From 1971 to 1973, Blake was a legislative assistant to the joint committee on Social Welfare of the Massachusetts legislature. He was admitted to the District of Columbia bar in 1978.
Between 1971 and 1973, Blake worked as an assistant to the Massachusetts legislature's committee focused on social welfare issues. This experience laid the groundwork for his later career as a licensed attorney in Washington, D.C., which he achieved in 1978.