[8] The firm was involved in Canada's longest lawsuit, related to the bankruptcy of a finance company named Castor Holdings.

[6] It also established a reputation as the landing ground for former Prime Ministers: both Jean Chrétien and Pierre Trudeau joined the firm after their respective political careers ended.

The managing partners suggested two options, either a major downsizing of the firm, or a restructuring that could split up the Montreal and Toronto offices.

After Heenan retired as chairman in 2012, a successor was not chosen to keep the firm unified and tensions between the Montreal and Toronto offices grew.

It was the largest law firm dissolution in Canadian history, surpassing the previous record set by Goodman and Carr in 2007.

[14][15] According to Jean-Francois Mercadier, "partners started to lose any kind of faith in the management of the firm", which resulted in the company's collapse.