Donald J. Johnston, Roy L. Heenan and Peter M. Blaikie decided to join forces. The firm of Johnston, Heenan, Blaikie opened its doors in Montreal.

From the outset, the firm experienced sustained and healthy growth. It would soon be joined by a number of lawyers who were destined for major roles in the worlds of law, politics and business. One trend that became evident early on has endured over the years: the team, built up gradually, has remained united and continues to demonstrate exceptional stability.

Donald J. Johnston decided to enter the political arena; this led the firm to adopt the name it bears today. Mr. Johnston became Member of Parliament for Westmount and later held various posts in the Trudeau cabinet, including President of the Treasury Board, and Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Canada. He returned to the firm in 1988 as an adviser and became president of the Liberal Party of Canada in 1990. Mr. Johnston left the firm again in 1996 upon his appointment as secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The firm made its first foray outside Quebec when Norman Bacal—now the firm’s co-managing partner with Guy Tremblay— left for Toronto and set up a bridgehead there. At a time when alliances between lawyers from different provinces were still very new, Heenan Blaikie became one of the few firms with outposts in Canada’s two largest cities.

Mr. Bacal drew talented lawyers who shared his passion for business and law. The initiative succeeded: our Toronto office is now one of the city's leading team of legal talent.

Peter A. Gall joined the firm to establish our presence in Vancouver. A few months later, Arthur Evrensel left the Montreal office to lend him a hand. Heenan Blaikie was the first to become a truly “national” law firm.

With their joint efforts, Mr. Gall and Mr. Evrensel succeeded in laying the foundations for a strong team in Vancouver, which constantly demonstrates its dynamism.

Thanks to the efforts of André Roy, now a Quebec Superior Court judge, we established a presence in Trois-Rivières.

Marcel Aubut, a key business personality and emblematic figure in the world of sports, announced that his law office, Aubut Chabot of Quebec City, was joining us to become Heenan Blaikie Aubut, an integral part of Heenan Blaikie LLP. Since then, our clients have been able to rely on the services of a number of well established lawyers in La Vieille Capitale.

The same year, Danielle Gauthier founded our Sherbrooke office. She was joined a year later by Hubert Pépin, who was well known in the Sherbrooke area after practising law there for 30 years. Together they quickly built up a great team.

Two new offices were created this year. Following in the footsteps of their colleagues Bacal and Evrensel, Guy Dufort and E. Joy Noonan left the Montreal and Toronto offices, respectively, to establish a presence in Ottawa.

We also set up an office in Kelowna, helping extend the activities of our Vancouver office.

Our history continues, but with a new angle reflecting more and more the international scope of our activities. The Honourable Donald J. Johnston, a pioneer of the firm, comes back to the team that he had created. This is the most recent milestone in a brilliant career that led him to the highest position in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, a position that he occupied for a decade.

Our Victoria office succeeds our Kelowna office, thus creating a core group in the provincial capital, operating in symbiosis with our Vancouver team.

Heenan Blaikie is proud to be named one of the 50 “Best Workplaces in Canada” by Canadian Business magazine. This honour is a tribute to our 1,000 lawyers, managers and employees, who are driven by a shared energy, passion for work, and commitment toward our clients.

The firm’s constant growth is marked by two special achievements. In July, the Honourable Michel Bastarache, C.C., who had been a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada for over a decade, joined our litigation team. And in December, our ranks grew with the addition of the lawyers and trade-mark and patent agents who then made up the boutique intellectual property firm named after its founder, Ivor M. Hughes.