This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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LAVERY AND ITS GO INC. PROGRAM JOIN FORCES WITH STARTUP NEXT MONTREAL
Providing guidance to startups as they prepare to seek outside financingLavery is pleased to announce that its involvement in the Startup Next Montreal program that will allow selected Quebec entrepreneurs to participate in one of the most renowned pre-acceleration startup program in the world and to also benefit from a special session on the legal issues that startups face, offered by the lawyers of Lavery’s GO inc. Program. The Startup Next Montreal pre-acceleration program runs from February 23 to May 2, 2015 and is aimed at priming four startups for success in their search for financial backing either from seed or accelerator funds. The four selected companies are Makerbloks, led by François Poirier, Logrr, led by Julien Denaes, Elysia, led by Vanessa Cheranfant, and Heddoko, headed by its founder Mazen Elbawab. Startup Next is a global program implemented in 40 cities around the world and backed by Google for Entrepreneurs and the Global Accelerator Network. Lavery is hosting six consecutive and mandatory weekly sessions of three hours each, plus one special session dedicated to the legal issues associated to business startups. During these sessions, entrepreneurs meet with company founders as well as with experts who share their own experiences in growth-company management, get to make their elevator pitch before a panel of mentors who provide feedback and are paired with mentors who help them delve more deeply into strategic issues. The entrepreneurs will discuss namely with Bob Dorf, Startup Trainer and Professor of Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School, LP Maurice, CEO of Busbud and Partner at Interaction Ventures, Chris Arsenault, Managing Partner of iNovia Capital, and Sean Brownlee, General Partner at Rho Canada Ventures. The best Montreal entrepreneurial teams will be invited to present their start-up companies to investors or accelerator funds like XPND Capital, Interaction Ventures, Real Ventures, to angel investors like Anges Québec, and to decision makers, as well as to the Jeune chambre de commerce de Montréal (JCCM) and the Regroupement des jeunes chambres de commerce du Québec (RJCCQ) business community during Startup Next Montreal’s presentation day at the 48h Entrepreneurs event. “With its GO inc. Program, Lavery targets dynamic and innovative startups that stand out from the crowd. Our partnership agreement with Startup Next Montreal helps us reach out to several of the most promising technology startups in Quebec,” said Don McCarty, the firm’s Managing Partner. “We are very pleased that the Lavery GO inc. Program is partnering with Startup Next Montreal, because it is essential that entrepreneurs understand the main legal issues they will need to manage in order to successfully grow their company. We added a training session to the program specifically to address this topic and provide entrepreneurs with the best tools possible for the challenges that lie before them,” added Sergio A. Escobar, Startup Next Montreal Program Facilitator. “Lavery is delighted to welcome the entrepreneurs selected by Startup Next Montreal. The members of the Lavery GO inc. Program plan will analyze with them the major legal issues related to their startups,” stated Étienne Brassard, lawyer in charge of the Lavery GO inc. Program. The Lavery GO inc. Program provides personalized support to selected businesses over a wide range of legal services needed during the start-up process, including incorporation, trademark and domain registration, service agreements and various internal company policies.
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Valérie Korozs publishes a chapter on economic dismissal for the Quebec Bar
Valérie Korozs, Labour and Employment Law associate at Lavery, in cooperation with Guy Lemay, Labour and Employment law partner at Lavery, and Ms. Émilie Thibault and Léa Pelletier-Marcotte, students at Lavery, is the author of a chapter in the latest volume Développements récents en droit du travail published by the Quebec Bar’s Continuing Education Service at Éditions Yvon Blais, in March 2015. Her article, entitled « Congédiement pour motifs économiques : l’approche de la Commission des relations du travail » [Dismissal for economic reasons : the Commission des relations de travail’s approach] reviews decisions of interest as well as trends before the Commission des relations de travail on matters relating to temrination for economic reasons. She analyses the burden of proof the employer must meet, and explores the CRT’s approach following a substantial decrease in employment conditions for financial considerations. For more information or to order the publication, click here.
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Pierre Marc Johnson delivers keynote address at business luncheon organized by Société de développement économique de Drummondville
On March 31st, 2015 at the new Centrexpo Drummondville, Lavery’s Pierre Marc Johnson delivered a presentation before a capacity audience made up of key actors in the economy of Drummondville. During his remarks, Quebec’s Chief Negotiator for the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement outlined the terms of the agreement, its origins and steps remaining before its entry into force. He also highlighted key provisions and spelled out the advantages of the treaty for Quebec businesses.
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LAUNCH OF THE LAVERY GO INC. PROGRAM IN TROIS-RIVIÈRES
Legal services tailored to the needs of start-up businessesLavery is pleased to announce the launch today of the Lavery GO inc. Program in Trois-Rivières. This program’s mission is to help young entrepreneurs and provide affordable, quality legal services to qualifying start-up businesses. This personalized program offers a wide-range of legal services, often required in the start-up phase of businesses, namely incorporation, trademark and domain name registration, employment agreements, as well as workplace policies. The legal services will be provided at a fixed rate to accommodate the budget of young entrepreneurs. “For the past couple of years, Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec have been going through a transformation process in regards to their economy, namely marked by emerging new businesses characterized by their dynamism and sense of innovation. The Lavery GO inc. Program will consolidate the firm’s position in the business world of these regions, by concretely reaching out to start-up businesses which present an important growth potential”, said Jean Boulet, Managing Partner of the firm’s Trois- Rivières office. Each business selected for the Lavery GO inc. Program will be supported and receive legal advice from Lavery’s professionals who have both the experience and expertise required, such as Myriam Lavallée, Étienne Brassard and many more. Moreover, the businesses selected will benefit from multiple hours of legal advice. The services will be offered at a fixed rate to take into account these young businesses’ abilitiy to pay. For more information on the Lavery GO inc. Program, please visit: www.laverygoinc.ca.
