Mr. Peter Newcombe

Peter Newcombe provides a comprehensive account of his career at Gowling, MacTavish, Watt, Osborne and Henderson, offering insights into both his personal legal background and the firm’s evolution. Born into a distinguished legal family – his grandfather was Deputy Minister of Justice and later a Supreme Court Justice, his father practiced agency work in Ottawa – Newcombe followed the family tradition after serving in the RCAF during World War II and graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1950.

The interview details the firm’s transformation from a small Ottawa practice specializing in patents, trade marks, and insurance litigation into one of Canada’s largest law firms. Newcombe describes the founding partners: E. Gordon Gowling (patents), Duncan MacTavish (the dealmaker with Liberal connections), Doug Watt (insurance law), John Osborne (trade marks and agency work), and Gordon Henderson (the eventual rainmaker). He chronicles significant expansions including the 1983 merger with Cameron, Brewin & Scott in Toronto, the 1986 acquisition of Simmers, Harper & Jenkins in Kitchener, and the 1989 merger with Strathy firm for commercial law expertise.

Particularly valuable are Newcombe’s observations about medical malpractice work for the Canadian Medical Protective Association, his role in major cases like the Sudbury Gas Inquiry, and the firm’s evolution from informal partnership arrangements to sophisticated management structures. His account captures the transformation of Canadian legal practice from the 1950s through the 1990s, including changes in office locations, partnership policies, and the shift from regional to national practice.

This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.