Lynn Roger of BMO Financial Group presents Ernest McNee, Blakes Partner, with the 2011 “Canada's Best Diversity Employers” award.
	Tariq Remtulla (left) and Antonella Rizzello (right), winners of the 2010 Diversity Champion Award [read more]
	Members of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers at a recent reception held at Blakes

Blakes is committed to providing legal services with a workplace environment rich in perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. Diversity strengthens the Firm, making it more effective in competing in an international marketplace and representing our multinational client base.

Some of the programs Blakes has participated in for many years include:

• Rotman/University of Toronto Program for Women in Law
• The Judy Project
• New Pioneers Awards
• Law in Action Within Schools (LAWS)/Blakes Mentoring Program

Our more recent initiatives include:

Equity & Diversity Pre-Law Internship Program: Blakes has a strong commitment to providing legal services in a workplace that is rich in perspective, backgrounds and cultures. In furtherance of this commitment, we introduced the Equity & Diversity Per-Law Internship Program in 2011, which offers one undergraduate student interested in pursuing a career in law an opportunity to work in a law firm environment while focusing on equity and diversity initiatives within the Firm. This new internship is currently a pilot project the Firm is working on exclusively with York University and the University of Toronto.

Canadian Lawyers Abroad (CLA): CLA uses law to improve the lives of others through good governance, rule of law and human rights projects. This organization offers legal services to people in many different countries around the world who are in need of legal assistance but who don't have the means to obtain the assistance themselves. One project CLA is currently working on is opening a legal clinic at a law school in Ghana. Blakes is the pro bono sponsor for the CLA Ghana University Legal Clinic Project and has exclusive rights to pro bono work in relation to the project.

Out on Bay Street: Out on Bay Street Inc. is Canada’s leading organization dedicated to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and ally (LGBTQA) undergraduate and graduate students in business, law and consulting. Blakes has proudly supported and participated in its national conference since it was founded in 2007.

Practice of Law for Women: Blakes is a sponsor and co-organizer of a seminar on the practice of law for women held annually at the University of Calgary in which law students learn from female practitioners across disciplines about challenges and opportunities in the practice of law.

Citizenship and Charter Program: Several lawyers from our Montréal office participate in the Citizenship and Charter Program of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), Quebec Division. The program teaches high school students about the relationship between the charters and their rights and obligations as citizens, helps them in developing pleading abilities and gives them the opportunity to discuss with lawyers and judges. Marc-André Landry, a Partner in the Montréal office, received the CBA's Jules-Deschênes Prize for his exceptional participation in this program and is the youngest recipient in the award's history.

Urban Financial Services Coalition (UFSC): Blakes has been acting as pro bono counsel to the Toronto chapter of the UFSC since July 2008. A not-for-profit organization, UFSC is dedicated to promoting the growth of minority professionals in all areas of financial services. UFSC also seeks to promote financial fluency and increase awareness of personal finance issues in disadvantaged and minority communities.

Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL): On September 23, 2010, Blakes hosted a reception for the CABL to toast its members who have achieved partnership status at Toronto’s largest corporate firms. Linc Rogers, a Partner in our Restructuring & Insolvency Group, was one of the members who was honoured. CABL is a national association of lawyers, judges, academics and law students dedicated to identifying and addressing the professional needs, objectives and goals of black legal professionals and black law students.

The Law Society of Alberta's Working Group for the Retention of Women in the Practice of Law: Blakes is a founding member of the Law Society's Working Group and has been instrumental in implementing a number of programs aimed at supporting and educating young women lawyers and law students in the Calgary legal community.

Blakes also periodically publishes the Blakes Bulletin on Equity & Diversity, holds Firm seminars on subjects related to equity and diversity, and supports a number of ongoing initiatives. In 2007, the Firm launched the Women at Blakes network for women legal professionals at the Firm, and just this summer, Blakes celebrated its fifth annual Diversity Day.

To learn more about the Firm’s commitment to equity and diversity, please contact either David Tupper or Andrea York, Co-chairs of our Equity & Diversity Committee.