This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Jean Saint-Onge named Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers
Lavery is pleased to announce that Mr. Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E., a Litigation partner at Lavery, received the title of Fellow by the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL), during a ceremony in Santa Barbara, California, on March 20, 2015. The IATL is a prestigious group of elite trial lawyers from over 30 countries. Nominations of fellows are by invitation only and are highly selective, being based on accomplishment and excellence in litigation. Only 500 active members can have this title. Mr. Saint-Onge practices at Lavery in commercial insurance, class actions, competition and antitrust, product liability as well as the distribution of financial products and services. He is regularly asked by clients to intervene in pending class action cases to assist in concluding a settlement and achieve a favourable outcome for all parties, most often in complex matters involving multiple defendants. 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 competition law and consumer law. He is also a widely published author and a regular guest speaker. Mr. Saint-Onge’s expertise and social commitment has been well recognized by his peers, whether it be through awards he has won, such as the 2003 Pro Bono Award, 2007 Mérite Award from the Quebec Bar and the 2007 Quebec Justice Prize, or his numerous nominations in prestigious legal directories, namely The Best Lawyers in Canada, The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory, Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross border Litigation Lawyers in Canada and Chambers Global. "Lavery is delighted that Jean Saint-Onge is the recipient of this Fellowship. In a career that spans more than 30 years, Jean has made a significant contribution to the legal profession: as a specialist in certain areas of practice, a skillful negotiator and litigator or by his high level commitment to the community", said Don McCarty, Managing Partner of the firm. To know more about this organization, visit the IATL website at:www.iatl.net.
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Lavery hosts the Emerging Managers Board members’ annual general assembly and cocktail (EMB)
On March 19, 2015, Lavery hosted the Emerging Managers Board (EMB) members’ annual general assembly and cocktail, which took place at Lavery’s Conference Center. Philippe Décary and Jean Martel, Business Law partners at Lavery, welcomed the 70 members gathered for the occasion and participated in the event, during which the Chairperson of the Board, Mrs. Geneviève Blouin, presented the Association’s agenda of activities for 2015, the budget, the new EMB board members and newcomers. The EMB is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and contribute to the growth of local emerging managers. To know more about this organization, click here.
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Katia Opalka delivers a talk to a delegation of French businesses
On March 19, 2015, Katia Opalka, a partner at Lavery and an assistant to Quebec’s Chief negotiator for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union (CETA), Pierre Marc Johnson, delivered an address concerning the agreement to a delegation of French businesses visiting Montreal as part of a trade mission organized by Kassar International. In her presentation, entitled “Key Elements of CETA”, Ms. Opalka provided an overview of the agreement and identified steps businesses should take to get ready for its ratification.
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Evelyne Verrier of Lavery, guest panelist at the Damage Insurance Day 2015
On March 17, 2015, Evelyne Verrier, litigation partner at Lavery, was a guest panelist during the Journée de l’assurance de dommages 2015 (Damage Insurance Day 2015), an event organized by Le journal de l’assurance. For this event, she co-hosted a lecture entitled “Fraude à l’assurance : comment combattre le fléau!” (Insurance Fraud: How to Fight this Scourge!), which allowed professionals from this industry to offer possible solutions to this phenomenon. Held at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, the Journée de l’assurance de dommages is an annual conference presenting seminars on various issues relating to damage insurance. Lavery is proud to be a partner of this major event that brings together insurers, brokers, agents and claims adjusters.
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PwC Canada-Lavery conference on corporate governance: a successful event
On March 12, 2015, Lavery and PwC Canada held a conference under the theme “Board of directors and senior management: what are the conditions for a sound cooperation?”. On this occasion, Gérard Coulombe, Q.C., Ad. E., partner of Lavery’s Business Law Group, and Alain Robichaud, partner in the Consulting group of PwC, discussed the following issues: the roles and responsibilities of boards of directors and chairman of the board; the basis for a sound cooperation between the board of directors and senior management; the ever changing requirements applicable to boards of directors; the real life practices to promote a sound cooperation. This event, which took place at the Lavery Conference Centre in Montreal before close to 50 of PwC and Lavery’s clients, was a great success!
