Diversity & Inclusion

Aird & Berlis LLP is committed to maintaining and fostering a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace.  We strive to live these values and to look at everything we do through the lens of diversity and inclusion. This enriches our firm and helps us deliver exceptional service and value for our clients.

Our firm is a proud and active member of the Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion Network, a network of Canadian law firms promoting and sharing best practices within our respective firms and the broader legal profession.

We look for talented lawyers and staff who will enhance our firm culture.  We believe that diversity means strength.

We have incorporated training regarding unconscious bias into our student recruitment process and we actively review our approach for unintentional barriers. We encourage applications from candidates from diverse communities. Andrea Skinner (our Diversity & Inclusion Partner), Ari Blicker (our Director of Student & Associate Programs) and Reena Kotecha (Chair of our Student Recruitment Committee) would be pleased to be a resource for you.

Aird & Berlis believes that inclusivity requires a commitment to the physical and mental health of our members.  Accordingly, staff and lawyers are encouraged to participate in our extensive health and wellness program, which includes on-site fitness classes (for example, yoga and pilates), fitness incentives, nutrition counselling and health education.  

In 2017, Aird & Berlis signed on to Partners for Mental Health’s “Not Myself Today” campaign. This campaign focuses on offering education about mental health, reducing stigma associated with mental illness and fostering a safe and supportive work environment. This campaign is a key element of our new firm-wide, multi-year mental health strategy, which also includes training and certification in Mental Health First Aid and working towards the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. 

Aird & Berlis is committed to the advancement of women, both within our firm and in the legal profession in general. Our female partners play a leading role in all aspects of the firm, as members of our Executive Committee, practice group leaders and client team leads.

Aird & Berlis was early to recognize and respond to the needs of our women lawyers, by introducing a comprehensive maternity leave policy and facilitating flexible work arrangements.  Our Women’s Initiative, which has been in existence for many years, emphasizes mentorship and networking, and also provides our women lawyers with opportunities for leadership, both internally and within the broader legal community.

Aird & Berlis is a founding member of the Justicia Project, which promotes the retention and advancement of women in the legal profession. 

Since 2007, we have been partnering with the Women’s Law Association of Ontario (WLAO) on the WLAO/Aird & Berlis LLP Equality Award. This monetary award, funded by the firm and awarded on an annual basis, recognizes a female law student for her commitment to advancing equality rights.  

We provide financial and other support for important women’s initiatives at the law schools, including the Osgoode Hall Women’s Network and the University of Toronto’s Women’s Law Association. 

We continue to be a proud supporter of various conferences and events focused on women’s advancement and leadership, including the Women in Leadership Conference, Women of Influence Luncheon Series and Women in Energy Leadership Conference. 

We connect regularly with our female clients and industry members by hosting women’s networking events. We highlight the achievements of successful women in industry and law through our “Powerful Women” series hosted on our firm’s Energy Insider website. And we focus on important women’s issues through several webinar series, including Women and Wellness, and Women in Business.

Aird & Berlis is committed to fostering an inclusive environment for our LGBT lawyers, staff and clients, and to promoting equality in the legal profession and beyond. We are a proud supporter of Start Proud’s annual Out on Bay Street Conference, Out in Law, Pride Toronto and AIDSbeat.  We also host our own “Proud to Celebrate Pride” event at the firm for lawyers and staff as part of Pride Month.

A&B believes in the power of community. By lending our time, energy and financial support to charitable and community organizations, we can make an impact.  We are especially proud of the dedication and enthusiasm of our people, and the great work they do to support important causes in our community. 

Our professionals are active members of community organizations and professional associations (including the South Asian Bar Association, Iranian Canadian Legal Professionals, Black Law Students’ Association, Women’s Law Association of Ontario).

They serve as directors and officers of various not-for-profit organizations (including Women’s College Hospital, Girl Guides of Canada, Native Women’s Resources Centre of Toronto, Canadian Breast Cancer Support Fund and Hockey Helps the Homeless).

Below are a few examples of A&B’s involvement in the community:

• Aird & Berlis is a committed and longstanding supporter of the United Way. Every year, the firm spearheads a multi-faceted fundraising campaign.
• Aird & Berlis supports the David Foster Foundation, which is dedicated to providing funding for non-medical expenses to the families of Canadian children needing life-saving organ transplants. We provide the foundation with dedicated office space. We have also donated five million airline miles to date and have committed to donate one million miles per year for the next five years.
• We sponsor Olympic athletes, including decathlete Damian Warner (2016 Summer Olympics), heptathlete Jessica Zelinka (2008 Summer Olympics) and Clara Hughes (2006 Winter Olympics). We also sponsor Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov.  
• Aird & Berlis provides financial support for the Lawyers Feed the Hungry program and the Second Harvest Hunger Squad Program, and our lawyers and staff volunteer their time with these programs.
• We support an array of annual charitable events for various causes (including, for example the Camp Oochigeas Fundraiser, the Humber River Hospital Foundation Women’s Gala, the United Health Network Diwali Event, and the Hockey Helps the Homeless tournament).
• We provide financial and other support to the Heart & Stroke Foundation, Arthritis Society, Schizophrenia Society of Ontario, Ontario Mental Health Foundation, Ontario Spondylitis Association and Canadian Breast Cancer Support Fund.

Please click here for more information on our community initiatives and involvement.

The hiring practices of Aird & Berlis include policies that prevent any discrimination on the basis of the protected grounds in any employment, stakeholder or external personnel matter. A diverse workplace means that we create and sustain an environment where discrimination is nonexistent and our lawyers, staff and students feel that they are treated equally and with respect. At Aird & Berlis, all personnel actions regarding hiring, compensation, promotion, benefits, job assignments, transfers, lay-offs, return from lay-offs, firm sponsored programs or events, etc. are taken without regard to age; ancestry, colour or race; citizenship; ethnic origin; place of origin; creed; disability; family status; marital status (including single status); gender identity or gender expression; record of offences; sex; and sexual orientation.

Aird & Berlis is committed to providing an accessible environment, in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, and will ensure that accommodations are made for individuals that require them. In our dedication and support of diversity and equality we ensure all individuals will have access to the firm’s services in a manner that positively reinforces client service. Aird & Berlis is also committed to giving people with disabilities equal opportunity to access and use our services, and to allowing them to benefit from the same services, in the same place and in the same or similar manner as other clients.

We are proud to note that service animals are permitted on our premises, however, we do require that any persons requiring a service animal stay with that service animal at all times. We will also gladly provide support persons to assist a person with a disability at a firm event where a fee is charged. There is no additional charge for the support person to attend and the person requiring assistance needs only to advise the firm in advance of their support person’s attendance (in addition to their own). 

Click to view the Aird Berlis LLP Multi-Year Accessibility Plan.

We welcome your comments or concerns to assist us in identifying areas where we can improve our service. Please use the form below:

Accessibility in Ontario - AODA Feedback Form

Should you wish to obtain documentation in an alternate format, please use the form below:

Accessibility in Ontario - Accessibility in Ontario - AODA Request for Documentation in Alternative Format 

These forms are also available at our reception.