Douglas Robertson R.I.P.

ROBERTSON, Douglas Christian
March 15, 1937 – December 26, 2014
It is with great sadness that the family of Douglas Robertson announces his death on Christmas night at the age of 77. He is survived by his wife of 54 years Honor MacDougall; his daughter Victoria (Marc Barbeau); son Christian (Juliana Zinger); daughter Eimile (Spiros Bouas) and eight grandchildren Mathilde, Henri, and Aymeric; Olivia, Alastair, and Oscar; Athena and Dimitri; and by his brother Angus W. Robertson. Born in Toronto and raised in Mexico, the Bahamas, and Montreal, Douglas studied law at McGill University and political science at the LSE. In 1964 he moved to Paris to run the foreign office of the law firm Phillips & Vineberg, where he later served as the firm’s co-managing partner for 19 years. Throughout, he discreetly acted as trusted advisor to his many clients, whether multinationals or individuals, reminding young lawyers to be humble and that they would only fully grasp their calling when they had a client whose house was at stake. On his return to Montreal, Douglas became active in his community, first spearheading a group of concerned citizens who prevented the construction of a hydro substation in Westmount, then serving multiple terms on the city council, winning a Governor General’s Award for Stayner Park, and acting as Chairman of the Board of his alma mater Selwyn House School. An accomplished sailor, Douglas also served as Commodore of the Prouts Neck Yacht Club in Maine, where he spent 25 happy summers. A force of nature known for his humour, trenchant opinions, and inexhaustible reserves of energy, Douglas was particularly fond of his country house in the Eastern Townships where he could indulge in his favourite pursuits: cooking, gardening, reading, and barking commands. His warmth, compassion, wit, pleasure in reciting literature and poetry, and generous laughter touched many lives. Douglas will be missed by his extended family, close friends, many nieces and nephews, and his cat Asperge. Funeral services will be private, and a memorial service will be announced at a later date. Donations can be made in his memory to the Royal Victoria Hospital.
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The Bloomberg/Business Week Executive Profile gives a clear picture of Douglas’ impressive professional achievements:
Douglas C. Robertson has been Partner of Heenan Blaikie LLP since 2005. Mr. Robertson is a lawyer of outstanding status. For over four decades, businesses, governments and non-governmental organizations from around the world have called on him for advice on business combinations and transactions as well as legal reforms. He has developed an exceptional knowledge of the business community and legal environment in the People’s Republic of China where, for the past twenty years, he has carried out numerous assignments. He was Counsel to the European Banking Federation at the time of the revision of the Canadian Bank Act and has advised several of the leading foreign banks in Canada. He was a specialist in international and transnational business law and has acted for many of the leading foreign companies with investments in Canada and for Canadian companies abroad. Over the years his practice has included international taxation, mining and resource law, banking and financial law, securities law, mergers and acquisitions and derivative and securitized transactions. He also has extensive experience in private banking. Playing a pivotal role in international commercial relationships, he combines his intimate knowledge of the business community with outstanding legal scholarship encompassing taxation, natural resources, securities, mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. He was retained by the Montréal Stock Exchange in 1985 to act as a special Consultant on tax and regulatory aspects of the implementation of the bilateral central securities depository system for securities interlisted on the Paris and Montréal exchanges. In 1996, he was retained by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank to draft a securitization law for the Kingdom of Morocco. His draft was substantially enacted in 1999 as Law Nº 10-98 on the Securitization of Hypothecary Claims, becoming the first in the Arab world. More recently, Mr. Robertson’s practice has turned to public and private equity financing of new economy and knowledge-based industries. Mr. Robertson has written and spoken widely on such diverse subjects as product liability, government investment incentives, non-resident taxation, banking regulation, loan documentation, take-over bid defences, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the regulation of foreign investment and the regulatory and business environment in the People’s Republic of China. He has taught at the Montreal Real Estate Board and the Centre for Continuing Education of the Bar of Quebec and has been a lecturer at the Comparative Law Institute of McGill University where he created the first course in Canada on the international regulation of securities markets. In the summer of 2000, he was appointed as foreign law expert to the Asian Development Bank PRC economic law reform project to develop a business trust law for the Legislative Committees of the State Council and the National People’s Congress. In 2006, he was invited by the Bank as a foreign law expert for the study of an asset-backed securitization law for China. He serves as a Chairman of Heenan Blaikie LLP’s International Business Law Group and of the Quebec Chapter. Mr. Robertson has been Director of Sofame Technologies Inc. since May 2007. He served as a Director of Credit Lyonnais’ Canadian subsidiary for more than a quarter century. He has been a member of the Bar of Québec since 1963. Mr. Robertson serves as a member of the International Advisory Board of China Online, the China business information website. He serves as a Member of the national Board of the Canada China Business Council. He graduated with LLB from McGill University, 1962.

ROBERTSON, Douglas Christian (15 mars 1937 – 26 décembre 2014) C’est avec une immense tristesse que la famille de Douglas Robertson fait part du décès de ce dernier dans la nuit du 25 décembre, à l’âge de 77 ans. Il laisse dans le deuil son épouse de 54 ans, Honor MacDougall, sa fille Victoria (Marc Barbeau), son fils Christian (Juliana Zinger), sa fille Eimile (Spiros Bouas) et ses huit petits-enfants Mathilde, Henri, Aymeric, Olivia, Alastair, Oscar, Athena et Dimitri, ainsi que son frère Angus W. Robertson. Douglas naît à Toronto, pour ensuite grandir au Mexique, aux Bahamas, puis à Montréal, où il étudiera le droit à l’Université McGill. Il étudiera ensuite les sciences politiques à la prestigieuse London School of Economics. En 1964, il se rend à Paris pour fonder le bureau étranger du cabinet d’avocats canadien Phillips & Vineberg, cabinet dont il dirigera par la suite les destinées à titre de co-associé directeur pendant 19 ans. Il fut le conseiller de confiance discret de ses nombreux clients, que ce soit des multinationales ou des particuliers, rappelant aux jeunes avocats de faire preuve d’humilité et qu’ils ne saisiraient pas la pleine portée de leur vocation avant d’avoir agi pour un client dont la maison était en jeu. À son retour à Montréal, Douglas s’implique dans sa communauté, d’abord à titre de citoyen engagé, notamment à la tête d’un groupe qui réussit à empêcher l’établissement d’une sous-station électrique à Westmount, pour ensuite y devenir échevin, complétant ainsi plusieurs mandats à l’Hôtel de ville. On lui octroiera d’ailleurs le Prix du Gouverneur général pour souligner la création du Parc Stayner. Il servira à titre de Président du Conseil d’administration de son alma mater, l’École Selwyn House. Un marin exemplaire, Douglas fut aussi le Commodore du Club de voile de Prouts Neck dans le Maine, où il passa 25 étés de pur bonheur. Une force de la nature, reconnu pour son sens de l’humour décapant et ses opinions tranchées, Douglas regorgeait d’énergie. Il affectionnait tout particulièrement sa maison de campagne dans les Cantons de l’Est où il pouvait se livrer à ses loisirs favoris de cuisiner, jardiner, lire et … aboyer ses commandements. Par sa chaleur humaine, sa compassion, son esprit vif, son plaisir à citer les oeuvres littéraires ou théâtrales, et son rire distinctif, il toucha une multitude. Sa présence manquera à sa famille élargie, ses amis, ses proches, ses nombreux neveux et nièces et son chat Asperge. Les funérailles seront privées, et une cérémonie commémorative sera annoncée à une date ultérieure. Des dons peuvent être faits en sa mémoire à l’Hôpital Royal Victoria.