In 1887, construction of the Eiffel Tower started in Paris, Queen Victoria celebrated her Golden Jubilee in London and two lawyers from Winnipeg founded a law firm that would become known for reliability. As we celebrate our anniversary, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank our clients and the community that we serve. Without you, we wouldn’t have become one of Manitoba’s trusted names in law. Even though the world around us has changed significantly since we started, it’s safe to say that after 130 years, some things have only gotten better.
Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP (TDS) is one of Manitoba’s oldest law firms, having been founded in 1887. As part of our 125th anniversary celebrations, the partners directed that a modest history of the firm be prepared, based on biographies of notable firm members. The purposes of this document are to mark our anniversary and to remind current and future TDS lawyers of the high standards in the practice of law and community service set by earlier members of the firm.
Some of the most significant and well-respected contributors to Manitoba’s long and storied legal history have practised as members of TDS. Their contributions to the law and legal framework of this Province helped shape our present society. Various firm members served our community either before or after their tenure with TDS as provincial and federal officials, high court judges, and veterans of the First and Second World Wars. What follows is an anecdotal history of Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP from its earliest days in the late nineteenth century to the present based on the lives of several generations of lawyers who chose to practise together as partners in our community.
