What REALLY Happened to Heenan Blaikie?

​How does one of the largest law firms in Canada crumble seemingly overnight?

In "Heenan Blaikie: The Making and Unmaking of a Great Canadian Law Firm", Adam Dodek has the answers.

In early February 2014 Canadian legal professionals learned the shocking news that one of the country's largest law firms, Heenan Blaikie, would be no more. What happened? Questions abounded and rumours surfaced, but few concrete answers were found in the multiple articles dedicated to its collapse.

In 2017, Norm Bacal, former co-managing partner and founder of the Toronto office, released his book “Breakdown: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Heenan Blaikie” in which he recounts his personal observations on the failure of the firm. In my review of his book, questions remained. And many wondered, as a central figure in the Heenan Blaikie story, did Bacal provide an unbiased perspective on the firm's ending?  

What Bacal’s book was lacking - multiple perspectives and an impartial critical analysis - Adam Dodek’s book has in abundance. Dodek conducted over 200 interviews of former Heenan Blaikie lawyers as well as more than 40 legal industry insiders. These interviews were supported by Dodek’s access to key documents and archival material.

While this is a non-fiction academic book, astonishing stories and sensational incidents are interspersed between the scholarly examination conducted by Dodek. Stories of broken relationships, backstabbing, rogue lawyers, arms deals, multiple questionable ethical breaches, scandals, and more - Dodek’s unvarnished obituary of Heenan Blaikie has it all.   

Chronologically written from the humble “handshake” beginnings in Montreal to Heenan’s worldwide growth with offices in California and Paris, to the final days and last breath of the firm, Dodek travels through the years of Heenan Blaikie’s existence, unearthing bits of evidence here and there, eventually revealing the truth behind its fall.

As both a lawyer and a business owner, I found myself frequently underlining and annotating outrageous business decision made or imposed by the people (men) in power. Each mark made the picture clearer - no single factor lead to the firm's demise. Instead, Dodek identifies law firm culture issues, management, lack of strategic planning, absence of succession plans, and more, as key contributing factors. As Dodek observes, “law is both a profession and a business. Lawyers who neglect one side of that equation build their house upon sand, putting themselves at great risk.” 

While Dodek writes with a balanced approach, acknowledging the profound sense of loss that many felt, he pulls no punches in his assessment. While management takes the brunt of the blame (“benevolent dictatorship”), the non-management partners do not escape unscathed (a “firm populated by sheep”). After reading this book, I am no longer shocked at Heenan Blaikie's collapse, but I'm shocked at how long it survived. 
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The book is essential reading for lawyers, law students and even non-law business owners. Anyone who owns a law firm (and that includes any equity partner on Bay Street) or plans to start one, should immediately grab this book. Dodek's diligent investigation into Heenan Blaikie's making and unmaking serves as both a fascinating chronicle of Canadian legal history and a stark reminder that even titans in law can tumble when the balance between profession and business is lost. 

(The book is on sale starting today, October 15th!)

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