Blake, Cassels & Graydon
Encyclopedia
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP – Blakes for short – is a Canadian-based international business law firm
. It is one of the "seven sisters" in Toronto
, Canada
.
Founded in 1856 by Dominick Edward Blake
, Blakes has more than 550 lawyers in offices in Montreal
, Ottawa
, Toronto
, Calgary
, Vancouver
, New York
, Chicago
, London
, Bahrain
, Beijing
and associated offices in Al-Khobar and Shanghai
. The Firm's international capabilities are extended by its charter membership in Lex Mundi, the world's largest non-exclusive referral network of independent law firms with member firms in 160 jurisdictions. Blakes is also an advisory member of TechLaw Group, Inc., an international network of 18 law firms in more than 31 countries, whose primary mission is to advance clients' interests in all areas of technology-related business.
The current Chair of Blakes is Brock Gibson. He was elected to this post in January 2009 and is the first leader to hail from one of the Firm's offices in Western Canada. Robert Granatstein has been the Firm Managing Partner since 2002. Blakes also has office managing partners in each of its other offices. They are as follows:
was called to the bar and entered into partnership with Stephen M. Jarvis in Toronto. Soon it was Blake & Blake when brother Samuel Hume Blake joined.
1867 Blakes incorporated what would become Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
, one of the Firm’s most valued and oldest clients.
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.
1882 Zebulon Aiton Lash joined Blakes and built a corporate law practice that earned him a reputation as “the foremost Canadian corporation lawyer” of his time and as one of “The Ten Greatest Canadian Lawyers Ever,”http://www.blakes.com/pdf/Ten_Greatest_Canadian_Lawyers.pdf according to Canadian Lawyer magazine.
1885 With 15 lawyers, Blakes was already among the largest and leading corporate law firms in the young Canadian Confederation.
1894 Blakes helped start the legal career of Clara Brett Martin
, the first woman lawyer in Ontario and the British Empire. After articling at Blakes, she was called to the bar in 1897.
1930 Blakes moved to Toronto’s 25 King Street West, a 34-storey, 145-metre structure that was the tallest building in the British Commonwealth for more than 30 years.
1953 The Firm’s name was changed to Blake, Cassels & Graydon.
1970 In the decade when Canada formally joined the G7 of leading industrial nations and hosted the Montreal Summer Olympics, Blakes had grown to 66 lawyers.
1985 Blakes became one of Canada’s first “national law firms” after opening an office in Calgary, where the Firm continues to be a leading adviser to the energy sector.
1986 Blakes was among the first Canadian law firms to expand internationally with an office in London, England, which extended the Firm’s reach throughout Eastern and Western Europe.
1989 Blakes continued to expand west with an office in Vancouver that has since grown to be a leading adviser to natural resources companies, financial institutions, technology businesses and governments.
1990 Blakes opened its Ottawa office, an invaluable link for clients interfacing with lawmakers, federal agencies and the region’s thriving technology sector.
1998 The Blakes Beijing office opened to serve clients involved in the ever-increasing flow of East-West commercial trade. Today, Blakes is the only major Canadian law firm with an office in China. http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&articleid=882
2001 Blakes launched its office in Montreal, a leading Canadian centre for banking, financial services, securities, mergers and acquisitions, energy and information technology businesses.
2004 Blakes expanded south of the border to better serve cross-border clients with the establishment of offices in New York and Chicago. The Chicago office is the first office to be opened in that city by a Canadian law firm. http://www.thelawyer.com/blake-cassels-opens-its-doors-in-chicago/109839.article
2009 Blakes is the first Canadian law firm to establish a presence in the Gulf Region, opening an office in Manama, Bahrain, and forming an exclusive association with the firm of Dr. Saud Al-Ammari in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. http://www.lawtimesnews.com/200908035180/Headline-News/Blakes-first-Canadian-firm-to-hang-shingle-in-Saudi-Arabia
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
. It is one of the "seven sisters" in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Founded in 1856 by Dominick Edward Blake
Edward Blake
Dominick Edward Blake, PC, QC , known as Edward Blake, was the second Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1871 to 1872 and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1880 to 1887...
