A New Beginning, 1953-63
Author | C. Ian Kyer |
Pages | 221-242 |
M C hapter N
A NEW BEGINNING,
A slow economic growth, “Canada was . . . embarked
onthegreatestperiodofdevelopmentinallherhistorya ndtradepro
duction, income and real wealth all continued a spect acular, if sometimes
jagged, rise.” Luckilyther msbusinesslaw practicewas in apositionto
grow alongside the economy, having been freed from t he personal limita
tions of Alex Fasken. Economic expansion meant that business lawyers were
much in demand. People were starting new businesses that needed to be
incorporatedorganizedandnancedExistingbusinesseswereexpanding
whichoften meant mergersand acquisitions All these activitiesca lledfor
the special skil ls that business lawyers possessed, esp ecially now that gov
ernment had grown accustomed to having a large say in t he economy.
Therewashoweveronemajorhurdletoovercomethermhad only
a few business lawyers. At the time of J.W. Pickup’s departure the on ly law
yersin therm ofeight partnerswho hadany claimto sucha designation
were Calvin, MacKenzie, and Menzel. Two partners, Aitchison and Rob
inson were aging gri nderswho conducted the rms real estate practice
JDPickupwasa litigatorof lilevalue tot herm JFRobertsonwas not
the lawyer his father had been; he had his own practice i n estates. It soon
became clear to Calvin th at he needed more business lawyers.
New, talented people began to be recruited in numbers not seen since
theturn ofthecenturyFortherstti mesincethenthe rmreachedfte en
lawyers, and then surpassed th at number by the end of the decade with
ニニニLawyersFamiliesandBusinesses
seventeen Signicantly none oft he seventeen was a member of the old
guard; Aitchison, Robinson, J.D. Pickup, and J.F. Robertson would all leave
duringthedecadeCalvindiedshortlythereafterbutnotbeforereestablish
ingthermasastrongcorporatecommercia lpracticeandtrainingt henext
generationoflawyerstoleaditinthelastquarterofthetwentiethcent ury
As this period of growth b egan, Calvin and MacKenzie, two of the t hree
membersofthemanagementcommieeweret hemosthighlycompensated
Theonlyotherbrightlightsont hermsimmediatehorizonwereWilliston
andMen zelI nt heSeptemb erallocation of protsCa lvin wasalone
atthe top with perc entMacKenzie was a distant second at percent
followedbythe moreseniorA itchisonat percentJDPickupWilliston
andMenzel wereallatp ercentJBRobinsongot percentandJFRob
ertsonpercentTh eremaining percentwasunalloc atedandavailablefor
bonuses or new hires.
ThermsrecentrecruitingeortshadnotbeenveryfruitfulInthe
partners tried Gordon V. Armstrong, who had articled at Mason Foulds.
HelastedonlyoneyearThentheybroughtinJohnMGu nninbuthe
lastedonly until They were more fortunate with Fraser Fell and Bill
SwackhamerwhojoinedinandwithDavidTaylorin Bob Suth
erlandinandHarryMacdonellin
Fell was called to the bar in In his qu iet softspokenmeas ured
way, he would prove to be one of the great business lawyers of his era. He
was a tireless worker who commanded instant respect and “never made a
dum b stat ement .”Hearactedmuchworktothermandhelpedcontinue
Calvinseortstorebuilditspositionasa corporatelawrmHehisuncle
and his brother Tonywerelater said to have a bluebloodfamily air for
n an ce
JamesWilliam BillSwackhamer joinedt herm asa lawyerthe same
yearasFellbuthehadta kenadierentroadthere andwastoservea very
dierentroleHewas borni ninBarton Ontario His father, Edward
Swackhamer, was a house painter. As a young man Bill started at McMaster
University but with the war raging in Europe he then enl isted in the Royal
Canadian Navy, serving with Canada’s naval escort operations in the North
Atlanticand aaining theran kofl ieutenantcommanderAftert hewar he
nished his BAat McMastergraduating in Hesta rtedh isar ticlesi n
HamiltonwithTheodoreLeslieMcCombsThenohewenttoOsgoodeHall
LawSchool where he rstmet WalterWil liston InTorontohe completed
his articles with John A rnup, then returned to Hamilton to start his legal
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