Partners
robert j. w. blair
he/him
780 – 919 – 3357
bobb@bcklawyers.ca
Bob Blair’s practice is primarily devoted to the representation of trade unions in a broad variety of industries in Alberta and elsewhere in Canada. He acts as counsel in many settings, including the Alberta and British Columbia Labour Relations Boards, the Canada Industrial Relations Board, Arbitration Boards, Human Rights Tribunals and the Courts. He has been a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada since 1982, was called to the bar in Alberta in 1999 and in 2012 became a member of the Law Society of the Northwest Territories. He is also active as a musician, and in that capacity is best known as a steel guitarist for a number of Western Canadian artists.
Bob served as Chair of the Alberta Labour Relations Board from 1994 to 1999. Prior to that, while based in Toronto, he served as Chair of the Office of Adjudication, which was responsible for the adjudication of a broad variety of issues under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety and Employment Standards legislation. He also maintained a significant arbitration practice.
Bob has also been Senior Solicitor to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, a labour lawyer at a Vancouver law firm, and a staff lawyer at the Labour Relations Board of British Columbia.
Bar Admissions
Alberta, Ontario, Northwest Territories
Education
UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE
B.A.
QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY
LL.B.
Leanne Chahley
she/her
780 – 964 – 2461
Leannec@BCKLAwyers.ca
Leanne Chahley represents trade unions and their members in all areas of labour law. She has represented unions in the public and private sectors whose members work in most industries, including the construction industry. She has appeared at arbitrations and before labour relations boards, human rights tribunals, pay equity tribunals, public inquiries, coroner’s inquests, various levels of courts in both Alberta and Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada. Leanne is a past president of the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers.
Education
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
1980 — B.A.
1983 — LL.B.
Bar Admissions
Alberta
cherie klassen
she/her
780 – 951 – 9153
cheriek@bcklawyers.ca
Cherie Langlois-Klassen has spent the last fifteen plus years representing unions and their members, including the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) in negotiations, labour disputes, and at arbitration. She also has extensive professional conduct representation experience. In past incarnations, she served as Director, Negotiations, at the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) and the Director, Labour Relations, at the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA). As part of her private practice, she is lead negotiator for the Association of Academic Staff of the University of Alberta (AASUA) for this year’s round of public sector contract negotiations. Prior to her career representing unions and associations, Cherie worked in the international development non-profit sector.
Cherie has published a number of academic publications and conference papers in the fields of health and labour law. She was previously a Clinical Associate (Academic Colleague) with the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta. Cherie has also served as a member of the Alberta Human Rights Commission (Tribunal) and as a vice-chair of Alberta’s Mental Health Review Panel. She has a special interest in substance disorders and mental health issues in occupational settings.
Cherie received a B.Sc. (Pharmacology) degree in 1995, M.Sc. (Pharmacology) degree in 1999, and an LL.B. in 2006, all from the University of Alberta. Cherie was called to the Alberta Bar in 2007. She graduated from the Business Leadership Program for In-House Counsel at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and obtained the designation of Certified In-House Counsel of Canada (CIC.C). She also credentialed for the national designation of Qualified Arbitrator.