This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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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.
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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.