The Winnipeg law firm Inkster Christie Hughes recently celebrated its 110th anniversary, tracing its roots through various precursor firms back to Craig and Ross in 1892. Until recently, the firm name changed with its membership. When Barry Hughes, Colin Inkster and Norm Christie each passed away in the two years spanning 2000 and 2002, the firm resolved to leave the name unchanged in their honour. The history of the firm over the last fifty years can be traced through the career paths of those three members.

Joseph Barry Hughes, Q.C., articled with his father, Harley Moody Hughes, K.C., while the firm was known as Hughes, MacLeod, Christie, and was called to the Bar in 1951 at the age of 23. He practiced corporate and commercial law. He represented the Manitoba Crop Insurance Corporation for over 45 years. He also had long history of representing the Manitoba Hog Producers’ Marketing Board. Before the advent of word processors, he would often close as many as 20 real estate deals a month. Barry represented some of Manitoba’s most successful companies for many decades.

After taking over from his father, he banded his firm together with a collection of his friends from law school, G. Derwood Walker, William C. Irish, and Peter W. A. Westbury, forming Inkster, Walker, Westbury, Irish & Hughes. Later Manly Rusen joined the firm to form Inkster Walker Westbury Irish, Rusen & Hughes. That firm, in turn, became Inkster, Walker, Chornous, after merging with the partners of Pybus, Chornous, Romaniw, Green in 1985. In 1991 the firm merged again, this time with Christie DeGraves MacKay, bringing on board Colon C. Settle, Albert W. Eyolfson, Sharon Tod, and Murdoch MacKay, to form Inkster Christie Hughes MacKay, which evolved into the present firm Inkster Christie Hughes.

Before the inception of legal aid, Barry and a collection of fellow practitioners, including Archie Micay, Bob Smethurst, G. C. Chown, Fraser Campbell, Reeh Taylor, Harry Walsh and W. C. Gardner, formed three committees in the 1950’s that offered free legal services at night. Barry quietly carried on the tradition of pro bono service throughout the balance of his career. A plaque hangs to recognize his pro bono contribution to the Riverside Lions Non-Profit Housing Inc.

Colin Lloyd Inkster articled to William Walker Kennedy of the law firm Kennedy & Kennedy and was called to the Bar on August 18, 1949. He joined Harley Hughes in 1950 while Barry Hughes was articling in the same office. During that same year, Colin, together with other members of the firm worked tirelessly alongside Army and Navy Reserve members of the in the fight of the “Great Flood” of 1950, dividing his time between law and sandbagging.

Colin came to focus his practice almost entirely on transport law. He became known as one of the preeminent specialists in Canada in that area, and served many of Canada’s largest transport companies.

Norman Clague Christie, Q.C., articled in 1946 to Harley Hughes. He went out on his own and first became partners with David Bowles, with Bowles Christie, and was later joined at that firm by Sterling Lyon in 1957. Murdoch MacKay joined the firm in 1959 followed by other notables such as Wilfred DeGraves, Colon C. Settle, Dan Kennedy, Keith Turner, Michael Phelps, David Unruh, Gavin Wood, Blair Graham, and Rick Lee. The firm amalgamated with Inkster, Walker, Chornous. That last amalgamation was the last major structural change to the firm and it has, since then, continued by and large in its current form.

Norm began his career as a litigator but switched to commercial and corporate law, conveyancing, and estate work. His corporate and estate work was appreciated beyond the borders of Manitoba, and he was retained by the famed Stanfield family of Nova Scotia for certain matters. His clients included Canadian Acceptance Corp., Redisco, Bank of Montreal, Household Finance and the Household Group of Companies, Guarantee Trust and Equitable Trust. Norm received his Queen’s Counsel in 1964. He taught bar admission courses, was a Bencher of the Law Society of Manitoba from 1968 to 1971, and served on the Discipline committee among others.

The firm was housed for much of this time in a building on Kennedy Street constructed and owned by members of the partnership. The firm moved out of those premises in June of 1984 after a fire. That same building is the one currently occupied by the Law Society.

Barry Hughes, Colin Inkster and Norm Christie were part of a tradition, spanning many decades back into the firm history, of getting together in the boardroom every Friday afternoon to share a martini. That tradition, much restrained, continues to this day.

Inkster Christie Hughes is now located downtown on the 7th floor of 444 St. Mary Avenue. The firm is home to twelve lawyers practicing a wide range of legal services. It continues in its strong traditions of corporate law, civil litigation, domestic litigation, estate planning and estate and trust administration. The firm is now growing again -- four partners have been added in the last four years. It is also growing younger -- the majority of its partners are now in their forties.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE LAW SOCIETY OF MANITOBA IN 2004 AS PART OF THEIR MONTHLY PUBLICATION FOR LAWYERS ENTITLED COMMUNIQUE.