[9] Despite his superior academic record, Laskin, who was Jewish, was unable to find work at any law firm of note, because of the anti-Semitism that pervaded the English-Canadian legal profession at the time.

[9] As a result, his first job after graduating was writing headnotes (i.e., article synopses) for the Canadian Abridgement,[1] a legal research tool.

In 1940, he was hired by the University of Toronto (the post had initially been offered to John Kenneth Macalister, who turned it down in favour of serving in the military).

[11] Laskin's non-academic practice involved primarily the area of labour and employment law, where he was known to have a kind heart and worked to advance the rights of trade unions.

His most significant contributions were as a grievance arbitrator, where he made one of the greatest contributions to labour jurisprudence, with many of the legal concepts he developed finding their way into the broader field of law, especially human rights law which in the early days grew largely out of disputes in the workplace.

This made for a stark contrast with fellow Justice Jean Beetz, who was known as one of the strongest supporters of provincial powers under the Constitution.

During the 1970s, Laskin frequently joined with justices Wishart Spence and Brian Dickson on cases involving civil liberties, often in dissent from the more conservative majority on the court.

It triggered reforms to matrimonial laws across the country, adopting Laskin's view of property equality between husband and wife.

Historian Frederic Bastien suggests that Laskin may have violated the constitutional separation of powers by discussing the deliberations of the court with politicians, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the decision.

[21] However, surviving participants in the Reference process do not think that the allegations, even if true, undercut the validity of the court's decision.

[22] Laskin was in poor health the last few years of his life, and died in office on March 26, 1984, at the age of 71 from pneumonia.

[23] Prime Minister Trudeau offered a state funeral, but the family declined because Laskin "liked things very simple."

Instead, Laskin lay in state in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court building, prior to a simple funeral ceremony in Ottawa and interment at Holy Blossom Memorial Park in Toronto.

[citation needed] Bora Laskin received honorary degrees from many Canadian and international universities, these include: