Fact Sheet
BLG Management
The Firm
- Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) is a leading full-service, national law firm focusing on business law, commercial litigation and arbitration, and intellectual property solutions for our clients. BLG’s more than 700 lawyers, intellectual property agents and other professionals in five Canadian cities, BLG assists clients with their legal needs, from major litigation to financing and patent registration.
- BLG was founded on March 1, 2000, when the law firms of Ladner Downs (Vancouver), McMaster Gervais (Montreal), Scott & Aylen (Ottawa), Howard Mackie (Calgary) and Borden & Elliot (Toronto) merged to create a single national firm. In July 2002, BLG acquired Armstrong Perkins Hudson LLP, a Calgary-based law firm bringing extensive experience in the corporate securities practice. This firm was the largest securities boutique in Western Canada.
- For more information on our history, please see our backgrounder.
Professional Excellence Program
Please visit our
Professional Excellence Program page.
Professional Expertise
The American College of Trial Lawyers
Founded in 1950, the American College of Trial Lawyers comprises the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only to experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality.
BLG lawyer
David W. Scott, OC, QC, is a past president of the American College of Trial Lawyers. BLG is also home to 13 fellows:
The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb.) is a leading professional membership organization for over 13,000 alternative dispute practitioners around the world. Fellowship is given to those who complete the highest levels of CIArb.’s training program, or meet equivalent standards, and demonstrate the required level of experience.
BLG is home to 5 Fellows, including one Chartered Arbitrator:
Backgrounder
On March 1, 2000, the law firms of Howard Mackie of Calgary, McMaster Gervais of Montreal, Scott & Aylen of Ottawa, Borden & Elliot of Toronto and Ladner Downs of Vancouver merged to create a single national firm.
Founding Firms
Howard Mackie
The Calgary law firm of Howard Mackie was founded in 1888 and was one of the largest in Western Canada. At the time of the merger, the firm employed 150 people including 66 professionals. Howard Mackie was closely associated with Calgary’s emergence as an international business centre, and was actively involved in local, national, and international corporate transactions generated by the city’s thriving business community.
McMaster Gervais
The Montréal, Quebec firm of McMaster Gervais was established in 1823. At the time of the merger, McMaster Gervais was the longest established law firm in Canada employing 280 people including 110 professionals. The fully bilingual firm was a result of a 1998 merger of McMaster Meighen and Mackenzie Gervais. Its history is interwoven with the industrial, maritime, financial, and economic development of Montréal and the rest of Canada. McMaster Gervais’ lawyers were instrumental during the formation of the Canadian railway system and in the growth of the country’s major transportation, finance, and trade industries.
Scott & Aylen
Scott & Aylen, a fully bilingual law firm in Ottawa, was founded in 1952 and a business association with Borden & Elliot in 1999. At the time of the merger, the firm employed 168 people including 62 professionals. The firm pioneered a multi-disciplinary partnership approach which brings lawyers, patent agents, and trademark agents together under one roof to provide a full spectrum of legal and intellectual property services to Canadian and international clients.
Borden & Elliot
The Toronto firm of Borden & Elliot was founded in 1936 by lawyers Henry Borden and Beverly V. Elliot. Over the next three decades, the firm experienced rapid expansion resulting in many name changes; however, the firm name was changed back to Borden & Elliot in 1973. At the time of the merger in March of 2000, Borden & Elliot employed 668 people including more than 230 professionals. The firm was one of Canada’s most prominent full-service law offices with one of the largest litigation practices in the country, and was a leader in a number of specialized practice areas.
Ladner Downs
The Vancouver, British Columbia firm of Ladner Downs was founded in 1911. At the time of the merger, the firm employed 318 people including 110 professionals. Ladner Downs was involved in transactions and developments in every major sector of B.C.’s economy including forestry, mining, energy, transportation, technology, manufacturing, and commercial real estate.
