It is with great honour that Stikeman Elliott’s London office is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The firm is grateful to have been a part of this illustrious city for the past 50 years and been able to service clients as the originating founders had intended. Marc Barbeau, Chair of Stikeman Elliott, and a past member of the London office, reflects on a brief history of that office:

“As Heward Stikeman was turning 21 while in England in the 1930s, he met with Lord Reading who encouraged him to go back to Canada, study law, join the Department of National Revenue, and become a tax lawyer. Having taken that advice, he then partnered with Fraser Elliott. In time, both recognized, long before anyone else, the need for Canadian lawyers to look beyond our borders. This is how in 1969, less than two decades after the firm was founded, our young firm went across the pond and opened its second-only office in London. In doing so, Stikeman Elliott was a pioneer by becoming the first Canadian law firm, and one of the first international firms, with an office in London. Now, as we celebrate 50 successful years in London, our founders’ pioneering spirit remains as we continue with their vision to deliver “the best that is in us in the service of others”, said Marc Barbeau.

Over the course of the last 50 years, the London office has been led by 11 managing principals, including Dean Koumanakos at present. Each of them has had the privilege of leading the London office in the service of European and international clients with Canadian business and transactional law needs. Members of the London office are appreciative of the strong relationships made and the deep roots developed in the city; and they look forward to continuing servicing others, as the originating founders intended.