Fraser Milner Casgrain
As of March 28, 2013, Fraser Milner Casgrain combined with Salans and SNR Denton to form Dentons.
Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC) was a Canadian business, litigation, and a tax law firm. With more than 560 lawyers (175 litigators), it was the sixth largest law firm in Canada as well as the largest law firm in Western Canada.[1] Until 1984, FMC was a fully integrated national partnership with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. In 1985, Fraser Milner Casgrain (then known as Fraser and Beatty) underwent a major administration change. Terrence Young was appointed as chief executive officer, and he initiated FMC's expansion into Hong Kong, making FMC a multi-national law firm.[2] Young served as CEO for 13 years, until the 1998 merger between Fraser and Beatty and Alberta-based law firm Milner Fenerty.[3] On November 8, 2012, it was announced that FMC would combine with international law firms SNR Denton and Salans to form Dentons.[4] FMC's most recent CEO before its second merger was Michel Brunet. He was appointed as CEO in 2006 and previously served as Managing Partner of the FMC Montreal office.
Type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Law |
Founded | 1839 |
Headquarters | Canada with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver |
Website | www.fmc-law.com |
History
For more than 170 years, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC) grew organically and through mergers, the most notable being the 1998 merger between Fraser & Beatty (a Bay Street firm) and Milner Fenerty, to form Fraser Milner and its subsequent merger with Montreal-based Byers Casgrain in 2000 to form Fraser Milner Casgrain. The following list of dates can be found on FMC's website:[5]
- 1839 — John Willoughby Crawford opens his law office in Toronto, the earliest predecessor of Fraser & Beatty.
- 1916 — George Hobson Steer joins the Edmonton law firm of Rutherford, Jamieson & Grant, a predecessor of Milner Fenerty, and the firm is renamed Rutherford, Jamieson, Grant & Steer.
- 1920 — Crombie, Worrell & Gwynne, Barristers, Solicitors, Notaries, a predecessor of Fraser & Beatty, becomes Worrell, Gwynne & Beatty, Barristers, Solicitors, Notaries.
- 1921 — Hyndman, Milner & Matheson, a predecessor of Milner Fenerty, becomes Hyndman, Milner, Matheson, Carr & Dafoe.
- 1945 — Milner, Steer, Poirier, Martland & Bowker, a predecessor of Milner Fenerty, becomes Milner, Steer, Dyde, Poirier, Martland & Bowker.
- 1980 — J. Donald Mawhinney, Q.C. and Howard J. Kellough, Q.C. establish Mawhinney & Kellough in Vancouver.
- 1985 — Terrence Young is appointed as CEO and he expands FMC's offices into Hong Kong.
- 1989 — The Supreme Court of Canada rules that national law firms are allowed to do business in Canada, a ruling that would set the stage for the union of Fraser & Beatty with Mawhinney & Kellough, and later with Milner Fenerty and Byers Casgrain. The case was one of the earliest to deal with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
- 1990 — Fraser & Beatty, Barristers & Solicitors, with offices in Toronto and Ottawa, merges with Mawhinney & Kellough in Vancouver under the name Fraser & Beatty. When Fraser & Beatty merged with Mawhinney & Kellough, it was one of the first law firm mergers in Canada after the 1989 ruling.
- 1991 — Milner Steer joins Fenerty Robertson, becomes Milner Fenerty.
- 1998 — Fraser & Beatty and Alberta-based Milner Fenerty, becomes Fraser Milner.
- 2000 — On June 6, Fraser Milner, with offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver, merges with Byers Casgrain in Montréal to form Fraser Milner Casgrain.
- 2013 — On March 28, Fraser Milner Casgrain merges with SNR Denton and Salans to form Dentons.
References
- ""The 30 Largest Law Firms in Canada-2010"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
- "Fraser & Beatty, 1990". Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
- "Canada's Fraser & Beatty and Milner Fenerty merge". IFLR. 1998-09-30. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
- "Our combination history". Dentons. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
- Fraser Milner Casgrain