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 of Lavery - Organizer of the Quebec Bar 2014 National Symposium on Class Actions
Mr. Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E., a Litigation partner at Lavery, is pleased with the success of the 11th edition of the National Symposium on Class Actions that was held at the Palais des congrès de Montréal on March 20-21, 2014. The symposium is intended for lawyers practising in this area, for in-house counsel handling litigation cases as well as for those who wish to better acquaint themselves with the latest trends in the area of class actions.The 2014 edition of the symposium drew 40 speakers from Quebec, Canada and the United States who discussed the most recent case law in this fast-growing area of legal practice, including evidence on the merits with respect to complex litigation, class actions in the telecommunications industry and health law as well as the strategic and practical aspects of asettlement involving multiple defendants.
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Marie Cossette of Lavery, debate moderator on business integrity at an event organized by the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec
Ms. Marie Cossette, a Litigation partner at Lavery, acted as debate moderator during an event on business integrity organized by the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) on March 26, 2014 that drew representatives of Quebec’s three main political parties who spoke before a hundred industry stakeholders.The OIQ put together this event to make Quebec’s political parties more aware about the ethical challenges and evolution of the engineering profession. Under Ms. Cossette’s guidance the guest politicians discussed the issue of integrity as well as its potential impact on the legislative framework governing the engineering practice and the future of the profession.
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Laurence Bich-Carrière of Lavery, author of an article in Les Cahiers de propriété intellectuelle
Ms. Laurence Bich-Carrière, a Litigation associate at Lavery, has authored an article entitled “Archives Internet : Quelques problèmes de preuve – Application particulière à la Commission des oppositions” that was recently published in Les Cahiers de propriété intellectuelle.In this article, Ms. Bich-Carrière examines some issues raised by the use of the Wayback Machine (WBM), the Internet Archive’s search engine. The Internet Archive is a digital library whose objective is to store all Web pages. Ms. Bich-Carrière’s analysis begins with the usefulness and admissibility of this tool before the Canadian Trade-marks Opposition Board, the tribunal before which it is most invoked. The author’s analysis also includes broader considerations on the overall reliability of the WBM in view of evidence requirements found in Quebec and Canadian law as well as in some other jurisdiction.To read this article (in French), click here.
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Jean-Yves Simard of Lavery, round table panelist at McGill University
Mr. Jean-Yves Simard, a Litigation partner at Lavery, was a round table panelist at the McGill University Faculty of Law on March 19, 2014. This event, which was part of a course on trial advocacy, was focused on the rules of courtesy, civility and ethics to which trial lawyers must abide by before the courts.During this round table, the panelists shared their experiences and ideas on this topical issue. They also answered questions from the students. In addition to Mr. Simard, three persons acted as panelists: the Honourable Marc-André Blanchard, judge of the Superior Court of Québec, Mr. Jean-Pierre Sheppard and Mr. Peter Kalichman.
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First Pro Bono Québec benefit event to promote access to justice: A success across the board
Lavery is pleased to have supported Pro Bono Québec in its first fundraising event that was designed to improve access to justice. This very successful event took place on March 19, 2014 at the Robin des Bois Restaurant in Montreal and benefited from the generosity of the participants and the commitment of Lavery lawyers and staff members.Mr. Bernard Larocque, a Litigation partner at Lavery and Treasurer of Pro Bono Québec, took part in this event along with Mr. Luc Thibaudeau, a Litigation partner at the firm, who was a member of the volunteer musical quartet that played during the evening. The benefit event drew about 130 people, including several lawyers of the firm as well as leading figures from the legal, arts and business community. A live and silent auction was held during the evening, which gave participants the opportunity to acquire grands crus. All proceeds went to Pro Bono Québec.
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Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin of Lavery, mentor during the 36th edition of the Pierre-Basile-Mignault Moot Court Competition
Mr. Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin, a Litigation associate at Lavery, acted as mentor for the Université de Montréal during the 36th edition of the Pierre-Basile-Mignault Moot Court Competition that was recently held at the Université du Québec à Montréal.The 2014 edition of this prestigious competition involved the six Canadian Law faculties with a civil law section. The Université de Montréal team finished first overall with a total of four awards: SOQUIJ Cup for second best factum; Yvon Blais Cup for second best pair of litigators; Robinson Cup for best litigator; and President of Quebec Bar Cup for best team.
