Meighen Haddad LLP was built on the foundation of several Brandon law firms that have come together through the years to form our company to what it is today. Some of the most notable and well-respected contributors to the legal history of Manitoba practiced as members of the Firm. We take pride in our long and rich history of being one of Manitoba’s oldest and most trusted law firms.

 

We trace our origins back to 1881 with the first lawyer and first mayor of Brandon - Thomas Mayne Daly - as our earliest predecessor.

He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1876, arrived in Brandon on July 18, 1881 and started practicing law on the following day. Daly eventually established a law practice with George Caldwell from 1882-1897.

 

Through the years, the company name continued to evolve as law firms were required to have every partner’s surname listed in their names. It was in 1933 when the Meighen name first appeared after Frank Osborne Meighen partnered with W. E. E. Taylor under Taylor and Meighen.  Meighen later joined George Benjamin Coleman, N. W. Kerr and Robert Laughlin McQuarrie in 1940 following the death of Taylor. The firm continued for several years under the name Caldwell, Coleman, Kerr, McQuarie and Meighen.  It was then simplified to Kerr and Meighen following the retirement of Caldwell and McQuarie and the death of Coleman in 1944, the same year when Joseph Haddad became a partner. From 1951 until 1960, the firm was known as Kerr, Meighen and Haddad.

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In 1963, the rival firm of Henderson and Matheson transitioned with William Stordy to become Stordy, Alder and Mitchell. Three years later, Brandon’s two oldest law firms then joined under a new partnership of Meighen, Stordy, Haddad, Alder and Mitchell. The partners at the time consisted of Frank Osborne Meighen, William Stordy, Joseph Haddad, E. D. Alder and M. K. Mitchell. Charles Osborne Meighen, son of  Frank Osborne Meighen, joined the firm in 1967 upon his graduation.

 

Following the retirements of Alder and Stordy in 1968, the firm became Meighen, Haddad & Co. The two namesake partners both devoted their time to serving the Brandon community in many ways. Frank Osborne Meighen acted as Crown Attorney for the Western Judicial District for over 20 years. He served as a Bencher for the Law Society of Manitoba and was appointed as King’s Counsel in 1950. He passed away in 1995 and was posthumously dubbed one of “Manitoba’s Best 10 Lawyers Ever” by members of his profession.

 

Joseph Haddad was past President of both the Manitoba Bar Association and the Western Manitoba Bar Association, and served time as a Bencher of the Law Society of Manitoba. He was designated as Queen’s Counsel in 1963. Haddad practiced law with Meighen, Haddad & Co. until retiring in 1987. He passed away in 2010. 

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Meighen Haddad LLP had several generations of lawyers who have either moved on or retired. While much has changed since our founding in 1881, the Firm’s mission to deliver excellent legal services for our clients continues to make us the leading full-service law firm in Western Manitoba and one of the most trusted law firms in Manitoba.