Fraser Milner Casgrain
Encyclopedia
Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC) is one of Canada’s leading business & litigation law firms. With more than 520 lawyers (175 litigators) it is the sixth largest law firm in Canada as well as the largest law firm in Western Canada. FMC is a fully integrated national partnership with offices in Montreal
, Ottawa
, Toronto
, Edmonton
, Calgary
, and Vancouver
.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
.
History
For more than 170 years, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC) has grown organically and through mergers, the most notable being the 1998 merger between Fraser & Beatty and Calgary-based 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:- 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.
- 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.