Inclusion Now is an action-oriented strategy centered around four pillars: Leadership, Talent, Culture, and Community
The single most important factor for the long-term success of diversity and inclusion efforts is having leaders take personal responsibility for outcomes. To ensure Inclusion Now’s success, McCarthy Tétrault has created a governance model that is led by our CEO and supported by our firm leaders.
Our Firm’s level of commitment and investment in Inclusion Now is what sets us apart. We have a team of broad subject matter experts dedicated to advancing Inclusion Now within the Firm and in our communities.
Senior Director, Inclusion
Manager, Diversity & Inclusion
Specialist, Diversity & Inclusion
Our people are our greatest asset. Nurturing them to be their best is key to ensuring their and our firm’s success.
By developing inclusive programs and policies that counteract systemic discrimination and unconscious bias, Inclusion Now ensures all our people feel valued and welcome.
In collaboration with our Human Resources and Professional Resources groups, we have implemented:
Education is foundational to building an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and welcome. We offer a robust education program to build our internal cultural competency. This includes programs that raise awareness about gender equality anti-Black and anti-Asian racism, Truth and Reconciliation, antisemitism, islamophobia, and white supremacy.
Inclusion Now is unique in its vision to engage and involve all members of our firm, not just those who face barriers to advancement. Our Action Groups – Abilities, Race, Pride and Gender – include working committees that bring our Inclusion Now strategy to life in each of our offices.
Over 500 of our partners, associates, students, and staff – almost a third of our Firm – are members of one or more of our Action Groups.
Concrete action is essential to advancing racial equity. Inclusion Now directly supports and advances Black, Indigenous and people of colour within our firm, creating a culture of belonging and allyship.
We have partnered with the Canadian Bar Association to provide every firm member access to “The Path: Your Journey Through Indigenous Canada”.
We offer cultural competency and unconscious bias training to all firm members to take unconscious bias training, and we offer specialized training for staff and lawyers.
McCarthy Tétrault has advanced gender inclusion and the representation of women at our Firm for decades. We are committed to achieving gender equality and participate in industry-leading initiatives that support our women leaders.
Women continue to be leaders at our firm:
McCarthy Tétrault is committed to meeting our responsibilities under the Calls to Action set out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
In 2020, McCarthy Tétrault appointed former litigation partner John Brown to serve as our Legal and Strategic Advisor, Indigenous Initiatives. John’s family on his father’s side is Sto:lo whose traditional territory is the Fraser River Valley in British Columbia. To our knowledge, there is no other role of this kind in a North American law firm.
To learn more about our Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation Click Here.
At McCarthy Tétrault we understand that exercising our corporate responsibility involves looking beyond our offices. We partner with numerous community organizations, directly supporting their work with time, money, and our legal expertise.
McCarthy Tétrault has partnerships with several organizations that support, promote and advance Black, Indigenous, and racialized people within the legal profession and beyond:
McCarthy Tétrault is proud to be a signatory to the Black North Initiative Law Firm Pledge. We know that Black people continue to be underrepresented in the legal profession, and we are proud to support and partner with several Black-led organizations who are on the front lines of this issue, including:
This investment goes beyond a financial commitment to include pro bono advocacy, governance, fundraising, and continuing legal education for Black law students and lawyers across Canada.
McCarthy Tétrault’s Community Impact Committee is focused on giving back to the communities in which we reside and work. The firm contributes funds to non-profit organizations, local programs and initiatives that improve the lives of everyday Canadians.
We have some of the brightest legal minds in Canada at McCarthy Tétrault. Through our pro bono program, we put that expertise to work to support community organizations and the vulnerable people they serve.
Alongside the hundreds of individual pro bono matters we work on each year, McCarthy Tétrault partners with Lawyers Without Borders to support international legal efforts. In Canada, we are the National Law Firm Partner for Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC), supporting the next generation of pro bono lawyers. We are a founding partner of PBSC’s Indigenous Human Rights Clinic, where our lawyers assist clients with their human rights complaints.
McCarthy Tétrault lawyers and students support The 519’s TransID Clinic, helping clients update their government-issued ID and gender markers.
We are also tremendously proud of our work on the Unaccompanied Minors Project, a McCarthy Tétrault initiative that pairs our lawyers with children who arrive alone at Toronto’s international airport to be their designated representative in refugee claims.
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