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Inside Blakes

For more than 150 years, Blakes has proudly served many of Canada's and the world's leading businesses and organizations. The Firm has built a reputation during that time as both a leader in the business community and in the legal profession – leadership that continues to be recognized to this day. Thanks to our clients and the challenging legal work they generate, Blakes was named, for the third time, "Law Firm of the Year: Canada" by Chambers and Partners (2012) and "Canada's Law Firm of the Year" by Who’s Who Legal. We also consistently rank as one of the top Canadian firms on the Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and mergermarket M&A league tables in terms of transactional value or number of deals for Canadian announced transactions.

For six consecutive years, Blakes was named one of Canada's best employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc. and is the only law firm to receive this recognition six years in a row. Blakes has also been chosen as one of "Greater Toronto's Top Employers" for 2011.

Our international capabilities have been enhanced by our charter membership in Lex Mundi, the world's largest non-exclusive referral network of independent law firms with member firms in 160 jurisdictions. This affiliation allows Blakes, whose clients conduct business worldwide, to arrange superior legal counsel virtually anywhere.

Blakes has offices in Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, New York, Chicago, London, Bahrain, Beijing and associated offices in Al-Khobar and Shanghai. Serving a diverse national and international client base, our integrated office network provides clients with access to the Firm’s full spectrum of capabilities in virtually every area of business law. Whether an issue is local or multi-jurisdictional, practice-area specific or interdisciplinary, Blakes handles transactions of all sizes and levels of complexity. It is our culture and philosophy to work closely with clients to understand all of their legal needs, and to keep them apprised of legal developments that may affect them. We provide relevant legal services promptly and in a cost-effective manner to assist clients in achieving their business objectives.

TESTIMONIALS

"Blakes provides its students with the resources, opportunities and guidance needed to become great lawyers. The amazing formal and informal mentorship programs and professional development sessions create an incredibly supportive environment where questions are both welcomed and encouraged. The large student group at Blakes fosters an experience that fun, dynamic and rewarding. My peers are not only my colleagues, but also my friends."

Hilary Crangle, 2009/2010 Toronto Articling Student

"What makes Blakes a truly special place to work is the shared sense of camaraderie and a culture of congeniality."

Arash Amouzgar, 2009/2010 Toronto Articling Student

"I am thoroughly impressed not only by the amount of sophisticated work I have received as both a summer and articling student, but also by the instrumental role that junior and senior lawyers have played in enabling me to successfully complete that work. The culture of mentorship at Blakes, which extends far beyond the firm's formal mentorship programs, empowers you to migrate to a place outside your comfort zone and to excel once you are there."

Zahra Ziaie Moayyed, 2009/2010 Toronto Articling Student

"As part of Blakes secondment program, I was offered an invaluable opportunity to learn about the banking industry through my secondment with the Legal Department at CIBC."

Shafaq Ahmad, 2009/2010 Toronto Articling Student

“After my summer at Blakes, I was surprised to discover that it is not the nature or importance of work that makes a firm great; it is the people and the culture. While I can assure you that I received challenging and compelling work, the difference at Blakes is that a high quality of work is coupled with a supportive and fun culture that encourages learning and is committed to cultivating great lawyers. It is truly the people, both lawyers and staff, that makes Blakes stand out above the rest.”

Shaun Parker, 2010, Second-Year Summer Student, University of Alberta

"From go-karting to legal research to golf tournaments to topical professional forums, Blakes really offers the full-meal-deal of summer experiences. Most of all, friendly and approachable partners, patient assistants, and fun-loving associates make Blakes a fast-paced and fun place to spend one's summer!"

Heather Richardson, 2010, Second-Year Summer Student, University of Calgary

“My summer at Blakes was an incredible experience from start to finish. The Lawyers and support staff are very friendly and approachable, which made it easy to seek out the type of work I was most interested in. The mentorship program was a fantastic resource; my mentor always made time for me and provided insightful answers to my many questions. I really enjoyed the social events throughout the summer, as they provided an excellent opportunity to get to know members of the firm in a less formal setting. Although Stampede Roundup was a memorable experience and is deserving of an honourable mention, the highlight of my summer was meeting all of the great people at Blakes, especially the other summer students. Throughout the course of the summer our student group became a very tight-knit team. This allowed us to support one another at the office but more importantly, provided the framework for amazing friendships I will have for years to come.”

