Gordon Henderson (lawyer)

Henderson was born in Ottawa, Ontario on April 17, 1912. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in 1934 and graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1937.[1]

Upon his call to the bar, Henderson joined the firm of Henderson & Herridge (which later became Gowling Lafleur Henderson).[2] Within 3 years, and before the age of 28, Henderson had appeared successfully on two separate occasions at the Supreme Court of Canada.[3] Throughout his career, Henderson developed a reputation for litigation in all areas of law, especially in intellectual property. Ian Scott, former Attorney General of Ontario, called him "the best all-round lawyer the profession has produced since the War."[3] By the time of his death, Henderson appeared as counsel in nearly 400 reported cases, including 90 before the Supreme Court of Canada.[3]

Henderson was also an active participant in professional associations both within and outside the legal community. He was heavily involved in the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada[4] and was the president of the Canadian Bar Association from 1979 to 1980.[5]

Henderson was instrumental in the formation of SOCAN, a major Canadian copyright collective, as its lawyer and later as Chairman. In addition, he helped found the Canadian Law Information Council.[2]

He was also the founding editor of the Canadian Patent Reporter (CPR) (which he started in 1941).[2][6] The CPR was one of the first continuous case reporters for Canadian intellectual property law decisions, and remains a leading reporter today. For most of its existence, Henderson wrote virtually every headnote and comment in the publication.[3]

In his later years, Henderson served on the Board of Governors of the University of Ottawa, and from 1991 until his death in 1993, he was Chancellor of the university.