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Jean Martel of Lavery quoted in a recent article of Finance et Investissement
Mr. Jean Martel, Ad. E., a Business Law partner at Lavery, is quoted in a recent article published in Finance et Investissement, a valuable source of information for mutual fund sales representatives, securities advisors, financial security advisors and financial planners.In this article entitled “Le FMI s’en mêle”, Mr. Martel comments the latest report on the Canadian financial sector released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which embraces the idea of a “cooperative securities regulator in Canada”. Following this report, Mr. Martel discusses a few important issues, such as the Supreme Court of Canada decision with respect to Canadian securities regulation, securities harmonization between the country’s provinces and the need for co-operation in this area which does not require the creation of a single securities regulator.To read this article (in French), click here.
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Jean Saint-Onge recognized as a leader in the area of class actions by Chambers Global
Mr. Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E., a Litigation partner at Lavery, is recognized as a leader in the area of class actions in the 2014 edition of the prestigious legal directory Chambers Global.The expertise of Mr. Saint-Onge falls under the category Canada, Dispute Resolution: Class Action (Defence). Chambers Global points out that Mr. Saint-Onge is a highly regarded class actions practitioner in Montreal, particularly in competition, environmental and product liability matters. Sources consider him a very experienced counsel with great court skills.The lawyers and law firms profiled in Chambers Global are selected following a rigorous process where thousands of interviews are conducted with a vast range of lawyers and their clients, i.e. commercial users of legal services, by a team of more than 150 full-time researchers. Moreover, the final selection is based on well-defined criteria, such as the quality of service provided to clients, legal expertise and commercial astuteness.
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André Laurin of Lavery appointed Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Université de Sherbrooke
Mr. André Laurin, a Business Law partner at Lavery, was recently appointed Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Université de Sherbrooke. Since 2012, Mr. Laurin has been a member of the University Senate and the Board of Directors of the Université de Sherbrooke.Mr. Laurin has acknowledged expertise with respect to training and courses on corporate governance, directors' liability and ethics.
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Raphaël H. Schachter of Lavery accepts the invitation to join the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute
Mr. Raphaël H. Schachter, Q.C., Ad. E., who practises exclusively in the areas of criminal law, penal law and the penal aspects of competition law at Lavery, was asked and accepted to join the Regional Committee for Quebec of the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute. The Institute was created in 2006 to provide advocacy services to lawyers appearing before the Supreme Court. The Regional Committees comprise experienced criminal law and civil law practitioners in both governmental and private practice.As a member of the Regional Committee for Quebec, Mr. Schachter offers various advocacy services to Quebec counsel to help them refine their arguments and gain a better understanding of the advocacy process before the Supreme Court.To know more about the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute, click here.
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Cominar completes the re-opening of its offering of 4.941% Series 4 debentures in the amount of $100 million
On January 16, 2014, Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust completed the re-opening of its offering 4.941% Series 4 senior unsecured debentures due July 27, 2020 in the principal amount of $100 million. Cominar intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to repay amounts outstanding under its credit facility, to fund a portion of future acquisitions and for general trust purposes. The debentures were sold by a syndicate of agents co-led by National Bank Financial Inc. and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., including RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., TD Securities Inc. and Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. The syndicate of agents was represented by a team from Lavery consisting of Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant, Guillaume Lavoie and Maxime Bergeron (corporate and securities), and Philip Nolan (tax). Cominar is the third largest diversified real estate investment trust in Canada and currently remains the largest commercial property owner in the Province of Quebec.
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Raymond Doray and Loïc Berdnikoff of Lavery, speakers at Damage Insurance Day 2014
Mr. Raymond Doray, Ad. E., and Mr. Loïc Berdnikoff, administrative law and information law partners at Lavery, acted as speakers at La Journée de l’assurance de dommages 2014 (Damage Insurance Day 2014), an event organized by Le journal de l’assurance in co-operation with the Chambre de l’assurance de dommages. This annual event was held March 12, 2014 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal under the theme “La nature se déchaîne : Au front pour les assurés !” (Nature unleashed: All together for the insured!).Lavery is proud to be a partner of this major event that brings together insurers, brokers, agents and claims adjusters. Mr. Doray and Mr. Berdnikoff were speakers at a conference entitled “Des assureurs prennent le virage de l’intelligence d’affaires : Quels seront les bénéfices pour les assurés ?” (Insurers committed to business intelligence: What will be the benefits for the insured?). They underlined the growing importance of business intelligence in the insurance field and warned participants regarding the collection, use and communication of thousands of pieces of personal information as well as the risks related to this form of marketing.