This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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The Best Lawyers in Canada 2025 recognize 88 lawyers of Lavery
Lavery is pleased to announce that 88 of its lawyers have been recognized as leaders in their respective fields of expertise by The Best Lawyers in Canada 2025. The ranking is based entirely on peer recognition and rewards the professional performance of the country's top lawyers. The following lawyers also received the Lawyer of the Year award in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada: Isabelle Jomphe: Intellectual Property Law Myriam Lavallée : Labour and Employment Law Consult the complete list of Lavery's lawyers and their fields of expertise: Geneviève Beaudin : Employee Benefits Law Josianne Beaudry : Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Mining Law / Securities Law Geneviève Bergeron : Intellectual Property Law Laurence Bich-Carrière : Class Action Litigation / Contruction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation / Product Liability Law Dominic Boivert : Insurance Law Luc R. Borduas : Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Daniel Bouchard : Environmental Law René Branchaud : Mining Law / Natural Resources Law / Securities Law Étienne Brassard : Equipment Finance Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Project Finance Law / Real Estate Law Jules Brière : Aboriginal Law / Indigenous Practice / Administrative and Public Law / Health Care Law Myriam Brixi : Class Action Litigation / Product Liability Law Benoit Brouillette : Labour and Employment Law Marie-Claude Cantin : Construction Law / Insurance Law Brittany Carson : Labour and Employment Law André Champagne : Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Chantal Desjardins : Intellectual Property Law Jean-Sébastien Desroches : Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Raymond Doray : Administrative and Public Law / Defamation and Media Law / Privacy and Data Security Law Christian Dumoulin : Mergers and Acquisitions Law Alain Y. Dussault : Intellectual Property Law Isabelle Duval : Family Law Ali El Haskouri : Banking and Finance Law Philippe Frère : Administrative and Public Law Simon Gagné : Labour and Employment Law Nicolas Gagnon : Construction Law Richard Gaudreault : Labour and Employment Law Julie Gauvreau : Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice / Intellectual Property Law Marc-André Godin : Commercial Leasing Law / Real Estate Law Caroline Harnois : Family Law / Family Law Mediation / Trusts and Estates Marie-Josée Hétu : Labour and Employment Law Édith Jacques : Corporate Law / Energy Law / Natural Resources Law Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur : Labour and Employment Law Isabelle Jomphe : Advertising and Marketing Law / Intellectual Property Law Nicolas Joubert : Labour and Employment Law Guillaume Laberge : Administrative and Public Law Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin : Insurance Law Awatif Lakhdar : Family Law Marc-André Landry : Alternative Dispute Resolution / Class Action Litigation / Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation / Product Liability Law Éric Lavallée : Technology Law Myriam Lavallée : Labour and Employment Law Guy Lavoie : Labour and Employment Law / Workers' Compensation Law Jean Legault : Banking and Finance Law / Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Carl Lessard : Labour and Employment Law / Workers' Compensation Law Josiane L'Heureux : Labour and Employment Law Hugh Mansfield : Intellectual Property Law Zeïneb Mellouli : Labour and Employment Law / Workers' Compensation Law Isabelle P. Mercure : Trusts and Estates / Tax Law Patrick A. Molinari : Health Care Law Luc Pariseau : Tax Law / Trusts and Estates Ariane Pasquier : Labour and Employment Law Hubert Pepin : Labour and Employment Law Martin Pichette : Insurance Law / Professional Malpractice Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation Élisabeth Pinard : Family Law / Family Law Mediation François Renaud : Banking and Finance Law / Structured Finance Law Marc Rochefort : Securities Law Yves Rocheleau : Corporate Law Judith Rochette : Alternative Dispute Resolution / Insurance Law / Professional Malpractice Law Ian Rose FCIArb : Class Action Litigation / Director and Officer Liability Practice / Insurance Law Ouassim Tadlaoui : Construction Law / Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law David Tournier : Banking and Finance Law Vincent Towner : Commercial Leasing Law André Vautour : Corporate Governance Practice / Corporate Law / Energy Law / Information Technology Law / Intellectual Property Law / Private Funds Law / Technology Law / Venture Capital Law Bruno Verdon : Corporate and Commercial Litigation Sébastien Vézina : Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Mining Law / Sports Law Yanick Vlasak : Banking and Finance Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation / Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Jonathan Warin : Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law We are pleased to highlight our rising stars, who also distinguished themselves in this directory in the Ones To Watch category: Romeo Aguilar Perez : Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Anne-Marie Asselin : Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Rosemarie Bhérer Bouffard : Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Marc-André Bouchard : Construction Law (Ones To Watch) Céleste Brouillard-Ross : Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Karl Chabot : Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Justine Chaput : Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Julien Ducharme : Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law (Ones To Watch) James Duffy : Intellectual Property Law (Ones To Watch) Joseph Gualdieri : Mergers and Acquisitions Law (Ones To Watch) Katerina Kostopoulos : Corporate Law (Ones To Watch) Joël Larouche : Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Despina Mandilaras : Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Jean-François Maurice : Corporate Law (Ones To Watch) Jessica Parent : Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Audrey Pelletier : Tax Law (Ones To Watch) Alexandre Pinard : Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Camille Rioux : Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Sophie Roy : Insurance Law (Ones To Watch) Chantal Saint-Onge : Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Bernard Trang : Banking and Finance Law / Project Finance Law (Ones To Watch) Mylène Vallières : Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Securities Law (Ones To Watch) These recognitions are further demonstration of the expertise and quality of legal services that characterize Lavery’s professionals.
