Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Firm Details: 

Chair: Joel Jones

Managing Partners: John G. Murphy (National Managing Partner and CEO), Alan Ross (Calgary), Vincent Frenette (Montréal), Larry Elliot (Ottawa), Cindy Clarke (Toronto), Steve M. Winder (Vancouver)

National Group Heads: David Di Paolo (Disputes - Commercial and Construction), Prema Thiele (Corporate and Capital Markets), Graham Walker (Specialized Disputes), Stephen J. Redican, (Specialized Business Law), Cindy Clarke (Clients, Sectors & New Services)

Number of partners: 379

Number of other lawyers and professionals worldwide: 516

Languages: Afrikaans, Arabic, Armenian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, Farsi, Finnish, French, Ga, Georgian, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Inuktitut, Italian, Japanese, Jung-San, Korean, Kurdish, Kutchi, Macedonian, Mandarin, Marathi, Montenegrin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Turkish, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Yoruba

Firm Overview : 

As Canada’s largest full-service law firm, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) delivers comprehensive legal solutions and an exceptional client experience for domestic and international clients — across more practice areas and industry sectors — than any other Canadian firm.

With a multidisciplinary team of over 800 lawyers, intellectual property agents and other professionals, BLG serves businesses and institutions across all of their legal needs, including M&A and capital markets, complex disputes, financing, and trademark and patent registration.

BLG is the largest of Canada's few AmLaw Global 100 firms, with five vibrant offices in each of Canada's principal business markets, and the nation's capital. As a bilingual English-French firm, BLG excels under both the common and civil law systems in Canada.

The firm continues to build a legacy of 'firsts': it was Canada's first founded law firm, one of the first in North America to implement client service standards, and consistently receives legal industry recognitions for innovation in client service delivery and value.

Taking great pride in the communities where firm members live and work, BLG supports a variety of initiatives, including pro bono legal services, fundraising and volunteer programs, such as the BLG Reads to Kids Program.

Main Areas of Practice: 

■ Banking & Financial Services

■ Capital Markets

■ Commercial Real Estate

■ Competition & Foreign

■ Construction

■ Corporate Commercial

■ Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Security

■ Disputes / Litigation

■ Environmental

■ Health Care

■ Indigenous Law

■ Information Technology

■ Insolvency & Restructuring

■ Intellectual Property

■ International Trade & Investment

■ Investment Management & Review

■ Labour & Employment

■ Mergers & Acquisitions

■ Municipal & Land Use Planning

■ Private Clients

■ Tax

International Work: 

BLG provides business law, dispute resolution and intellectual property solutions to a wide range of clients internationally in virtually every area of law. Special expertise includes mergers and acquisitions, infrastructure and public-private projects, financings, international trade law, commercial disputes and arbitration. BLG has acted in international banking transactions (including sovereign risk lending); international insolvencies, liquidations and restructurings; international joint ventures, reorganizations and acquisitions; commercial contracts; and international and multi-jurisdictional disputes.

Diversity: 

Diversity and inclusiveness are critical to the firm’s success. The principles of employment equity, diversity and human rights are an integral part of our culture. As Canada’s Law Firm, BLG champions diversity and inclusion in the workplace and in the wider legal community. BLG actively participates in and promote programs aimed at improving and celebrating diversity within the legal profession and the broader business community, including our robust Transgender Accommodation and Inclusivity Policy, BLG's mental health strategy, unconscious bias training, and the development and continued growth of the Driven By Women™ initiative. BLG is a proud partners of Catalyst Canada, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, Canadian Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and Pride at Work Canada.

Clients & Community: 

BLG is proud to support its clients and communities. The firm provides insight to domestic and international public and private corporations across all business sectors. BLG advises governments, governmental organizations and agencies, as well as trade groups and broader public sector clients. The firm’s ability to make a positive impact in the communities in which it lives and works directly connects to how it cultivates its relationships, both inside and outside of the office. BLG supports nearly 200 different non-profit organizations annually, ranging from local charities and grassroots community initiatives to international charitable missions. The firm’s cross-practice and cross-country firm provides more than 20,000 pro bono hours of legal support to nearly 200 not-for-profits and vulnerable individuals.