Gowlings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP | |
|---|---|
| Type | Limited Liability Partnership (Private) |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Headquarters | Toronto and Ottawa |
| Industry | Law Firm |
| Products | Legal advice |
| Website | http://www.gowlings.com |
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Gowlings, is Canada's largest full-service law firm, with over 700 professionals practising in 9 cities in Canada and Russia. Recently a new office in London, United Kingdom was opened.[1]
Gowlings' current Chair and Chief Executive Officer is R. Scott Jolliffe.
Contents |
[edit] History
Gowlings traces its origins to the firm Henderson & McVeity, which was founded in Ottawa in 1887.[2] [3] As the firm grew over the next century, its name passed through numerous permutations, but three figures remained dominant: Gordon Gowling, George and Gordon Henderson.[4] In the 1980s, the firm expanded beyond its traditional Ottawa base, establishing offices in Toronto, Kitchener, and Moscow. Starting in the mid-1990s, Gowlings methodically solidified a national platform through a succession of mergers with other law firms in Vancouver, Hamilton, Calgary, Montréal, Toronto and Kanata[5]. In order to avoid certain complications created by the mergers, the firm officially adopted the simple brand name, "Gowlings" (which had long been in informal use).[6]
[edit] Practice areas
Gowlings is unique amongst large Canadian national law firms in that it originated in the nation's capital, rather than in the business centres of Toronto, Montreal or Calgary. Proximity to government accounts for the diversity[7] and non-transactional bias of Gowlings' legal specialties. While the practices of the so-called Seven Sisters firms are weighted predominantly towards Business law,[8] this is only one of the three pillars[9] (and on balance the weakest)[10] which constitute the core of Gowlings' practice. The other two are Advocacy and Intellectual Property law. Indeed, Gowlings' professionals have held an historic pre-eminence in the latter.[11] Other particular strengths include technology, international trade, environmental, energy, financial services, government relations and administrative law. [12][13]
[edit] Notable (past and present) members of the firm include:
- Taylor McVeity (1857-1951). Mayor of Ottawa, 1914
- Leonard Walter Brockington (1888-1966). Founding chairman of the CBC, 1936-1939[14]
- John Robert Cartwright (1895-1979). 12th Chief Justice of Canada, 1967-1970
- Gordon F. Henderson (1912-1993). President of the Canadian Bar Association, 1979-1980;[15] Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, 1991-1993[16]
- Gordon Gowling. President of the Canadian Bar Association, 1950-1951[17]
- Roy McMurtry (1932- ). Attorney-General of Ontario, 1975-1985 and Chief Justice of Ontario, 1996-2007 [18]
- Ray Hnatyshyn (1934-2002). 24th Governor-General of Canada, 1990-1995[19]
- Ian Scott (1934-2006). Attorney-General of Ontario, 1985-1990[20]
- Donald Mazankowski (1935- ). Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, 1986-1993[21]
- John Bishop Ballem (1946- ). Authority on oil and gas regulation and litigation[22]; novelist[23]
- R. Scott Jolliffe (1950- ). Intellectual property litigator and mediator[24][25]
- Richard Dearden (1953- ). International trade, media and defamation law specialist[26]
- Timothy S. Wach. International tax law expert; former tax policy officer with the Department of Finance (Canada)[27][28]
- Martin Cauchon (1962- ). Minister of Justice (Canada) and Attorney General of Canada, 2002-2003 ; Minister of National Revenue (Canada), 1999-2002[29]
[edit] References
- ^ The 30 Largest Law Firms in Canada (PDF). Lexpert Magazine (2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-04.Gowlings holds the top position, with 704 lawyers cited, while Borden Ladner Gervais LLP is listed as the second largest Canadian firm, with 703 lawyers.
- ^ Establishing a Business in Canada. Backgrounder. Gowlings bulletin. Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP (2004). Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ The predecessor firm of Henderson & McVeity was MacTavish and MacCracken, founded in 1877. George F. Henderson and MacCracken became partners in 1889. [Citation needed.]
- ^ Melnitzer, Julius (2001-05). "Can He Pull It Off? The Gowlings Gamble". Lexpert Magazine (May 2001): 72.
- ^ Pitts, Gordon. "Gowlings cements giant merger". The Globe and Mail (July 5, 2001): Canadian Business.
- ^ Macaulay, Ann. "By Any Other Name". Canadian Lawyer (November/ December 2000): 12.
- ^ Midddlemiss, Jim. "Law Firms Raise the Bar", National Post, 2006-11-01. Retrieved on 2007-02-08.
- ^ Black, John Alexander (2003-01). "The Seven Sisters". Lexpert Magazine (January 2003): 76-77.
- ^ Melnitzer, Julius (2001-05). "Can He Pull It Off? The Gowlings Gamble". Lexpert Magazine (May 2001): 76.
- ^ Corporate Work. The 2006 Who's Who in Canadian Law Firms. Lexpert Magazine (2006-01. Gowlings is cited as being "determined to break into the top tier" of corporate players. However, it should be noted that the firm does not qualify for inclusion in Lexpert's chart which rates the major business law firms in the important Toronto market, nor in Vancouver; while Gowlings is placed merely on the periphery of the Montreal and Calgary rankings. (See charts # 1, 3, 5 and 6.). Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ The Chambers Global Guide. Canada. Intellectual Property. Chambers & Partners. Retrieved on 2007-02-04.
- ^ Gowlings (profile). Lexpert Directory. Lexpert Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ Boxall (Mangaging editor), Fiona. Gowlings. Firm Overview. The Chambers Global Guide. Chambers & Partners, London, 2006. Page 431. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.
- ^ Brockington, Leonard (1954). St. George and Merrie England. The Empire Club of Canada Speeches 1953-1954. The Empire Club Foundation. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ CBA Past Presidents. Canadian Bar Association (2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ Past Chancellors of the University. Administration & Governance. University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ CBA Past Presidents. Canadian Bar Association (2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ McNish, Jacquie. "McMurtry's pro bono crusade", The Globe and Mail, 2007-06-05. Retrieved on 2007-06-08.
- ^ Hnatyshyn named Chancellor. Carleton University (2002). Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ Horgan, Mary Ann; Sine MacKinnon. "Justice deCarteret Cory, Ian Scott, and Mel Lastman to receive honorary degrees from York University", Media Release Archive, York University, 1997-05-30, pp. 1. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ Rt. Hon Donald F. Mazankowski. Forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ Melnitzer, Julius (2001-05). "Can He Pull It Off? The Gowlings Gamble". Lexpert Magazine: 74. "The Oil and Gas Lease in Canada by senior partner John Ballem, Q.C., is considered the definitive text in this practice area."
- ^ Ballem John Ballem. The Writer's Union of Canada. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ Canada: Patent. The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers. Who's Who Legal. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. Lexpert. Lexpert/ American Lawyer Media (2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. Lexpert. Lexpert/ American Lawyer Media (2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ DeCloet, Derek; Steven Chase, Sinclair Stewart (2005-10-11). All Eyes On Ottawa's Next Move. Globeadvisor.com. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ World Tax 2006. Canada Commentary. International Tax Review (2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ Bernstein, Hannah (2004-08-17). Martin Cauchon receives CBA SOGIC Ally Award. Canadian Bar Association. cba.org. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
