Diversity Makes Us Stronger

Diversity is essential to our success

Creating and maintaining a work environment which enables us to attract, retain and advance the brightest, most talented and committed people is a critical element to deliver the highest standards of professional excellence and client service. Diversity ensures that we are truly connected to the needs of the clients and community we serve and contribute richer ideas from our diversified environment. Diversity is a value that binds all of our people and inspires us all to continuously improve who we are as an organization.

We believe a law firm provides a diverse workplace where it:

• Creates and sustains a culture that builds upon the differences of its staff, students and lawyers to the advantage of both the individual and the firm;
• Attracts, retains and advances qualified and committed staff, students and lawyers irrespective of their race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status, disability or any other prohibited ground of discrimination under human rights legislation;
• Complies with all applicable legal obligations relating to equity and diversity under the Codes of Professional Conduct and human rights legislation, including all applicable duties to accommodate;
• Actively supports and is respectful in its efforts to accommodate an appropriate and reasonable balancing of the work and other commitments and priorities of all staff, students and lawyers.

Our commitment to diversity goes beyond our firm's doors. Below are just a few examples of our engagement in some significant collective diversity initiatives:

• Participate in the University of Toronto Faculty of Law's Internationally Trained Lawyers Program (ITLP). This is the inaugural year of the program. ITLP participants are foreign-trained lawyers who are seeking accreditation of their international credentials with a view to entering the Canadian legal employment market
• Sponsor of and Pro Bono for the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL) Annual Conference
• Sponsor and Board member of the South Asian Bar Association
• Pro Bono and volunteer work for Gris-Montréal, a non-profit organization working to demystify homosexuality within society in general
• Pro Bono for COCQ-SIDA – a coalition of 35 Québec community organizations involved in the fight against AIDS
• Pro Bono for Montréal Gay and Lesbian Community Centre
• Sponsor and participant of Out on Bay Street Inc. Conference, Canada's First and sole professional organization focused on supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Ally (LGBTQA) undergraduate and graduate students in business, law & consulting.

We are very proud that several of our people across the firm are engaged in region-specific and firm-wide diversity initiatives. In addition, our National Diversity Committee, created specifically to lead and support one of our highest strategic priorities, has been very active across the firm in recommending initiatives to promote diversity, supplying diversity oversight on firm-wide programs and overseeing the annual performance reviews of our numerous diversity initiatives.

What some of our people have to say about diversity

Diversity is inherent in our society today. Our challenge and opportunity lies in how effectively we move beyond mere tolerance towards the active engagement of our differences through the exchange and development of ideas, perspectives and solutions. In our desire to listen to many voices, our approaches to diversity must also be diverse, as no single initiative fits all.
Sheizana Murji, Associate — Calgary

The business case for diversity has been proven: diversity adds value to our services and provides better results for our clients. The next step is to enlist all of our people in achieving diversity, the same way we ask them to express our other values in their daily work. This “sustainable diversity” will make each of us responsible for inclusiveness, instead of delegating it to one person or a committee. When everyone is working to change a culture, the culture changes for everyone.
Lisa Vogt, Partner, National Practice Group Leader of the Real Property & Planning Group and Chair of our national National Diversity Committee — Vancouver

We live in a multi-dimensional world with multi-dimensional challenges and problems. Traditional power bases are being aggressively challenged. Anyone trying to operate without diverse perspectives is by definition at a disadvantage! The strongest teams are those who are best able to capture the competitive advantage created by diversity.
David McAusland, Partner — Montréal

Diversity is a key priority. We are building on our strong mentoring program to go a step further, meaning going beyond guidance to actions, and from identifying challenges to implementing solutions. With awareness and engaged partners, we will create real opportunities for the people we sponsor and mentor.
Chantal Tremblay, Partner and a member of the National National Diversity Committee — Montréal

Diversity is about more than reflecting the community we work in. It's about reflecting the people we work for – our clients. By forging teams with diverse backgrounds and experiences, we can provide the broadest possible scope of strategic advice to our clients.
Thomas Isaac, Partner — Vancouver & Toronto

Fostering Gender Diversity: Read more about our rich history as a proponent of women in the legal profession.