Heenan Blaikie

The firm was founded in 1973 by Roy Heenan, Donald Johnston, and Peter Blaikie as Johnston Heenan Blaikie. 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. 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.

The firm had billings of $222 million and a profit of $75 million for 2013, its last full year of operation.{{cite news | url=https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2014/02/08/how_the_heenan_blaikie_law_firm_collapsed.html | title=How the Heenan Blaikie law firm collapsed | newspaper=The Toronto Star | date=8 February 2014 }}

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,{{Cite news|title = Canadian Law Firm Heenan Blaikie Plans Restructuring Amid Defections|date = February 3, 2014|url = https://blogs.wsj.com/canadarealtime/2014/02/03/canadian-law-firm-heenan-blaikie-plans-restructuring-amid-defections/|newspaper = The Wall Street Journal}} the opening of a Paris office at a time the economy was struggling there, and the end of several major cases at the same time,{{Cite news|title = Bay Street watches as Heenan Blaikie tries to regroup|date = February 3, 2014|url = http://canadianlawyermag.com/legalfeeds/1916/bay-street-watches-as-heenan-blaikie-tries-to-regroup.html|newspaper = Canadian Lawyer Magazine|accessdate = February 6, 2014}} 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.{{Cite news|title = New Vancouver law firm rises from ashes of Heenan Blaikie|date = February 5, 2014|url = https://vancouversun.com/Vancouver+firm+rises+from+ashes+Heenan+Blaikie/9474264/story.html}}

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.

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. 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.

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. 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.{{cite news |title= The long reach of Ari Ben-Menashe |author= Brian Hutchinson and Graeme Hamilton | newspaper = National Post |publisher=National Post/Postmedia Network Inc |date=2011-11-11 |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/11/the-long-reach-of-ari-ben-menashe/ |accessdate=2011-11-21}}{{cite news |title= The unbelievable life of Ari Ben-Menashe |author= Brian Hutchinson | newspaper = National Post |publisher=National Post/Postmedia Network Inc |date=2011-11-18 |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/18/the-unbelievable-life-of-ari-ben-menashe/ |accessdate=2011-11-21}} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/how-heenan-blaikies-stunning-collapse-started-with-a-rogue-african-arms-deal|title=How Heenan Blaikie's stunning collapse started with a rogue African arms deal {{!}} National Post|last=Hutchinson|first=Brian|date=2014-02-15|website=National Post|language=en-CA|access-date=2020-02-11}}

• Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 15th Prime Minister of Canada{{cite book |last=English |first=John |year=2009 |title=Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Volume Two: 1968-2000 |location=Toronto |publisher=Random House |isbn=9780676975246 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/citizenofworldth00john }}
• Jean Chrétien, 20th Prime Minister of Canada{{cite news |title= Jean Chrétien |publisher=CBC |date=2009-07-13 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/jean-chr%C3%A9tien-1.818014 |access-date=2011-11-18}}
• Michel Bastarache, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada; counsel with Caza Saikaley LLP in Ottawa, Ontario{{Cite web|url=http://www.plaideurs.ca/en/the-firm/michel-bastarache-c-c-q-c/|title=Michel Bastarache, C.C., Q.C. – CazaSaikaley|language=en-CA|access-date=2019-03-15|archive-date=2021-01-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124190840/http://www.plaideurs.ca/en/the-firm/michel-bastarache-c-c-q-c/|url-status=dead}}
• Clement Gascon, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
• Donald J. Johnston, co-founder of the firm; Secretary-General of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
• David Stratas, Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal
• Marcel Aubut, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee{{cite news |title=Marcel Aubut heads 30-lawyer team moving to BCF from Heenan Blaikie |url=https://business.financialpost.com/legal-post/marcel-aubut-heads-30-lawyer-team-moving-to-bcf-from-heenan-blaikie |newspaper=Financial Post|date=10 February 2014 |last1=Hasselback |first1=Drew }}
• André Bureau, chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission; chair of Astral Media
• Pierre-Marc Johnson, 24th Premier of Quebec
• Erin O'Toole, Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada); leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.{{cite news |title=Heenan Blaikie lawyer takes aim at replacing Bev Oda in Parliament |publisher= Precedent magazine |date=2011-07-05 |url=https://lawandstyle.ca/law/heenan-blaikie-lawyer-takes-aim-at-replacing-bev-oda-in-parliament/ |accessdate=2020-09-09}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://heenanblaikie.com/ Web site for Heenan Blaikie]

{{Law Firms of Quebec}}

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Category:Law firms established in 1973

Category:Companies based in Montreal

Category:Defunct law firms of Canada

Category:1973 establishments in Quebec

Category:2014 disestablishments in Quebec

Category:Law firms disestablished in 2014