The History of the Firm

LOCAL PROFESSIONALS

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The law firm of Baker & Cole had its humble beginnings when lawyer Thomas Edward Cole moved to the Village of Lakefield in March 1972. 

Comprised of solid Township of Dummer farm stock, young lawyer Cole renovated the old Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce building at 25 Queen Street, Lakefield, where his law practice began on March 24, 1972.

Mr. Cole’s rural work ethic enabled him to rapidly gain the trust and confidence of the surrounding communities and he became an active member of the local Lion’s Club, Director of the Chamber of Commerce, appointed member of the Peterborough County Land Division Committee, Counsellor and later Deputy Reeve of the Township of Douro, and in 1995 was elected by his peers as a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

In 1974, 8 Bridge Street, Lakefield, was renovated and for a brief period of time the law firm was carried on as Cole & Florence. Mr. Florence left the area after being in practice a short time and Mr. Cole continued as a sole practitioner.

The Honourable Justice Timothy Whetung received his articles under Mr. Cole’s direction at the law office in Lakefield.

Cognizant of the great legal mind living in Lakefield, another local resident, Adam Robert Henry Baker, sought employment as a summer law student during the years 2001 and 2002.

Mr. Baker was raised in the wilderness of Dummer Township near Camp Kawartha and the shores of Clear Lake.

Mr. Baker received his articles under Mr. Cole’s direction at the law office in Lakefield during the winter and spring of 2003 and 2004 and became an associate of the firm in September 2004.
Baker & Cole was formed when Mr. Baker became a partner on January 1, 2005.

Mr. Baker is an active member of the Lakefield Clementi Masonic Lodge and was installed as Master in 2008.  He has also been the Secretary-Treasurer of the Peterborough District Masonic Association for  a number of years and is a member of the Board of the Little Lake Cemetery Co.

Mr. Cole passed away in the spring of 2014 and Mr. Baker hopes to become as renowned a lawyer as Mr. Cole.

The law firm of Baker & Cole continues its tradition of serving Lakefield and the surrounding communities with forthright and competent legal services as Country Lawyers.