26 www.theprogress.com
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 The Chilliwack Progress
Pillars OF BUSINESS CHILLIWACK
Baker Newby LLP • 1937
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Story • Eric Welsh | Photo • Jenna Hauck
Court bench for about 25 years, retiring about five or six or seven years ago.” A man whose name still adorns the building at 9259 Main Street joined the firm in 1965. An Eastside Vancouver boy, Jim Baker started practising law in 1963, and still practises today, celebrating his 50th anniversary being called to the bar. Max Newby, a Chilliwack boy with family roots dated back to the early 1900s, came soon after. He carved out a long career as a solicitor, retiring three years ago. Newby still lives in Chilliwack. From the old guard, the torch has been passed to the next generation. Baker Newby moved to their current Chilliwack address in the 1950s and expanded in 1989, opening an Abbotsford office. Between the two locations, the firm now employs a small army of 26 litigators. Four of the current partners — Renwick, Baker, John Lee and Martin Finch — have been awarded the distinction of Queen’s Counsel, an honour conferred on members of the legal profession to recognize exceptional merit and contribution. Renwick is in his eighth year as a bencher (member of the board of directors) for the Law Society of British Columbia. “Within these walls we have a great opportunity to work with people, solve their problems, get them out of jams and advocate for them,” said Renwick, himself a Chilliwack
David Renwick of Baker Newby LLP with an antique seal press.
resident since 1965, and a Chilliwack secondary school grad. “I come in every day and enjoy my job. We’ve got a great group of lawyers who are keen and dedicated, and
that combination of senior and junior lawyers working together is what has allowed us to operate so successfully for so long.” Find more info online at bakernewby.com
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o survey the all-time roster of Baker Newby lawyers is to see a list of B.C. litigation heavyweights. David Renwick sees them on the wall every morning, a parade of framed pictures staring back at him when he arrives for work. The firm was established in 1937 by David Sturdy, who was joined in the early 1940s by Frank Wilson. David Hinds came next. A man with deep Chilliwack connections, he earned notice as a Crown counsel lawyer, travelling to Nelson, Prince George and beyond to prosecute serious criminal cases. As a judge, he had a reputation for delivering fair and levelheaded decisions. “He was a consummate gentlemen who always gave insightful reasons for his judgements,” Renwick said. “Even if you lost, you didn’t feel quite as bad because you knew you’d been given a fair hearing. At the end of the day, you knew justice always prevailed with him.” William Hugh Davies, or Bill, was the next Chilliwackian to join the firm. His father owned a downtown hardware store. Bill and his brother both went to high school here. Davies married his high school sweetheart and came on board in the early 1950s. “He became a judge the year I became a lawyer at Baker Newby, in 1978,” Renwick recalled. “He eventually sat on the Supreme