Gowlings

Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP (Gowlings) was a leading Canadian and international law firm, with over 700 legal professionals in 10 offices across Canada and in London, Moscow and Beijing. The firm offered full-service legal support in all major aspects of business law, advocacy/litigation and intellectual property law, with expertise in dozens of practice areas and industries.

On July 8, 2015, Gowlings announced that they would amalgamate with UK firm Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co to create a new international law firm called Gowling WLG.^[1] The new firm launched in February 2016.^[2]

History

Gowlings traces its origins to the firm Henderson & McVeity, which was founded in Ottawa in 1887.^[3][4] 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.^[5] 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 and Toronto.^[6] The firm eventually adopted the simple brand name "Gowlings" (which had long been in informal use).^[7]

Milestones

1970 - The firm assumes the name Gowling and Henderson (after founders Gordon Gowling and Gordon F. Henderson) in Ottawa
1980 - Gowling and Henderson opens a Toronto office
1986 - Gowlings merges with Simmers, Harper and Jenkins in Waterloo
1987 - Gowlings celebrates 100 years as a law firm
1989 - Gowlings merges with the Toronto firm Strathy, Archibald & Seagram to form Gowling, Strathy & Henderson
1992 - Gowlings opens an office in Moscow serving Russia, the CIS and the Baltic states
1994 - Gowlings opens an office in Vancouver
1995 - Gowlings opens an office in Hamilton
2000 - Gowlings opens an office in Calgary through a merger with Code Hunter
2000 - Gowlings merges with Lafleur Brown of Montréal, and Montpellier McKeen Varabioff Talbot and Giuffre of Vancouver, to become Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
2001 - Gowlings merges with Calgary-based Ballem MacInnes LLP
2001 - Gowlings merges with Smith Lyons LLP, enhancing the firm's IP and business law capabilities, and positioning Gowlings as the second-largest law firm in Canada
2008 - Gowlings establishes new corporate governance model with an Executive Committee and Board of Trustees
2008 - Gowlings opens an office in London, U.K.
2011 - Gowlings opens a representative office in Beijing, China through Gowlings International Inc.
2015 - Gowlings announces that it is joining forces with Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co to create a new international law firm, Gowling WLG, set to launch in 2016

Notable (past and present) firm members

• Leonard Walter Brockington (1888–1966). Founding chairman of the CBC, 1936-1939^[8]
• Gordon F. Henderson (1912–1993). President of the Canadian Bar Association, 1979–1980;^[9] Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, 1991-1993^[10]
• Roy McMurtry (1932- ). Attorney-General of Ontario, 1975–1985 and Chief Justice of Ontario, 1996-2007^[11]
• Ray Hnatyshyn (1934–2002). 24th Governor-General of Canada, 1990-1995^[12]
• Ian Scott (1934–2006). Attorney-General of Ontario, 1985-1990^[13]
• Donald Mazankowski (1935- ). Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, 1986-1993^[14]
• Martin Cauchon (1962- ). Minister of Justice (Canada) and Attorney General of Canada, 2002–2003 ; Minister of National Revenue (Canada), 1999-2002^[15]
• Lawrence Cannon (1947- ). Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada), 2006-2008 and Stephen Harper's former Quebec lieutenant^[16][17]

References