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Élodie Brunet and Josiane L’Heureux take part in the “Think Prevention” event
On March 25, 2015, in Val-d’Or, Élodie Brunet, in collaboration with Josiane L’Heureux, respectively associate and partner in the Labour and Employment Law Group at Lavery, gave the opening presentation at the “Think Prevention” conference. This event, organized by the SPI Health and Safety firm, was a gathering of more than 80 people representing local businesses, such as mining companies, cities and municipalities. The presentation entitled “Le succès d’une défense de diligence raisonnable passe inévitablement par la prévention” (“A successful due diligence defence necessarily begins with prevention”) sought to sensitize managers to the practical elements an employer must implement when faced with a CSST inspection, a statement of offence alleging a violation of the Act Respecting Occupational Health and Safety or a charge of criminal negligence. In such situations, the employer must be able to demonstrate his diligence, and more specifically, that he took the necessary measures to protect the health and safety of his employees and to prevent, to the extent possible, any impact on their health and safety.
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Jean Saint-Onge presides the Symposium on class actions of the Quebec Bar
Once again this year, Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E., a Litigation partner at Lavery, presided the National Symposium on Class Actions of the Quebec Bar, on recent Developments in Québec, in Canada and the United States. The event, which was held on March 26 and 27 at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, featured over 40 speakers from several jurisdictions in North America and addressed the most recent case law and trends with regards to class actions.
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Jean Boulet will give a conference to the Corporation des concessionnaires de la Mauricie
Mr. Jean Boulet, a Labour and Employment partner and manager of the Lavery Trois-Rivières office, will discuss the state of labour relations in the automotive industry in Quebec during the annual general assembly of the Corporation des concessionaires de la Mauricie, which will be held at La Cité de l’Énergie in Shawinigan (Quebec), on Thursday April 2, 2015.
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Pierre Marc Johnson delivers an address at the 3rd edition of the Canada-France Business Convention
In Montreal on March 24, 2015, Pierre Marc Johnson, former Premier of Quebec and counsel at Lavery recognized for his expertise in international trade and cross-border partnerships, spoke before the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie Française au Canada on the topic of business opportunities offered by the Canada-European Union free trade agreement. During his remarks, Quebec’s Chief negotiator for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement identified aspects of the agreement that should be of interest to businesses wishing to access the Canadian or EU market, including as regards the opening of public procurement, easing of trade in goods, and relaxation of investment review rules.
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Jean Boulet quoted in a newspaper article from the Nouvelliste of Trois-Rivières
Jean Boulet, a Labour and Employment Law partner and head of the Lavery Trois-Rivières office, was quoted in a recent article entitled “Centraide récupère le Consortium en développement social” (“Centraide retrieves the Social Development Consortium”), relating to the Consortium’s relocation following the dissolution of the Regional conference of elected officials of Mauricie. As chairman of the board of directors of Centraide Mauricie, Mr. Boulet reaffirms the essential role Centraide holds, notably in the regions with a high suicide rate. The Consortium’s vocation in training, health and employment, is up to par with Centraide’s purpose, which is to support those in need. Centraide will house the Consortium until the end of the social development agreement in March 2016. To read this article, click here (in French only).
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Lavery hosts a workshop for the Institute for governance of private and public organizations
On March 25, 2015, Mr. Gérard Coulombe, Q.C., Ad. E., a Business Law partner at Lavery, gave a training to about 40 young directors enrolled in the Incubator Training Program for Young directors of the Institute for governance of private and public organizations (YDIGPPO). The workshop, which was held at Lavery’s Conference Center and was followed by a heated period of questions, discussed shareholders’ activism in large corporations and highlighted the pros and cons of such actions in the Quebec, Canadian and American context.
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Lavery hosts a conference organized by the In-House Counsel Committee of the Bar of Montreal
On March 17, 2015, Jean-Yves Simard, a litigation partner at Lavery, gave a presentation entitled “Outside counsel and the in-house lawyer…Succeeding together” during the Double Program on Communication organized by the In-house Counsel Committee of the Bar of Montreal and held at Lavery’s Conference center. More than 50 in-house counsels gathered for this presentation, which highlighted the key points of a successful business relationship between a company’s external and in-house lawyers, as well as presented concrete examples of the best practices to adopt and the pitfalls to avoid.
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Valérie Korozs of Lavery, speaker at the Conference on Recent Developments in Labour Law
Ms. Valérie Korozs, a Labour and Employment Law associate at Lavery, gave a conference entitled “Le congédiement déguisé découlant de motifs légitimes : quelle est la compétence de la Commission des relations du travail (CRT)?” (Constructive dismissal based on legitimate grounds: what is the jurisdiction of the Commission des relations du travail (CRT)?), which took place on March 20, 2015 during the Seminar on Recent Developments in Labour Law that was organized by the Continuing Education Department of the Quebec Bar. As part of this presentation, Ms. Korozs addressed decisions of interest as well as trends before the CRT in regards to constructive dismissal, focusing her analysis on substantial changes made by an employer on legitimate grounds, such as economic or organizational reasons.