This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Our lawyers support the Fondation du Barreau du Québec
Six of our lawyers made a noteworthy contribution during the 2015-2016 campaign of the Fondation du Barreau du Québec. The Foundation warmly thanked our partners Magali Cournoyer-Proulx and Awatif Lakhdar for accepting its invitation to become new governors. André Vautour and Louis Rochette became Governors emeritus by renewing their commitment for a fourth year; and Gérard Coulombe and Pierre Beaudoin became “lifetime governors” by renewing their mandate beyond five years. The Fondation du Barreau du Québec plays a key role in the field of legal research by supporting the work of legal professionals and providing legal publications to the general public.
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Lavery, a sponsor of the Coupe Québec mountain bike competition in Sherbrooke
Lavery was a proud sponsor of the 3rd edition of the Coupe Québec mountain bike competition, which was held on June 25 and 26, 2016 in Sherbrooke's Mont Bellevue park. Organized by Club de vélo de montagne Dalbix, the event drew 360 participants for Saturday's Olympic cross-country (XCO) circuit and 320 for Sunday's classic cross-country circuit, stages 2 and 3 of the Coupe du Québec. In addition to its sponsorship, Lavery’s involvement extended to having a team of volunteers in charge of the refuelling post at the foot of the mountain during stage 2. Lavery’s team included lawyers Audrey-Julie Dallaire and Marilyn Paré, notary Cynthia Fortin, paralegal Katy Pelletier and articling student Cynthia Coutu. Funds raised during the event will mainly be used to set up mountain bike trails on Mont Bellevue and will contribute to the mountain’s development. (From left to right: Katy Pelletier, Audrey-Julie Dallaire, Cynthia Fortin and Marilyn Paré (Cynthia Coutu absent)
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Two partners of Lavery in Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers
Lavery is proud to highlights that two of its lawyers are mentioned in this year’s Lexpert’s directory, Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers. Firstly, Mr. René Branchaud, partner, is recognized as a mining law leader. He practises in the areas of securities law, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate law. He assists companies in matters related to incorporation, corporate structure, shareholder agreements, private placements, public offerings, stock exchange listings, dispositions, and takeovers. To consult his profile, please turn to page 92 of the guide. Additionally, Mr. Guillaume Lavoie, partner, made the list of Corporate Lawyers to watch. His practice focuses on private equity and venture capital. He has developed considerable expertise in setting up investment funds (private equity funds, venture capital funds, and hedge funds) and specializes in structuring complex international funds. He regularly acts as lead legal counsel to fund managers in their fundraising efforts and their investments in Canada, the United States, Europe, and elsewhere in the World. To consult his profile, please turn to page 103. Congratulations!
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Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin quoted in the Journal de l’Assurance about his presentation at the Journée de l’assurance de dommages 2016
Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin, partner at Lavery, was invited to speak about regulatory framework during the Journée de l’assurance de dommages 2016. The Journal de l’Assurance quoted him in this regard: “During the Journée de l’assurance de dommages 2016, Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin, a lawyer at Lavery, explained that the legislative and regulatory framework is always slow to catch up. The sharing economy is no exception. He notes that, in insurance law, whether you’re talking about a car or a home, it’s not easy to assess the risk related to shared property. ‘When taking out an insurance policy, the insured’s primary obligation is to declare the circumstances that, to their knowledge, could affect the risk,’ he said.” [Translation – article available in French only] The article in the Journal de l’Assurance titled “L’encadrement règlementaire sera long à se mettre en place” is available here.
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21 partners from Lavery ranked in the 2016 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory
Lavery is pleased to announce that 21 partners are ranked among the leading practitioners in Canada in their respective practice areas in the 2016 edition of Thomson Reuters’s The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. “I congratulate our colleagues for this recognition and for their continued commitment to serving the needs of our clients. This recognition highlights the contribution of our exceptional lawyers and consolidate the expertise of our firm” said Don McCarty, Lavery’s Managing Partner. The following Lavery partners are listed in the 2016 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory : René Branchaud, Corporate Finance & Securities/Mining *Marie-Claude Cantin, Litigation - Commercial Insurance Louis Charette, Aviation/Litigation — Product Liability *Marie Cossette, Ad. E., Litigation — Corporate Commercial Gérard Coulombe, Q.C., Ad.E., C.ADM., Corporate Commercial Law Magali Cournoyer-Proulx, Employment Law (Management) Pierre Denis, Asset Equipment Finance/Leasing Josée Dumoulin, Pensions & Employee Benefits (Management) Nicolas Gagnon, Construction Law Benjamin David Gross, Asset Equipment Finance/Leasing Jean Hébert, Litigation—Commercial Insurance *Josiane L’Heureux, Occupational Health & Safety Guy Lavoie, CIRC, Labour Relations (Management), Workers’ Compensation (Management) Robert W. Mason, Litigation/Commercial Insurance François Parent, Pensions & Employee Benefits (Management) Louis Payette, Ad. E., Banking & Financial Institutions Élisabeth Pinard, Family Law Ian Rose, Litigation-Directors & Officers’ Liability Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E., Class Actions/Litigation—Product Liability André Vautour, Computer & IT Law/Corporate Commercial Law/Technology Transactions Sébastien Vézina, Mining *New posting The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory is the most comprehensive publication to legal talent in the country and it identifies leading practitioners in over 60 separate practice areas and leading law firms in over 40 practice areas. It is a reference guide for Canadian and foreign corporate counsels and law firms in need of specialized legal services in Canada. For more information, please visit Lexpert’s website at: http://lexpert.ca/directory.
