National (October 6, 2023) – Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG), Canada’s oldest law firm, is marking its 200th anniversary with a year-long series of initiatives that highlight the firm’s commitment to shaping the future of law and Canada itself.
“This is a monumental milestone for BLG and we’re excited to celebrate with our colleagues, our clients and our communities,” says John Murphy, BLG’s national managing partner and CEO. “We are especially grateful to our clients for trusting us to advise them on their business-defining moments. They are our long-standing partners and have helped build BLG into what we are today.”
BLG started as the dream of a 22-year-old lawyer in Montréal in 1823. Today, BLG is known as Canada’s law firm: over 2000 legal and business professionals from coast to coast, with a history that began before Canada was a country.
The firm has been home to two former Supreme Court justices, two Prime Ministers, an attorney general, several appeal court justices, law school deans, an ambassador to the U.S., appointees to the Order of Canada, directors of national corporations and experts in many sectors.
Over the past 200 years, BLG has argued some of the leading cases in the Supreme Court of Canada, helped build some of the country’s most impressive infrastructure projects, led billions of dollars in transactions, started and supported life-changing community initiatives and received international recognition for innovation.
This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the BLG Reads to Kids initiative, which the firm is celebrating by distributing Future Stars Classroom Toolkits to 200 classrooms from coast to coast to coast, including Nunavut.
“BLG has a long tradition of pro bono work and community involvement, including co-founding Pro Bono Ontario in 2001, starting BLG Reads to Kids in 2003 and co-leading a national campaign to help Afghans evacuate after the fall of Kabul in 2021,” says Murphy. “We are fully committed to acting on significant social issues and giving back to our communities.”
The firm has launched its Future of Law series in honour of its 200th, featuring interviews with renowned legal minds and industry leaders on everything from access to justice to mental health. The series launched with a Q&A with beloved defender of human rights and BLG senior counsel, Louise Arbour.