Blake, Cassels & Graydon

"Blakes" redirects here. For other uses, see Blake (disambiguation).

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
No. of offices	7
No. of attorneys	685 (2022)[1]
Key people	Geoff Belsher (Chairman) Bryson A. Stokes (Managing Partner)
Date founded	1856
Founder	Edward Blake
Company type	Limited liability partnership
Website	www.blakes.com

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes) is an international corporate law firm with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, New York City, and London.

History

Blakes was launched in 1856 after Dominick Edward Blake was called to the bar and entered into partnership with Stephen M. Jarvis in Toronto.[2] Soon it was Blake & Blake when brother Samuel Hume Blake joined.

In 1867, Blakes incorporated what would become Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The bank remains one of the firm's oldest clients. In 1878, Blakes was the first business in Canada to install a telephone system that provided a direct link to the offices of the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada at Osgoode Hall.

In 1882, Zebulon Aiton Lash joined Blakes and began building a corporate law practice.[3] By 1885, with 15 lawyers, Blakes was among the largest corporate law firms in the young Canadian Confederation.

In 1894, Clara Brett Martin articled at Blakes. She was called to the bar in 1897, becoming the first woman lawyer in Ontario and the British Empire.[4]

In 1953, the firm's name was changed to Blake, Cassels & Graydon.[5]

In 1998, the firm opened an office in Beijing.[6]

In 2003, Blakes created the Daily Bread Toronto Law Firm Challenge,[7] which engages a number of Toronto law firms to raise money for the Daily Bread Food Bank.

In 2012, Blakes donated C$383,000 to the Fondation du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) and the McGill University Health Centre Foundation's (MUHC) joint corporate campaign to raise funds for university hospitals.[8]

In 2013, Blakes assisted the 160 Girls project, an initiative promoted by non-profit organization The Equality Effect, achieve a landmark victory where Kenyan law enforcement officials were ordered to investigate and prosecute crimes of sexual violence.[9]

In 2017, Blakes launched Nitro powered by Blakes, a program that provides access to legal services for emerging technology companies.[10]

Notable members and alumni

• Edward Blake
• Walter Cassels
• Peter Hogg
• Zebulon Aiton Lash
• Clara Brett Martin

Further reading

• Robert Brown, The House that Blakes Built (Toronto: Blake, Cassels, August 1980).
• Joseph Schull, Edward Blake: The Man of the Other Way (1833-1881) (Toronto: MacMillan of Canada, 1975).

References

1. "The 2018 Global 100 Ranked by Revenue".
2. Joseph Schull, Edward Blake: Leader and Exile, 1881-1912 (Toronto: MacMillan of Canada, 1976).
3. Christopher Moore. The Law Society of Upper Canada and Ontario's Lawyers, 1797-1997. University of Toronto Press; 1997. ISBN 978-0-8020-4127-2. p. 153–.
4. Backhouse, Constance (2005). "Martin, Clara Brett". In Cook, Ramsay; Bélanger, Réal (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XV (1921–1930) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
5. T.D. Regehr, "Élite Relationships, Partnership Arrangements, and Nepotism at Blakes, a Toronto law Firm, 1858–1942," in Essays in the History of Canadian Law, ed. Carol Wilton (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996), 207-247
6. Article in Lawyers Weekly
7. About the Daily Food Bank Law Firm Challenge Financial Post, 2012 12 07
8. Blakes makes donation to Montreal Hospitals Canadian Lawyer
9. Case Comment – Victory for 160 Girls in Defilement Constitutional Challenge "Kenya Law", 2013 05 27
10. Blakes launches program subsidizing legal fees for tech companies "Canadian Lawyer", 2017 06 26