Huckvale LLP - Lethbridge

Huckvale LLP is a Lethbridge law firm that traces its origins back to 1906. This firm combines a century long tradition of legal excellence with a forward thinking attitude – a combination that continues to turn legal problems into positive solutions.

The office currently carries on a broad practice of law that includes: personal injury/civil litigation, immigration, family law, real estate, corporate/commercial law, wrongful dismissal, wills and estates, and environmental law.

With eight lawyers and 26 support staff, Huckvale LLP proudly continues to serve the people of Southern Alberta in the tradition of excellence began by the firm’s founder, Lewis Martin Johnstone.

The practice began in 1906 when Lewis Martin Johnstone opened his law office in Lethbridge – coincidentally, the same year the City of Lethbridge first became incorporated.

In 1908, Lewis was joined in his practice by Joseph Norman Ritchie, and at that time, the firm was renamed Johnstone and Ritchie.

Joseph Norman Ritchie, was born in Nova Scotia. He articled with W.B. Almon Ritchie in Nova Scotia and was admitted to the Nova Scotia bar in July, 1908. He moved to Alberta and was admitted to the Alberta bar in November of that same year. He joined the office of Lewis Johnstone in 1908 to form the office of Johnstone and Ritchie.

During the First World War, the firm’s founder, Lewis Johnstone was absent from the practice as he was serving with the Canadian expeditionary forces. Upon returning to Lethbridge, he resumed his practice with Joseph Norman Ritchie. Both Ritchie and Johnstone were subsequently appointed King’s Counsel: Joseph Norman Ritchie receiving his appointment on January 7, 1930 and Lewis Johnstone receiving his appointment on March, 1939.

By 1927, the firm name had been changed to Johnstone, Ritchie and Huckvale to include a third partner, Walter Evans Huckvale. Mr. Huckvale was born on December 25, 1900 and educated at the Royal Military College in Kingston. He articled first with William C. Robertson and then Lewis Johnstone and was admitted to the Alberta bar in September, 1924.

During the Second World War, Huckvale followed in the founder’s footsteps by taking time away from legal practice to serve in the Canadian army, commanding the Canadian Artillery Group Royal Artillery. This made him the highest ranking military officer from Lethbridge to serve in the Second World War.

After the war, Walter Evans Huckvale returned to his law practice in Lethbridge. He was made Queen’s Counsel in December 1959, and continued his practice until his death in 1972.

In 1988 the firm became known as Huckvale & Company. At that time, the partners of the firm were Ross D. Wilde, Howard P.J. Heil and T. Jesse Wilde. In 2008, Ross was appointed Queen’s Counsel on behalf of the Alberta Attorney General.

In 2002 Cameron D. MacLennan and Robert G. Harvie, who had been operating their own office for several years, joined their practice with Huckvale and Company to form Huckvale Wilde Harvie MacLennan. At that time, the old “S.S. Kresge Building” was acquired, and the retail space was converted into their law office. By 2014, the firm became Huckvale LLP. Currently the partners are Cameron MacLennan, Jesse Wilde, Ryan Anderson, Q.C.,  Spencer Ash, Nolan Johnson, and Matthew Bullock.

In addition to the partners, the firm’s legal counsel also includes Mariko Constable, together with a dedicated and excellent staff of legal assistants.

Over a century later, the lawyers at Huckvale LLP remain as dedicated to legal excellence as the firm’s founder was when he first opened the doors to his Lethbridge law practice in 1906.