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| Company type | Limited liability partnership |
|---|---|
| Industry | Law |
| Founded | 1860 in Toronto |
| Headquarters | TD Bank Tower Toronto, Canada |
| Services | Legal services |
| Number of employees | c. 225 |
| Website | www.weirfoulds.com |
WeirFoulds LLP is a Canadian law firm based in Toronto, Ontario. The firm specializes in litigation, corporate, property and government law. It is one of Canada's oldest law firms.
History
In 1860, Theodore H. Spencer, LL.B., began his practice and opened the firm's first office at 20 Toronto Street, site of the Masonic Temple, built in 1858 by William Kaufman.
WeirFoulds is deeply rooted in Canadian history, stretching back to when Toronto became the industrial center of Ontario in the late 1800s. The firm was founded initially as Spencer and MacDonald in 1870. The firm is currently located in the Toronto-Dominion Bank Tower, at 66 Wellington Street West, in Toronto, Ontario.
In 1883, partner John Rose became the first of 13 lawyers from the firm to be appointed as a federal judge, in the court of Common Pleas. Eight of these judges were appointed to courts of appeal in Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada.
A number of other WeirFoulds partners became judges. These include former Ontario Chief Justice George Alexander Gale; former SCC justice Roy Kellock; former Ontario Court of Appeal justices John Arnup, who was also a treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada, James Carthy and Allan McNiece Austin; Canadian Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell (Canadian jurist); and Ontario Superior Court justices Joan Lax and Paul Perell.
In 1966, the firm prevailed in Leitch Gold Mines v. Texas Gulf, a dispute over vast mineral wealth. At the time, it was the longest civil trial in Commonwealth history. The firm's corporate practice represented the T. Eaton Company in 1920 to develop what was then the largest department store in Canada, beginning a long relationship with the company that lead the firm, in 1965, to act on its behalf to assemble the land for the Eaton Centre in Toronto, the largest urban redevelopment project in Canada at the time. In 2003, Derry Millar of the firm was appointed lead counsel in the Ipperwash Inquiry concerning the events surrounding the death of Dudley George who died in 1995 during a First Nations protest at Ipperwash Provincial Park, see Ipperwash Crisis.
The current co-managing partners of WeirFoulds are Denise Baker and Wayne Egan. The current executive partner (and previous managing partner), Lisa Borsook, was one of the few women managing partners of any of Canada's major law firms.
Notable members and alumni
- John Arnup, 1970–1985 Court of Appeal, LSUC Treasurer (1963–1966) (see the list of treasurers of the Law Society of Upper Canada)
- Thomas Cromwell, 1997 Appointed to Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, 2008 Appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada
- George Alexander Gale, 1946–1963 High Court of Justice, 1963–1964 Court of Appeal, 1964–1967 Chief Justice of High Court of Justice, 1967–1976 Chief Justice of Ontario
- Roy Kellock, 1942–1944 Court of Appeal, 1944–1958 Supreme Court of Canada
References
- "Global reach, regional focus". Canadian Lawyer. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
- Bruce Bell (2009-05-16). "The Bulletin is Downtown Toronto's Best Read Community Newspaper". Thebulletin.ca. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
- City of Toronto Directory, 1870, Spencer & MacDonald partnership formed
- "Former Judges of Ontario Courts". ontariocourts.on.ca. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
- "Former Judges of Ontario Courts". ontariocourts.on.ca. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
- Leitch Gold Mines limited v. Texas Gulf Sulphur Company. www.worldcat.org. OCLC 221703804. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
- "The Ipperwash Inquiry: Commission Counsel". attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- Jim Middlemiss (2007-04-01). "Managing Partner: Managing Success". Canadian Lawyer Magazine. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
- ^ "Former Judges". Ontariocourts.on.ca. Retrieved 2011-11-27.