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Investing in the Future

We are proud to support the development of tomorrow’s leaders.

Blakes is committed to fostering a more diverse and inclusive legal community by engaging with students and young professionals from all backgrounds. Through mentorship, resources and partnerships with equity-deserving student groups and professional associations, we build a stronger, more diverse talent pipeline for the legal profession.

LAWS/Blakes Mentoring Program

Since 2005, Blakes has been working with students at some of Toronto’s most diverse high schools to participate in the LAWS (Law in Action Within Schools) program. The program combines law-related studies with practical experiences for high school students who face barriers to achieving their academic, career and life goals. We offer a unique workplace mentoring program that provides these students with positive exposure to a professional workplace and connects them with lawyers who provide mentoring and serve as positive role models.

Blakes Scholar Awards

Blakes has established a C$1-million national scholarship and awards program to finance legal education for students at 17 Canadian law schools. The selection criteria include academic excellence, community involvement, extracurricular engagement and personal achievement. The program also considers financial need and supports students belonging to historically disadvantaged groups. 

Black Future Lawyers Program

In 2021, Blakes and 13 other firms committed C$1.75-million to support the Black Future Lawyers (BFL) Program, a collaboration founded by the University of Toronto Law and members of its Black alumni community and the Black Law Students’ Association. The BFL Program creates opportunities for Black students interested in pursuing law, builds relationships with universities across Canada, reduces barriers to legal education and supports Black students throughout their journey to law school. 

Toronto Metropolitan University Viola Desmond Awards

Blakes has pledged an annual donation of C$1,000 for ten years to support the Viola Desmond Student Award and Bursary program. This initiative provides financial assistance to students enrolled at TMU or planning to pursue post-secondary education following high school. Recipients are selected based on their demonstrated commitment to empowering the Black community both at TMU and the broader community.  

Level’s Indigenous Youth Outreach Program (IYOP)

In 2023, Blakes began partnering with IYOP, a justice education program based in Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa. Developed in consultation with Indigenous Elders, youth and legal advisors across Canada, IYOP increases Indigenous students’ knowledge of the justice system while fostering critical thinking and leadership skills. The program celebrates and centres Indigenous culture and traditions throughout its curriculum. IYOP also enhances volunteer lawyers’ cultural humility through sustained training, relationship-building and mentorship with First Nations, Métis and Inuit youth aged 9 to 18. Blakes volunteers support the program by leading small educational group activities, working to break down barriers to justice, and providing mentorship on career opportunities and life after high school. 

Opportunity Day

Since 2019, Blakes has been the title sponsor of Opportunity Day, a conference led by the Black Law Students’ Association of Osgoode Hall Law School. This event provides participants from the Black community with the opportunity to learn about law school and the legal profession. Participants take part in mock lectures, tour the campus, learn more about the law school application process and engage with current students, faculty and professionals.

The Wilson Moot

Since 2010, Blakes has been the organizer of The Wilson Moot, an annual competition in Toronto that brings together judges, lawyers and law students with the goal of promoting justice for those disempowered within the legal system. In 2017, the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, the first female Chief Justice of Canada, presided over the final round of the competition. The Wilson Moot was conceived in 1992 to honour the outstanding contribution to Canadian law made by the late Honourable Justice Bertha Wilson, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Since its inception, The Wilson Moot’s focus has been to shine a light on legal issues concerning equity-seeking groups, with the hopes of educating students and the legal profession on these issues.

Pre-Law Internship Programs
Pre-Law Internship Programs

Avenue: Black and Indigenous Undergraduate Law Internship Program 

In 2022, Blakes helped launch the Avenue: Black Undergraduate Law Internship Program, in partnership with the Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion Network (LFDIN), Legal Leaders for Diversity and Inclusion (LLD), the Ontario Bar Association (OBA), the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL) and other professional services firms. The internship aims to support the professional ambitions of Black undergraduate students in Canada who may be interested in pursuing a legal career. In recent years, Blakes has hired interns through the program in each of its Toronto, Montréal, Calgary and Vancouver offices. In 2025, Avenue was expanded to include Indigenous students. 

Diversity & Inclusion Pre-Law Internship Program 

Blakes is proud to have pioneered the Diversity & Inclusion Pre-Law Internship Program, which began in June 2011. Through this program, the Firm has partnered with a client to offer undergraduate university students interested in attending law school an opportunity to work in a business law environment.

Indigenous Pre-Law Internship Program 

Since 2014, Blakes has also partnered with a client to provide an annual opportunity for an Indigenous undergraduate university student to gain valuable work experience in a business law environment.