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KEY DATES IN THE FMC TIMELINE
For over 165 years, Fraser Milner Casgrain has been building a reputation as one of Canada’s leading business law firms.
| 1839 |
John Willoughby Crawford opens his law office in Toronto, the earliest predecessor of Fraser & Beatty. One of Mr. Crawford’s clients is the Bank of Montreal, a client FMC still advises to this day. |
| 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. Steer established our firm’s strong background in constitutional law, the predecessor to our Public Policy practice, many years before government relations became a "popular" legal concern. |
| 1920 |
Crombie, Worrell & Gwynne, Barristers, Solicitors, Notaries, a predecessor of Fraser & Beatty, becomes Worrell, Gwynne & Beatty, Barristers, Solicitors, Notaries. The firm gains a reputation for excellence in the field of real estate law, which continues at FMC today. |
| 1921 |
Hyndman, Milner & Matheson, a predecessor of Milner Fenerty, becomes Hyndman, Milner, Matheson, Carr & Dafoe. They represent the Northern Alberta Natural Gas Development Company, among the first in the firm’s long list of oil and gas clients. FMC is a leading practitioner of oil and gas law today. |
| 1924 |
Hyndman, Milner, Matheson, Carr & Dafoe, a predecessor of Milner Fenerty, becomes Milner, Matheson, Carr & Dafoe. Corporate commercial clients, including utility companies, become increasingly important to the firm, a focus that is still evident today. |
| 1945 |
Milner, Steer, Poirier, Martland & Bowker, a predecessor of Milner Fenerty, becomes Milner, Steer, Dyde, Poirier, Martland & Bowker. The post-war boom creates ample opportunities for the firm in Edmonton. It establishes a solid reputation in the fields of litigation, securities issues and insurance that continues to today. |
| 1956 |
Fenerty, Fenerty & McGillivray, a predecessor of Milner Fenerty, becomes Fenerty, Fenerty, McGillivray, Robertson, Prowse & Brennan. The Honourable E. Peter Lougheed, Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985 begins his law career as an associate at the firm’s office in Edmonton. |
| 1980 |
J. Donald Mawhinney and Howard J. Kellough establish Mawhinney & Kellough in Vancouver. Their office ultimately becomes the foundation of the Vancouver office of Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP. |
| 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. The majority of other law firm mergers in Canada occurred ten years later. |
| 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. |
| 2002 |
Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP opens a representative office in New York. |
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