The Bar of Montreal (french: Barreau de Montréal) is the section of the Bar of Quebec for

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

s in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has it beginnings in 1693 when, as a Royal Province of the

French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...

, '' Canadien'' lawyers first tried to obtain official recognition but were refused by

Governor General of New France Governor General of New France was the vice-regal post in New France from 1663 until 1760, and it was the last French vice-regal post. It was replaced by the British post of Governor of the Province of Quebec following the fall of New France. ...

Louis de Buade de Frontenac who upheld the 1678 edict by the

Sovereign Council ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

that denied recognition of the legal profession. For nearly a century, the ''Canadien'' lawyers would not be given recognition until after the Battle of the Plains of Abraham they became

British colonial The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

subjects. In the new British Province of Quebec, in 1765 Governor James Murray authorized the creation of the "Community of Lawyers" (''Communauté des avocats'') which granted commissions to its members that allowed them to practice law in the triple capacity of lawyer, notary and

land surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

. The precursor of the present-day Bar of Montreal, the Community of Lawyers adopted the first-ever code of ethics and conduct. The Bar of Montreal became an independent corporation alongside the Bar of Lower Canada in 1849 through the ''Act to incorporate the Bar of Lower Canada'' (11-12 Vict. (1849), c.46.).

References

* Bar associations of Canada

Bar of Montreal The Bar of Montreal (french: Barreau de Montréal) is the section of the Bar of Quebec for lawyers in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has it beginnings in 1693 when, as a Royal Province of the French colonial empire, ''Canadien'' lawyers ...

+ 1849 establishments in Canada Organizations based in Montreal Organizations established in 1849 {{Montreal-stub