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Our law firm's
historic milestones
| 1886 |
Two young lawyers, James Alexander Hutcheson and Alsom Alexander
Fisher (who later became a county judge), formed a partnership and
established the law firm, practising together for a quarter of a
century.
Hutcheson continued in the |
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practice until 1929
— a total of 43 years. |
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| 1911 |
Fisher was replaced in the partnership by Robert John Driver, who,
at the age of 26, had just been admitted to the Law Society of Upper
Canada.
The firm name was changed to Hutcheson & Driver. |
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| 1921 |
Wilfrid E. Huycke, a native of Coburg, joined the firm, and the firm
was renamed Hutcheson, Driver and Huycke. Huycke was the son of Judge
C.S. Huycke of Cobourg and graduated from Victoria College at the
University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School. He served with the
Canadian armed forces in World War I, serving overseas with the 18th
Canadian Field Artillery. After being demobilized in 1919, Huycke
attended Harvard University for a refresher course in law. In 1921, he
came to Brockville to join the firm, but stayed only 3 years, moving to
Peterborough in 1924 to set up a successful law practice. |
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| 1924 |
James Roderick MacLaren entered the
partnership when Huyke left the firm, which became known as Hutcheson, Driver and MacLaren.
MacLaren graduated from the University of Toronto in 1913 and was called
to the bar in 1922. In 1950, still with the local firm, MacLaren was
elected President of the Federation of Ontario Law Associations.
MacLaren retired from the firm in 1953 and died in 1965. |
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| 1952 |
John Edward Henderson joined the firm as an Associate. The firm was
then known as Driver and MacLaren. When MacLaren retired, Henderson
became a partner and the company name changed to Driver and Henderson.
Henderson practised with the Toronto law firm of Haines and Haines (now
Thomson Rogers) for 2 years before settling in Brockville. The
partnership ended the following year, when Robert John Driver died at
the age of 68 years. He had been with the firm for 43 years. |
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| 1954 |
John Ross Matheson became Henderson’s partner. In 1961, Matheson won
the Liberal seat and served the riding of Leeds in the Parliament of
Canada from then through 1968. During that time, Matheson as
Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada was instrumental
in creating the Canadian flag, and is today known as “The Father of the
Canadian Flag”.
In 1969, Matheson was appointed to the bench as a county court judge.
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| 1958 |
Hugh Robert Hart became an Associate in the firm and was taken into
full partnership in 1962 under the name of Matheson, Henderson and Hart.
Hart, born in Quebec, graduated from the University of Toronto in 1952
with a Bachelor of Arts. In 1956, he was admitted as a member to the Law
Society of Upper Canada. Hart served with the Toronto law firm of Biggs
and Biggs until he joined Matheson and Henderson in 1958. After 24
years, Hart left the firm in 1962 to form his own company. He died in
2005.
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| 1966 |
Neville Constantine Johnston joined the firm. A native of St.
Andrew, Jamaica, Johnston attended University of Toronto, graduating in
1961 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1964, he received his Bachelor
of Laws degree from Osgoode Hall Law School and was admitted to the Law
Society of Upper Canada. Johnston joined the firm of Matheson, Henderson
and Hart in 1966 as an Associate and when Matheson became a judge in
1969, became a partner. |
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| 1969 |
Paul Joseph Fournier joined the firm and also became a partner.
Fournier graduated from St. Patrick’s College of the University of
Ottawa in 1960 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. In 1964, he received
his Bachelor of Laws and was admitted to the Law Society of Upper Canada
in 1966. The firm was then called Henderson, Hart, Johnston and
Fournier. Fournier served as an Alderman on Brockville City Council from
1982 to 1985. |
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| 1970 |
David Graeme Algie joined the firm as an Associate and became a
partner in 1973 with the company being known as Henderson, Hart,
Johnston, Fournier and Algie. Algie received a Bachelor of Arts degree
from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario in 1963 and a Bachelor of
Laws degree in 1967. He was called to the bar in 1969. In 1979, Algie
left the firm to open his own practice and in 1981 he moved to Alberta.
He was the Senior Agent for the Alberta Attorney General from 1981 to
1985 and then returned to Ottawa as Assistant Crown Attorney. |
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| 1979 |
Robert Dayton Hammond joined the firm an became a partner in 1982.
The firm then became known as Henderson, Johnston, Fournier and Hammond.
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1986
1995
2000 |
The firm celebrated 100 years of history. Shown in the photo are,
left to right (seated) John E. Henderson and Robert D. Hammond,
(standing) Paul J. Fournier and Neville C. Johnston.
Following the departure of Hammond, the firm name was changed
to Henderson Johnston Fournier.
John E. Henderson retired from the firm on December 31, 2000, after having
practised law for over 50 years. He was an Honorary Member of the Law Society of
Upper Canada. |
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Several others joined the firm as Associates over the years. These Associates
have made valuable contributions to the firm, gaining experience for themselves
before moving on to do other things.
The firm continues today with Neville Johnston and Paul Fournier as partners
under the name Henderson Johnston Fournier.
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