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Anthonie Vézina-Crawford and Paméla Kelly-Nadeau organized “Québec 1608”, an original event bringing together the new generation of professionals
On June 17, 2016, Lavery – Québec’s new generation invited its counterparts at Ernst & Young – Québec to a unique networking activity entitled “Québec 1608”, which was held at Station touristique Duchesnay. Instead of a traditional cocktail, Anthonie Vézina-Crawford and Paméla Kelly-Nadeau, two lawyers from Lavery, organized a friendly competition that drew on teamwork skills and mental and physical abilities. The accountants and lawyers pretended to be pioneers and faced a series of tasks with the goal to build a pioneer village. They built a church, planted a vegetable garden, ensured the transportation of water from a well, and participated in a giant vegetable hunt. Fun and team spirit were at the heart of this truly original activity, which proved to be a great success!
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Marie Cossette interviewed by The Lawyers Weekly on newly introduced Quebec ethics bill
Marie Cossette, partner and head of Lavery’s business integrity group, was recently interviewed by Luis Millan from The Lawyers Weekly in an article titled ‘Questions raised over Quebec ethics bill flowing Commission Charbonneau’ in which she discussed the newly introduced legislation: "The bill is a follow-up to the Charbonneau Commission which raised awareness among different decision-making bodies over the importance of creating a culture of ethics and integrity in our society," said Marie Cossette, an administrative law expert who heads the business integrity group for Lavery, de Billy and who is based in Québec City. "The bill will not change attitudes but it is a step in the right direction. It fosters training and gives professional corporations powers to allow them to play an increased role in monitoring." The article is available in english only. To read the article, please click here.
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Étienne Brassard discusses aerospace law in Les Affaires
Étienne Brassard, a partner at Lavery, discusses the aerospace industry and air law in “Le droit aérien s’adapte aux progrès technologiques,” an article published in Les Affaires newspaper: “’It is well known that Montréal has a strong aerospace cluster, but it is less well known that we also have top-notch professional services capable of supporting major operations in the global aerospace industry,’ says Étienne Brassard, a partner at the Lavery law firm.” The complete article in French is available on-line here.
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Yves Rocheleau writes an article for Manufacturers Mauricie Centre-du-Québec
Yves Rocheleau, a partner in the law firm of Lavery who practises in mergers and acquisitions, has written an article entitled “La relève d’entreprise par des gestionnaires” in the new category Expert Chronicle “Chronique d’expert” on the website of Manufacturers Mauricie Centre-du-Québec (MMCQ), in which he discusses management buy-outs in the context of business transfers and takeovers. The full article is available online here. [article available in French only]
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Lavery proud sponsor of young musical talents!
From Monday 13 to Friday, June 17, 2016, the Montreal Chamber Music Festival has invited the public to a series of "Concerts in the streets" featuring the winners of the Bank of musical instruments of the Canada Council for the Arts. Young talents gave a concert in the lobby of Place Ville Marie in front of an enthusiastic and curious crowd during free lunch-gigs. Artists offered an outstanding performance and presented a repertoire consisting of works by baroque and contemporary composers.
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Daniel Bouchard and Sarah Leclerc discuss environmental law
On June 10, 2016, Daniel Bouchard, Managing Partner of the Quebec City office gave a presentation as part of the 2016 edition of the training event ‘Recent developments in environment’. His conference was a summary of the article "Reflection on the underutilized municipal authorities in environment" he recently co-wrote with lawyer Sarah Leclerc, contributing to the following book recently published by Les Éditions Yvon Blais : "Thinking about the underutilization of municipal authorities in environment", clearly states the view of its authors. Indeed, despite the decentralization of powers regarding local management causing the expansion of municipal jurisdiction, including that of environmental protection, civil society seems doomed to suffer the discretionary choice of elected officials in this matter. The article offers an insight on the importance and usefulness of the powers of elected officials in this area in addition to giving examples of these opportunities not seized by elected officials. The authors also make recommendations seeking to propose ways to potentially resolve this urgent problem." [Translation - book available in French only] Recent developments in environmental law, Department of continuing education, the Quebec Bar, 2016 Ed. Yvon Blais, vol. 418., p. 31.
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Zeïneb Mellouli wins a 2016 Lexpert Zenith Award for her commitment to diversity and inclusion
Lavery is pleased to announce that Zeïneb Mellouli, a lawyer specializing in Labour and Employment Law, was presented with a Lexpert Zenith Award by Lexpert Magazine at a gala in Toronto on June 20, 2016. This year’s edition celebrates lawyers whose actions have advanced diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and society at large. Ms. Mellouli is actively involved in the legal community and in the Montréal community. In recent years, she has served on the board of directors of the Young Bar Association of Montreal and has worked with the Barreau du Québec as part of an initiative to create a working group to promote diversity and the inclusion of members of ethnocultural communities in major law firms. She also contributed to the Barreau du Québec’s forum for an inclusive profession and served on the Committee on ethnocultural diversity of the Bar of Montreal. Finally, she has worked to promote the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, particularly through her collaboration with Lawyers Without Borders. “We are delighted that Lexpert has awarded a Zenith Award to a member of our firm,” declared Don McCarty, Managing Partner at Lavery. “This award recognizes both Ms. Mellouli’s efforts and the firm’s corporate culture, which promotes diversity and inclusion.” As a member of Lavery’s Labour and Employment Law group, Ms. Mellouli advises and represents public and private companies of all sizes in all aspects of labour relations. She is regularly called upon to appear before administrative tribunals and civil courts, including the Superior Court, the Court of Québec, and the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST). For further information, visit the Web site of Lexpert Zenith Award.