TORONTO, Nov. 9, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes), one of Canada's leading business law firms, today announced that it has been named "Canadian Law Firm of the Year" for 2007 by Chambers and Partners Legal Publishers, one of the world's leading publishers of legal directories and trade periodicals. Blakes also won this award in May 2004.
The Chambers Guides list the top lawyers in 175 countries, providing independent rankings and editorial commentary. No firms or lawyers are mentioned unless they come strongly recommended from the market. With 100 experienced researchers, Chambers is dedicated to investigating the legal profession in all the main areas of practice. Researchers talk to clients and leading practitioners worldwide and find out which law firms they use and how they rate them for their legal ability and client service. On the basis of this research, Chambers identifies the world's top lawyers. There were eight Canadian firms nominated for "Canadian Law Firm of the Year."
"Blakes is honoured to have received this for the second time," said Jim Christie, Chairman of the Firm. "Clearly we would not have received the award without the trust of our clients and the efforts of our dedicated lawyers and staff. On behalf of Blakes, I want to thank everyone for their support."
This latest recognition, follows closely on the heels of many other milestones. For the first three quarters of 2007, Blakes has ranked as the number one firm on the Bloomberg, Thomson Financial and mergermarket M&A league tables in terms of number of deals for Canadian announced transactions. In October 2007, Blakes was the only law firm recognized as one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" for the fifth consecutive year, and one of "Greater Toronto's Top 50 Employers" for the second consecutive year. Also in October, the firm won the Client Choice Award for Canada from International Law Office (ILO) for outstanding service and in British Columbia, the BC Law Firm Pro Bono Guide for Students has ranked Blakes number one out of the 27 B.C. firms profiled in the guide.
Founded in 1856, Blakes has more than 500 lawyers and offices in Canada, the United States, Europe and China. More information on Blakes is available by visiting the Firm's Web site at www.blakes.com.