In Memoriam – Colin Morley (1928–2024)

It is with great sadness that we share news of the passing of Colin Morley on February 1, 2024, at the age of 95. Colin, along with four other partners and two associates, established Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP 52 years ago. The contributions he made as a founding partner—along with his leadership, integrity, generosity and humility—helped define the firm’s core values and create a distinct path forward for generations of future lawyers.

Colin was admitted to the bar in 1953 and started his career as a labour lawyer at Stelco. Not too long after, Colin joined Bob Hicks and two of our other founding partners—Fred Hamilton and Bruce Stewart—at Miller, Thomson, Hicks & Sedgwick, where they were eventually joined by our fifth founding partner, Tom Storie. The rest, as they say, is history.

Colin quickly became one of the preeminent labour lawyers in Canada, bringing a particular expertise in collective bargaining and rights arbitration. He acted for numerous private-sector clients in the steel, manufacturing and media sectors, and he was respected not only by his clients but also his opponents. Arbitrators and union lawyers still remember and often comment on his cross-examination skills as an advocate—he was, according to many, the best cross-examiner in the business.

We are privileged to have worked with, learned from and been inspired by Colin. He was an incredible mentor and took great care in sharing his expertise with young lawyers as they began their careers. He will be remembered not only for the remarkable contributions he made to our firm and the field of labour law, but for his pride in his family, his dedication to his faith and his involvement with his community. Colin’s extraordinary legacy will live on in the work we all do at Hicks Morley as we remain ever-grateful for his role in establishing the firm and defining the principles that continue to guide us today.

He will be missed.