Osler is proud to announce that in partnership with 13 other leading Canadian law firms (including Blakes, BLG, Cassels, Davies, Dentons, Fasken, Goodmans, Gowling WLG, McCarthy Tétrault, McMillan, Norton Rose Fulbright, Stikeman Elliott and Torys), we have committed $1.75 million over the next 10 years to the groundbreaking Black Future Lawyers (BFL). BFL is a collaboration between the University of Toronto’s (UofT) Faculty of Law, its Black Law Students Association, members of UofT’s Black alumni community, and the broader legal profession that provides engagement and mentorship opportunities to Black undergraduate students who want to become lawyers. The organization’s goal is to increase the number of Black students who attend law school and join the legal profession.
This partnership will provide operational funding to BFL, providing the stability and security needed to allow BFL to establish chapters across universities throughout Canada, while investing in the future of the next generation of Black lawyers. Osler and the other partner firms will also collaborate and deliver a business-law focused educational stream for BFL students, which will include substantive topics in various areas of law as well as network-building and presentation skills workshops.
Read more about the partnership.
Osler is committed to addressing and ending anti-Black and other forms of structural racism in the legal profession. Last year, we signed the BlackNorth Initiative Law Firm Pledge because of our individual and collective commitment to achieve the goals set out in the Pledge and deliver on these concrete, measurable actions that will effect meaningful change.