Marcus Ostrowerka, 2010, First-Year Summer Student, University of Alberta

"What struck me most about my experience as a summer student at Blakes was the way that we summer students were immediately accepted as members of the team. Support staff, partners, associates, and articling students all went out of their way to ensure the summer students felt welcome - and their doors were always open if any of us needed help or advice. As a first-year summer student, I was so grateful for the level of support and encouragement I felt while working on projects that involved an area of law I had yet to learn about in school."

Melissa Jakobfi, First-Year Summer Student, University of Alberta

“Through an excellent mentorship program and the opportunity for top-tier work, Blakes takes a keen interest in fostering the talents of its students by providing a comprehensive and enriching experience. The people at Blakes are not only legal leaders - they are also business leaders who understand how to build success through teamwork and strong relationships. In this context students are able to learn under the country’s top legal practitioners in a collegial environment that values excellence and integrity.”

Alqaim Giga, First-Year Summer Student, University of Calgary.

"At Blakes you work as an integral part of the team on interesting and complex files. The experience you gain and the mentorship you receive allows you to take on increasing amounts of responsibility as your articles progress."
Josh Brubacher, 2009/2010 Vancouver Articled Student
"I believe Blakes Vancouver has three great assets that are a tremendous benefit for articling students. First, the people are incredibly friendly and willing to take time to talk about any questions you may have about the law or practice. Second, the files you receive are extremely interesting and challenging. Third, the structure of the articling program enables you to chart the course that most suits your interest and future goals"
Andrew Crabtree, 2009/2010 Vancouver Articled Student
"The breadth and diversity of avenues in which articling students can participate at Blakes build robust foundations for rewarding legal careers"
Emily Yuen, 2009/2010 Vancouver Articled Student
"During my articling at Blakes, I immediately became involved in important files with the opportunity to work with lawyers recognized as experts in their areas of practice. Blakes lawyers make great efforts to ensure that articling students are exposed to all areas of practice and, especially, to the files each articling student is particularly interested in. In short, articling students are treated as lawyers and trained to be the best at what they do. "
Simon Jun Seida, 2010, McGill University
"At Blakes, I benefitted from an articling experience that prepared me for the challenges of legal practice among lawyers who genuinely cared about and invested in my professional development. I received interesting and challenging mandates, was often given important roles in the files I was assigned to, and had front line access to clients. My experience was, in a word, invaluable. "
Joanna Myszka, 2010, McGill University
"I chose Blakes because I clicked with the people from the firm that I met during the course au stage, from stagiaires to senior partners. In addition to being a top-tier firm with great files, I knew that I would enjoy working with the Blakes team. This year's applicants should choose Blakes for its stimulating and supportive environment. With opportunities to work with experienced lawyers on interesting files from the first day on the job, it is an excellent place for professional growth".
Aryana Rousseau, 2010, McGill University
"I chose Blakes because it is one of the very few law firms that offers the best of both worlds, the advantage of working on challenging and interesting mandates accessible to large national firms combined with the benefits of working in an office whose size allows for personal interaction with most lawyers."
Claudia Leancu, 2010, University of Montreal







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Our Firm's Future

Although the practice of law is undergoing rapid change in Canada and abroad, we believe we are in the forefront of that change, and are well positioned to meet the challenges of the new century. Our greatest strength is the quality and reputation of our lawyers and their expertise in all areas of law affecting business clients. We will continue to build on that strength.

Blakes is a charter member of the largest non-exclusive international association of law firms (Lex Mundi) with 160 member firms around the world, representing approximately 21,000 lawyers. This organization brings us in contact with leading law firms worldwide and gives us a base to offer our clients quality legal services abroad.

Our expansion has kept us among the leading Canadian corporate law firms. Our growth has been achieved through hiring and developing quality lawyers in all of our offices.





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Community Involvement

Students are encouraged to be active in the community. Our students participate in a number of charitable events that vary throughout the offices. Some of the more prominent charities include: Rick Hansen Foundation for Wheels In Motion, Habitat for Humanity, Holiday Food Drive for the Daily Bread Food Bank, Step Up for the Children, Montreal International Marathon and Festival de la Santé Oasis, United Way, Winter Hope Clothing Drive and AIDSBeat.





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