Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Chairman: Geoff Belsher

Managing Partner: Bryson Stokes

Number of partners: 263

Number of lawyers: 602 (includes partners)

Languages: Arabic, Cantonese, English, French, German, Mandarin, Spanish

Firm Overview: 

Blakes provides exceptional legal services to leading businesses in Canada and around the world. The firm focuses on building long-term relationships with clients by staying true to its guiding principles and providing unparalleled client service and the highest standard of legal advice, always informed by the business context. Main Areas of Practice:

Banking & Finance: 

Accomplished in all types of domestic and cross-border financings, as well as in the establishment and regulation of financial institutions. Extensive experience in structuring, negotiating and documenting a wide variety of transactions. These include syndications; project finance; asset-based lending; trade finance; high-yield offerings; debt and debtor-in possession financing; warehouse facilities credit arrangements; private placements; securitisations and structured financing; subordinated debt arrangements; aircraft and other equipment finance; and capital markets debt offerings.

Capital Markets: 

Routinely advises corporations, trusts and investment banks on all types of securities regulatory matters. Extensive experience with public offerings, including initial public offerings, acquisition finance and innovative fund structures, as well as private placements.

Competition & Antitrust: 

Represents clients to facilitate their strategic objectives in compliance with the Competition Act and Canada’s rules on foreign investment. Frequently retained by major domestic and international companies and by leading international law firms to provide strategic counsel and representation in merger reviews, cartel investigations, abuse of dominance cases, distribution practices, advertising matters and other competition issues.

Corporate/M&A: 

Advises public and private companies in all industries on domestic and international transactions, including associated regulatory, tax and corporate issues. National experience ranges from privately negotiated transactions to Canada’s most significant and complex public mergers and acquisitions.

Energy/Natural Resources: 

Adept in oil and gas, renewable energy, electricity, mining and forestry matters. A multidisciplinary approach that draws on lawyers in the fields of corporate, securities, M&A, project finance, regulatory, environmental, litigation, labour, tax and aboriginal law to ensure commercial success of clients in these industries.

Environmental: 

Advice includes risk management; permitting requirements; regulatory approvals; spill responses; greenhouse gas emissions; the import, export and disposal of hazardous substances; brownfield redevelopment; environmental assessments as well as due diligence procedures and training.

Information Technology: 

Advises on risk management, regulatory compliance, complex transactions such as acquisitions of technology companies, IT and business-process outsourcing and procurement arrangements, financing of such companies as well as commercial matters, including drafting technology transfer, development, distribution and licensing agreements.

Infrastructure/PPP: 

Multidisciplinary team advising on all aspects of national and international projects involving infrastructure, public-private partnerships, and alternative financing and procurement.

Intellectual Property: 

Advises on high-value, leading-edge technology patent portfolios and provides strategic counsel to some of the most well-known North American and international brands.

International Trade: 

Counsels clients on WTO and NAFTA dispute settlements, free trade negotiations, bilateral investment treaty arbitrations, antidumping/countervailing disputes, customs, export/import controls, compliance reviews and audits, NAFTA origin determinations, government procurement appeals, bribery and foreign corrupt practices, trade policy and legislation, sanctions/embargoes and extraterritorial laws.

Litigation: 

Advises and represents clients across multiple jurisdictions and industry sectors with particular expertise in business crimes, complex commercial disputes, class action defence, competition, constitutional and Charter of Rights, construction, e-discovery, energy, media and defamation, pension and employee benefits, product liability, securities, tax, and international commercial arbitration.

Mining: 

Focused on sophisticated M&A, joint venture, project finance and corporate finance transactions, as well as a wide range of operational and nontransactional matters, such as corporate governance, taxation, title matters and environmental compliance.

Private Equity: 

Advises Canadian and international fund sponsors and investors on the structuring and establishment of funds, as well as governance, regulatory compliance and market expectations. Works closely with clients, as both buyers and sellers, to provide multidisciplinary advice when formulating strategy, structuring and executing investment-related transactions.

Procurement: 

Regularly advises on federal, provincial and municipal transactions and related disputes. A key player in the drafting of commercial procurement documents and procurement policies.

Real Estate: 

Practice spans real property acquisitions and dispositions, mergers and acquisitions, financing, capital market transactions, real estate investments trusts (REITs), securitisations, leasing, hospitality and recreational properties, development and restructuring.

Restructuring & Insolvency: 

Advises creditors and debtors alike in all industries, with a high level of expertise in cross-border insolvencies and restructurings. Clients include domestic and international banks, companies and their directors, and other insolvency practitioners.

Tax: 

Expertise in cross-border M&A, private equity, multi-jurisdictional reorganisations, corporate finance, energy and mining tax, taxation of financial institutions and sales taxes, including transfer pricing, tax controversy and litigation.