Coyne, and the niece of former Bank of Canada governor James Elliott Coyne.

Martin Cauchon Canadian politician

Martin Cauchon, is a Canadian lawyer and politician in Quebec Canada. He is a former Liberal Cabinet Minister in the government of Jean Chrétien. He is married to Dorine Perron and together, they have three children : Charles, François and Catherine.

David Paul Smith, was a Canadian lawyer, politician and Senator.

Marcel Aubut

Marcel Aubut, is a Canadian lawyer, former president of the Canadian Olympic Committee and former president and Chief Executive Officer of the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a Board member of many businesses and organizations.

J. E. Michel Bastarache is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and retired puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada.

Peter Macfarlane Blaikie is a Canadian lawyer and a bilingual politician from Quebec and founder of Heenan Blaikie.

Roy Lacaud Heenan, was a Canadian labour lawyer, academic and art collector. He was a founding partner of the Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie.

The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, commonly called the Trudeau Foundation, is an independent and non-partisan Canadian charity, founded in 2001 by friends and family of former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

Lang Michener LLP was a Canadian full-service national law firm, once employing over 200 lawyers with offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Hong Kong. On January 1, 2011, Lang Michener and McMillan LLP combined, taking the name McMillan LLP.

McMillan LLP is a Canadian business law firm with offices in Canada and Hong Kong. The firm specializes in business law, financial services, commercial real estate, and natural resource law.

Russell Clayton Honey was a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Riverhurst, Saskatchewan and became a lawyer by career after studies at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Goodman and Carr was a Canadian law firm. It was established in 1965 when Wolfe Goodman and Donald Carr combined their practices. At its height, the firm was considered one of the largest tax and real estate boutique firms in the country, employing over 140 lawyers at one time. In 2007, following partner defections and failed talks to merge with the major international law firm Baker & Mackenzie, the firm, along with 85 lawyers, announced it would be closing. At the time, it was considered Canada's largest law firm failure, surpassing the previous record set by Holden Day Wilson LLP in 1996. That record was surpassed in 2014, when Heenan Blaikie voted to dissolve itself.

DWF Group Company

DWF is a global legal business headquartered in Manchester with 31 offices across the world. In March 2019, DWF was listed on the London Stock Exchange. With a £366m valuation and offer size of £95m, DWF became the UK’s largest listed law firm.

Suzanne Côté is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She was nominated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to replace retiring justice Louis LeBel. Before her appointment to the Supreme Court, she was a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP and previously Stikeman Elliott LLP in Montréal. She is the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court directly from private practice.

References

  1. 1 2 "Heenan Blakie LLP". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  2. 1 2 3 David J. Bilinsky (2009-09-08). "Simon Chester of Heenan Blaikie Answers 30 Questions". thoughtfullaw.com. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  3. 1 2 "Heenan Blaikie Gets 4 Norton Rose Partners". Law Times. Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 2011-01-17. Archived from the original on 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  4. ↑ Joanne Harris (2011-09-02). "Canada's Heenan Blaikie bulks up in Paris". Centaur Media plc. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  5. 1 2 Michael McKiernan (2011-02-27). "Largest law firms in Canada". Law Times. Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Archived from the original on 2011-11-04. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Mcfarland, Janet; Gray, Jeff (2014-02-05). "Storied law firm Heenan Blaikie sunk by a shifting legal landscape". The Globe and Mail . Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  7. 1 2 3 "Heenan Blaikie partners vote to wind up operations". Financial Post. February 5, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew (2014-02-27). "Heenan Blaikie closes its doors". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
  9. ↑ https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2014/02/08/how_the_heenan_blaikie_law_firm_collapsed.html [ bare URL ]
  10. ↑ "Canadian Law Firm Heenan Blaikie Plans Restructuring Amid Defections". The Wall Street Journal. February 3, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Bay Street watches as Heenan Blaikie tries to regroup". Canadian Lawyer Magazine. February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  12. ↑ "New Vancouver law firm rises from ashes of Heenan Blaikie". February 5, 2014.
  13. ↑ https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2014/02/08/how_the_heenan_blaikie_law_firm_collapsed.html [ bare URL ]
  14. ↑ Brian Hutchinson and Graeme Hamilton (2011-11-11). "The long reach of Ari Ben-Menashe". National Post. National Post/Postmedia Network Inc. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  15. ↑ Brian Hutchinson (2011-11-18). "The unbelievable life of Ari Ben-Menashe". National Post. National Post/Postmedia Network Inc. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  16. ↑ Hutchinson, Brian (2014-02-15). "How Heenan Blaikie's stunning collapse started with a rogue African arms deal | National Post". National Post. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  17. ↑ English, John (2009). Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Volume Two: 1968-2000 . Toronto: Random House. ISBN   9780676975246.
  18. ↑ "Jean Chrétien". CBC. 2009-07-13. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  19. ↑ "Michel Bastarache, C.C., Q.C. – CazaSaikaley" . Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  20. ↑ "Marcel Aubut heads 30-lawyer team moving to BCF from Heenan Blaikie". Financial Post.
  21. ↑ "Heenan Blaikie lawyer takes aim at replacing Bev Oda in Parliament". Precedent magazine. 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.