Partner
Jean Saint-Onge is a partner in the litigation group at Lavery. The main focus of his practice is on class actions, product liability, competition law and environmental law. In addition, Mr. Saint-Onge is the chief agent in Quebec for many foreign insurance companies.

Mr. Saint-Onge has been involved in numerous precedent-setting cases and has represented major corporations in multijurisdictional and cross border class actions, more particularly in the areas of consumer law and product liability.

Mr. Saint-Onge regularly speaks to professional and industry groups about legal issues that pertain to product liability litigation and class actions. He has delivered speeches to The Canadian Institute, Insight, The Canadian Bar Association, the Quebec Bar, the Practicing Law Institute (New York) and at Les Entretiens Jacques-Cartier (Lyon). Since 2004, he has been organizing and leading the Quebec Bar continuing education symposium on Class Actions - Recent Developments in Quebec, Canada and the United States.

Mr. Saint-Onge is listed among the leading practitioners in the fields of Litigation-Class Actions, Litigation-Commercial Insurance and Litigation-Product Liability in the 2011 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada directory in the practice area of Class Action Litigation. Mr. Saint-Onge is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation only honorary trial lawyer society.

Distinctions

• Prix de la Justice du Québec 2007 award from the Minister of Justice
• Mérite Award from the Quebec Bar (2007)
• Advocatus Emeritus (Ad. E.) distinction from the Quebec Bar (2007)
• 2003 Pro Bono Award from The Canadian Bar Association (Quebec Division)

Professional and community activities

• Member of the Board of Directors of the Fondation Lafontaine-Cormier – Preservation of the heritage pertaining to the administration of justice
• Chair of the Quebec Bar Committee on Class Action Proceedings (2006-…)
• Chair of the Board of Directors of the Marie-Vincent Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to the prevention and treatment of child abuse (1996-…)
• Member of several professional committees of the Quebec Bar, including the Committee on the Future of the Legal Profession (1994-1996), the Motions Committee (1991-2002) and the Committee on the Status of Women in the Legal Profession (1994-2001)
• Member of the Bar of Montreal Council and of the Quebec Bar Executive Committee (1990-1991)
• President of the Young Bar Association of Montreal (1989-1990)