How big is BLG's Toronto office?

BLG's Toronto office has more than 290 professionals, part of a national firm of more than 800 lawyers working out of five Canadian offices.

How long has BLG been practising law in Canada?

BLG traces its roots to a Montreal law practice founded in 1823 and took its current national form on March 1, 2000, through the merger of five regional firms, including Toronto's Borden & Elliot, founded in 1936.

Does BLG do pro bono or community work?

Yes. BLG helped co-found Pro Bono Ontario in 2001, runs the BLG Reads to Kids literacy program, and was named a 5-Star Pro Bono Firm by Canadian Lawyer in 2023 and 2024.

Can BLG serve clients in both English and French?

Yes, BLG works fully bilingually across Canada's common law and civil law systems.

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) | LawOnline Directory

About Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, known as BLG, is one of Canada's largest full service law firms. It was formed on March 1, 2000, when five regional firms, McMaster Gervais of Montreal, Borden & Elliot of Toronto, Ladner Downs of Vancouver, Howard Mackie of Calgary and Scott & Aylen of Ottawa, merged to form BLG. The oldest of those firms traces back to 1823, when a 22 year old lawyer opened a law practice in Montreal, making BLG Canada's oldest law firm. It marked its 200th anniversary in 2023 with a year of firm-wide programming, and today operates from five Canadian offices, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, with more than 800 lawyers working fully bilingually across the country's common law and civil law systems.

BLG's Toronto office grew out of Borden & Elliot, founded in 1936, and today has more than 290 professionals working from the Bay Adelaide Centre's East Tower on Adelaide Street West, a LEED Platinum building connected to the PATH network. Its work there spans securities and capital markets, financial services, infrastructure and transportation, real estate, health, technology, life sciences and public sector matters. In the Chambers Canada 2026 Guide, BLG earned 181 rankings, including 127 for individual lawyers and 54 for practice groups, with Band 1 recognition in 12 practice areas.

Practice areas

Business & Corporate Law

Real Estate Law

Tax Law

Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Employment & Labour Law

Bankruptcy & Insolvency

Health Law

Administrative & Regulatory Law

Intellectual Property

Milestones & recognition

In 2001, BLG lawyers helped co-found Pro Bono Ontario.
BLG launched its BLG Reads to Kids literacy program in 2003 and marked its 20th anniversary in 2023.
BLG won Pro Bono Initiative of the Year at the 2022 Canadian Law Awards, together with Landings LLP, for helping Afghans evacuate after the fall of Kabul in 2021.
Canadian Lawyer named BLG a 5-Star Pro Bono Firm in 2023 and again in 2024.
BLG was named one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers in 2024.
BLG's Toronto office traces back to Borden & Elliot, founded in 1936.

In the community

BLG's Toronto office supports United Way of Greater Toronto, Habitat for Humanity GTA, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Rainbow Railroad.
The Toronto office sponsors the University of Toronto's Law School Access Program, which offers LSAT preparation courses and ongoing mentoring.
BLG sponsors LSAT preparation courses at five law schools across Canada and supports the Black Future Lawyers Program.

Good to know

Wheelchair accessible A calendar with a checkmark beside a clock

By appointment

Lawyers 35

This firm’s lawyers at a glance

Called to the bar: 1992–2025 · median 8 years in practice 34 of 35 lawyers
Law schools: McGill University (4), University of Toronto (4), University of Western Ontario (4), Osgoode Hall Law School (3), University of Ottawa (3), University of Windsor (3) and 9 more 34 of 35 lawyers
Languages on the roster: Arabic, Cantonese, English, French, Italian, Mandarin

Who handles what

The neighbourhood

BLG's Toronto office sits in the Bay Adelaide Centre's East Tower, a LEED Platinum building in the city's Financial District on Adelaide Street West. The tower connects directly into the PATH network, the underground walkway that links Toronto's downtown office towers, so people can move between meetings without going outside in winter.

The Financial District location fits the office's practice mix. BLG's Toronto lawyers work heavily in securities, capital markets and financial services, work that puts them close to the banks, exchanges and public companies clustered around Bay Street and King Street West.

Legal support staff 1

Law clerks, paralegals and articling students at this firm. They are not licensed lawyers.

Line Abecassis Regional Manager, Specialized Business Law Group (Montréal) Real Estate Law

Frequently asked questions

How big is BLG's Toronto office?: BLG's Toronto office has more than 290 professionals, part of a national firm of more than 800 lawyers working out of five Canadian offices.
What kind of legal work does BLG handle out of Toronto?: The Toronto office's work spans securities and capital markets, financial services, infrastructure and transportation, real estate, health, technology, life sciences and public sector matters.
How long has BLG been practising law in Canada?: BLG traces its roots to a Montreal law practice founded in 1823 and took its current national form on March 1, 2000, through the merger of five regional firms, including Toronto's Borden & Elliot, founded in 1936.
Where is BLG's Toronto office located?: It's in the Bay Adelaide Centre's East Tower at 22 Adelaide Street West, a LEED Platinum building connected to the PATH network in the Financial District.
Does BLG do pro bono or community work?: Yes. BLG helped co-found Pro Bono Ontario in 2001, runs the BLG Reads to Kids literacy program, and was named a 5-Star Pro Bono Firm by Canadian Lawyer in 2023 and 2024.
Can BLG serve clients in both English and French?: Yes, BLG works fully bilingually across Canada's common law and civil law systems.

Where to find them

Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower, 22 Adelaide Street West, Suite 3400, Toronto, ON M5H 4E3 · 416-367-6000

Similar firms in City of Toronto

Miller Thomson LLP

28 lawyers

Miller Thomson LLP is a national, full-service business law firm with offices across Canada. Its lawyers work in corporate and commercial law, litigation, real estate, construction, insurance, tax, labour and employme…

Business & Corporate Law

Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Construction Law

Insurance Law

Bennett Jones LLP

16 lawyers

Bennett Jones LLP is a national Canadian business law firm with more than a century of history, grown from a ten-lawyer prairie town office to a firm with offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vanco…

Business & Corporate Law

Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution Tax Law

Tax Law

Real Estate Law

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

12 lawyers · Est. 1875

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a global law firm of more than 1,500 lawyers with 11 offices across three continents, including a Toronto office that practises U.S. law on cross-border matters in the h…

Business & Corporate Law

Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Bankruptcy & Insolvency

Real Estate Law

Listing compiled from the firm’s public website in August 2026. Verify licence status in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