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The Young Bar Association of Montreal launches the 2015 edition of the Legal IT conference
Zeïneb Mellouli, lawyer in the Labour and Employment Law Group at Lavery, is the acting Director responsible for the organizing committee of Legal IT 2015, which will take place at the Montreal Science Center on March 30, 2015. Organized by the Young Bar Association of Montreal for close to 10 years, it is now the most important conference in Canada discussing the impact of information technologies as well as their potential for law. Moreover, Luc Thibaudeau, a Litigation partner at Lavery, will be giving a conference entitled « Le consommateur dans les nuages et la LPC : Navigation protégée » [The consumer in the cloud and the CPA : protected navigation], which will discuss the application of the Consumer Protection Act in the field of new technologies. This event gathers close to 200 participants annually and offers up to 7 hours of certified continuing legal education for the Quebec Bar. To know more about the conference and to register, please click here.
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Justin Trudel, mentor during Startup Weekend at Trois-Rivières
Justin Trudel, member of Lavery’s Business Law Group at Trois-Rivières, acted as mentor during the legal component of Startup Weekend, which took place from February 27 to March 1st, 2015 at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. Over 60 participants took part in this international event, whose objective is to promote entrepreneurship and upcoming startups in the regions. During this three day event, participants were invited to make teams and work on their business model. They also had the opportunity to benefit from advice provided by professionals of various fields who acted as mentors during the event. The best projects had a chance to win various prizes, such as one of the three components of the Lavery GO inc. Program. The event ended notably with the Lavery prize presented to the winning startup Liste Scolaire Éclair, whose business will allow parents to buy, with just one click, all school supplies required by simply entering the name of their child’s school online, and will also include a home delivery service. To know more about Startup Weekend, click here.
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Benjamin David Gross will be a panelist at a sports marketing conference
Benjamin David Gross, a Business Law partner at Lavery, will participate in a panel at the second annual Halftime Conference, on March 6, 2015. This conference, organized by the John Molson Sports Marketing committee, aims to develop students’ interest in sports business. This event is an opportunity for students to interact with sports business professionals, to broaden their knowledge of the field and to network with fellow delegates. During his presentation, Mr. Gross will discuss the various legal aspects of this field, notably financing and private investments. To find out more about this conference, click here.
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Nicolas Gagnon addresses the Corporation des entrepreneurs généraux du Québec
On February 19, 2015, Nicolas Gagnon, a partner in Lavery’s Construction and Surety Law team, co-hosted a conference during the 18th annual conference of the Corporation des entrepreneurs généraux du Québec, at the Château Frontenac in Quebec city. This presentation, entitled “Aborder les questions et scénarios lorsque votre chantier éprouve des difficultés financières », provided insight on crisis situations that can arise during a project, questions that need to be asked in order to face them as well as the legal aspect and point of view of the contractor who has to deal with the consequences.
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Emmanuel Sala and Jean-Philippe Latreille of Lavery, authors of an article in the Mining Journal
Mr. Emmanuel Sala and Mr. Jean-Philippe Latreille, a Business Law partner and associate at Lavery respectively, are the authors of an article entitled “A Fiscal Struggle” that was published in the February 2015 special issue of the Mining Journal which will be distributed at the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention in Toronto. The Mining Journal is a prestigious British publication which covers all aspects of the mining industry, including exploration, financing, development, production and marketing. In their article, Messrs. Sala and Latreille discuss the changes to the Mining Act, the pending adoption of the changes to the Mining Tax Act, and the need for mining businesses to obtain equitable tax treatments, especially in light of the recent administrative developments. To read this article, click here.
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Audrey Gibeault and Jean-Philippe Latreille of Lavery, speakers at a RJCCQ webinar
On February 23, 2015, Audrey Gibeault and Jean-Philippe Latreille, business lawyers at Lavery, made a presentation at a webinar organized by the Regroupement des jeunes chambres de commerce du Québec (RJCCQ) relating to tax and legal aspects of starting up a business. During this presentation, various subjects were discussed such as the legal vehicle to choose to operate a business, and incorporation and GST/QST matters.
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Lavery hosts a seminar for environmental professionals
On February 24, 2015, Lavery hosted a half-day seminar for environmental professionals at its offices in Montreal. Participants attended lectures concerning professional liability and legal aspects of project management. Presided by Katia Opalka, an environmental and Aboriginal law partner at Lavery, and organized jointly by the Canadian Bar Association (Quebec Branch) and the Association of consulting engineers of Quebec, this continuing education activity was a great success, bringing together more than 30 participants representing a wide range of professions at the Lavery Conference center.