, Blakes has more than 550 lawyers in offices in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and associated offices in Al-Khobar and Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. The Firm's international capabilities are extended by its charter membership in Lex Mundi, the world's largest non-exclusive referral network of independent law firms with member firms in 160 jurisdictions. Blakes is also an advisory member of TechLaw Group, Inc., an international network of 18 law firms in more than 31 countries, whose primary mission is to advance clients' interests in all areas of technology-related business.
The current Chair of Blakes is Brock Gibson. He was elected to this post in January 2009 and is the first leader to hail from one of the Firm's offices in Western Canada. Robert Granatstein has been the Firm Managing Partner since 2002. Blakes also has office managing partners in each of its other offices. They are as follows:
Blakes: A Brief History
1856 Blakes was launched after Dominick Edward BlakeEdward Blake
Dominick Edward Blake, PC, QC , known as Edward Blake, was the second Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1871 to 1872 and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1880 to 1887...
was called to the bar and entered into partnership with Stephen M. Jarvis in Toronto. Soon it was Blake & Blake when brother Samuel Hume Blake joined.
1867 Blakes incorporated what would become Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is one of Canada's chartered banks, fifth largest by deposits. The bank is headquartered at Commerce Court in Toronto, Ontario. CIBC's Institution Number is 010, and its SWIFT code is CIBCCATT....
, one of the Firm’s most valued and oldest clients.
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
Ontario Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal for Ontario is headquartered in downtown Toronto, in historic Osgoode Hall....
and the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
at Osgoode Hall.
1882 Zebulon Aiton Lash joined Blakes and built a corporate law practice that earned him a reputation as “the foremost Canadian corporation lawyer” of his time and as one of “The Ten Greatest Canadian Lawyers Ever,”http://www.blakes.com/pdf/Ten_Greatest_Canadian_Lawyers.pdf according to Canadian Lawyer magazine.
1885 With 15 lawyers, Blakes was already among the largest and leading corporate law firms in the young Canadian Confederation.
1894 Blakes helped start the legal career of Clara Brett Martin
Clara Brett Martin
Clara Brett Martin , born to Abram and Elizabeth Martin, a well-to-do Anglican-Irish family, opened the way for women to become lawyers in Canada by being the first in the British Empire in 1897....
, the first woman lawyer in Ontario and the British Empire. After articling at Blakes, she was called to the bar in 1897.
1930 Blakes moved to Toronto’s 25 King Street West, a 34-storey, 145-metre structure that was the tallest building in the British Commonwealth for more than 30 years.
1953 The Firm’s name was changed to Blake, Cassels & Graydon.
1970 In the decade when Canada formally joined the G7 of leading industrial nations and hosted the Montreal Summer Olympics, Blakes had grown to 66 lawyers.
1985 Blakes became one of Canada’s first “national law firms” after opening an office in Calgary, where the Firm continues to be a leading adviser to the energy sector.
1986 Blakes was among the first Canadian law firms to expand internationally with an office in London, England, which extended the Firm’s reach throughout Eastern and Western Europe.
1989 Blakes continued to expand west with an office in Vancouver that has since grown to be a leading adviser to natural resources companies, financial institutions, technology businesses and governments.
1990 Blakes opened its Ottawa office, an invaluable link for clients interfacing with lawmakers, federal agencies and the region’s thriving technology sector.
1998 The Blakes Beijing office opened to serve clients involved in the ever-increasing flow of East-West commercial trade. Today, Blakes is the only major Canadian law firm with an office in China. http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&articleid=882
2001 Blakes launched its office in Montreal, a leading Canadian centre for banking, financial services, securities, mergers and acquisitions, energy and information technology businesses.
2004 Blakes expanded south of the border to better serve cross-border clients with the establishment of offices in New York and Chicago. The Chicago office is the first office to be opened in that city by a Canadian law firm. http://www.thelawyer.com/blake-cassels-opens-its-doors-in-chicago/109839.article
2009 Blakes is the first Canadian law firm to establish a presence in the Gulf Region, opening an office in Manama, Bahrain, and forming an exclusive association with the firm of Dr. Saud Al-Ammari in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. http://www.lawtimesnews.com/200908035180/Headline-News/Blakes-first-Canadian-firm-to-hang-shingle-in-Saudi-Arabia