Canada's Top 100 Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 23
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( 2025 ) SPONSOR CONTENT
Blakes Mindset encourages respect and caring
E
arly in 2021, a colleague sent
Mary Jackson, chief officer,
professional resources at
Blake, Cassels & Graydon
LLP (Blakes), a slide deck about
the Mindful Business Charter, an
initiative emerging from law firms in
the United Kingdom.
It was the height of the pandemic
and Jackson and her colleagues
recognized that many at Blakes were
feeling a lot of stress from work
and life. The charter proposed a set
of principles and common sense
practices aimed at minimizing stress
in the workplace by enhancing
collaboration among coworkers.
“We deeply care about our
people and the culture of the
firm – that’s what sets
us apart.”
— Mary Jackson
Chief Officer,
Professional Resources
In a desire to make Blakes an
even better place to work, the firm
became the first Canadian-based law
firm to sign the Mindful Business
Charter and went on to develop its
own iteration, called Blakes Mindset.
In addition to being discussed in
practice groups and on business
services teams, Blakes Mindset is
included in the onboarding process
for all new hires.
“It’s important to us that we
reduce unnecessary stress in the
workplace,” Jackson says. “How we
work together plays a big role in our
stress levels and our ability to excel.
As a firm, we know that a strong
culture of collaboration is essential
to our individual well-being and the
work we do for our clients.”
Blakes Mindset encourages better
communication and respect for each
other’s time, both at and away from
work. It might make someone think
twice about sending a non-urgent
email to their team over the
weekend, or about raising an issue
in a group chat that might be better
discussed in person.
“It’s always going to be a work
in progress,” says Jackson. But it’s
struck a chord at a firm that takes
pride in its culture of caring for each
other. “We deeply care about our
people and the culture of the firm –
that’s what sets us apart,” she says.
Blakes is constantly building upon
that culture. In 2024, for example,
it adopted a parental and adoption
leave pay policy for all employees
that tops up EI benefits to 100 per
cent of their salary for up to six
months. Among the first beneficiaries of the new top-up program was
Gaby Vintimilla, who gave birth to
her first child this summer.
“It made it easy for me to take a
full year off,” says Vintimilla, a client
relations and events specialist who’d
started at the firm a year earlier.
“The first thing when a baby comes
is there are all these new expenses.
This top-up program gave me peace
of mind.”
Blakes also prides itself on having
talked about mental health and
wellness long before it became
a corporate commonplace. The
firm covers up to $5,000 a year in
mental health reimbursements
for therapy and treatment with a
practitioner of one’s choice; this is
in addition to a wellness subsidy for
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP law students volunteering at
Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto.
fitness memberships, classes and
equipment. The firm also offers
free online and in-office seminars
on topics ranging from coping with
anxiety to assistance with elder care.
In addition to formal training,
Blakes hosts many events for new
employees to help them meet
other members of different business
services departments. Each new
employee is assigned an ambassador
to help familiarize them with the
workplace.
Vintimilla says she felt
comfortable coming to work
while eight months pregnant in a
way she couldn’t have imagined
previously. Part of the reason she felt
so supported was the hybrid work
arrangement currently in place. “The
firm has always treated me fairly and
respected my personal situation,”
she says.
“It elevates my commitment to
the firm. They have my back, so I
have theirs.” ¢
65+
seminars & programs for staff and
legal professionals annually
$
30,000
lifetime maximum for fertility
treatment and drugs
Where great people and
great work come together.
Winner of Canada’s Top 100 Employers (2025) award.
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP | blakes.com