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The Best Lawyers in Canada 2024 recognize 68 lawyers of Lavery
Lavery is pleased to announce that 68 of its lawyers have been recognized as leaders in their respective fields of expertise by The Best Lawyers in Canada 2024. The following lawyers also received the Lawyer of the Year award in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada: Josianne Beaudry : Mining Law Jules Brière : Administrative and Public Law Bernard Larocque : Professional Malpractice Law Carl Lessard : Workers' Compensation Law Consult the complete list of Lavery's lawyers and their fields of expertise: Josianne Beaudry : Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Mining Law Laurence Bich-Carrière : Class Action Litigation / Contruction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation / Product Liability Law Dominic Boivert : Insurance Law Luc R. Borduas : Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Daniel Bouchard : Environmental Law Elizabeth Bourgeois : Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) René Branchaud : Mining Law / Natural Resources Law / Securities Law Étienne Brassard : Equipment Finance Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Real Estate Law Jules Brière : Aboriginal Law / Indigenous Practice / Administrative and Public Law / Health Care Law Myriam Brixi : Class Action Litigation Benoit Brouillette : Labour and Employment Law Richard Burgos : Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Corporate Law / Commercial Leasing Law / Real Estate Law Marie-Claude Cantin : Insurance Law / Construction Law Brittany Carson : Labour and Employment Law Karl Chabot : Construction Law (Ones To Watch) Chantal Desjardins : Intellectual Property Law Jean-Sébastien Desroches : Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Raymond Doray : Privacy and Data Security Law / Administrative and Public Law / Defamation and Media Law Christian Dumoulin : Mergers and Acquisitions Law Alain Y. Dussault : Intellectual Property Law Isabelle Duval : Family Law Philippe Frère : Administrative and Public Law Simon Gagné : Labour and Employment Law Nicolas Gagnon : Construction Law Richard Gaudreault : Labour and Employment Law Julie Gauvreau : Intellectual Property Law / Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice Audrey Gibeault : Trusts and Estates Caroline Harnois : Family Law / Family Law Mediation / Trusts and Estates Marie-Josée Hétu : Labour and Employment Law Édith Jacques : Energy Law / Corporate Law / Natural Resources Law Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur : Labour and Employment Law Isabelle Jomphe : Advertising and Marketing Law / Intellectual Property Law Guillaume Laberge : Administrative and Public Law Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin : Insurance Law Awatif Lakhdar : Family Law Bernard Larocque : Professional Malpractice Law / Class Action Litigation / Insurance Law / Legal Malpractice Law Éric Lavallée : Technology Law Myriam Lavallée : Labour and Employment Law Guy Lavoie : Labour and Employment Law / Workers' Compensation Law Jean Legault : Banking and Finance Law / Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Carl Lessard : Workers' Compensation Law / Labour and Employment Law Josiane L'Heureux : Labour and Employment Law Despina Mandilaras : Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Hugh Mansfield : Intellectual Property Law Zeïneb Mellouli : Labour and Employment Law / Workers' Compensation Law Isabelle P. Mercure : Trusts and Estates Patrick A. Molinari : Health Care Law Jessica Parent : Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Luc Pariseau : Tax Law / Trusts and Estates Ariane Pasquier : Labour and Employment Law Jacques Paul-Hus : Mergers and Acquisitions Law Audrey Pelletier : Tax Law (Ones To Watch) Hubert Pepin : Labour and Employment Law Martin Pichette : Insurance Law / Professional Malpractice Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation Élisabeth Pinard : Family Law François Renaud : Banking and Finance Law / Structured Finance Law Judith Rochette : Insurance Law / Professional Malpractice Law Ian Rose FCIArb : Director and Officer Liability Practice / Insurance Law / Class Action Litigation Sophie Roy : Insurance Law (Ones To Watch) Chantal Saint-Onge : Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Ouassim Tadlaoui : Construction Law / Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Bernard Trang : Banking and Finance Law / Project Finance Law (Ones To Watch) Mylène Vallières : Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Securities Law (Ones To Watch) André Vautour : Corporate Governance Practice / Corporate Law / Information Technology Law / Intellectual Property Law / Technology Law / Energy Law Bruno Verdon : Corporate and Commercial Litigation Sébastien Vézina : Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Mining Law Yanick Vlasak : Corporate and Commercial Litigation / Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Jonathan Warin : Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law These recognitions are further demonstration of the expertise and quality of legal services that characterize Lavery’s professionals. About Lavery Lavery is the leading independent law firm in Quebec. Its more than 200 professionals, based in Montréal, Quebec, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières, work every day to offer a full range of legal services to organizations doing business in Quebec. Recognized by the most prestigious legal directories, Lavery professionals are at the heart of what is happening in the business world and are actively involved in their communities. The firm’s expertise is frequently sought after by numerous national and international partners to provide support in cases under Quebec jurisdiction.
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The Best Lawyers in Canada 2023 recognize 67 lawyers of Lavery
Lavery is pleased to announce that 67 of its lawyers have been recognized as leaders in their respective fields of expertise by The Best Lawyers in Canada 2023. The following lawyers also received the Lawyer of the Year award in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada: René Branchaud : Natural Resources Law Chantal Desjardins : Intellectual Property Law Bernard Larocque : Legal Malpractice Law Patrick A. Molinari : Health Care Law Consult the complete list of Lavery's lawyers and their fields of expertise: Josianne Beaudry : Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Mining Law Laurence Bich-Carrière : Class Action Litigation / Corporate and Commercial Litigation / Product Liability Law Dominic Boivert : Insurance Law (Ones To Watch) Luc R. Borduas : Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Daniel Bouchard : Environmental Law Laurence Bourgeois-Hatto : Workers' Compensation Law René Branchaud : Mining Law / Natural Resources Law / Securities Law Étienne Brassard : Equipment Finance Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Real Estate Law Jules Brière : Aboriginal Law / Indigenous Practice / Administrative and Public Law / Health Care Law Myriam Brixi : Class Action Litigation Benoit Brouillette : Labour and Employment Law Richard Burgos : Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Corporate Law Marie-Claude Cantin : Insurance Law / Construction Law Brittany Carson : Labour and Employment Law Eugene Czolij : Corporate and Commercial Litigation France Camille De Mers : Mergers and Acquisitions Law (Ones To Watch) Chantal Desjardins : Intellectual Property Law Jean-Sébastien Desroches : Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Raymond Doray : Privacy and Data Security Law / Administrative and Public Law / Defamation and Media Law Christian Dumoulin : Mergers and Acquisitions Law Alain Y. Dussault : Intellectual Property Law Isabelle Duval : Family Law Chloé Fauchon : Municipal Law (Ones To Watch) Philippe Frère : Administrative and Public Law Simon Gagné : Labour and Employment Law Nicolas Gagnon : Construction Law Richard Gaudreault : Labour and Employment Law Danielle Gauthier : Labour and Employment Law Julie Gauvreau : Intellectual Property Law Michel Gélinas : Labour and Employment Law Caroline Harnois : Family Law / Family Law Mediation / Trusts and Estates Marie-Josée Hétu : Labour and Employment Law Alain Heyne : Banking and Finance Law Édith Jacques : Energy Law / Corporate Law Pierre Marc Johnson, Ad. E. : International Arbitration Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur : Labour and Employment Law Isabelle Jomphe : Intellectual Property Law Guillaume Laberge : Administrative and Public Law Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin : Insurance Law Awatif Lakhdar : Family Law Bernard Larocque : Professional Malpractice Law / Class Action Litigation / Insurance Law / Legal Malpractice Law Myriam Lavallée : Labour and Employment Law Guy Lavoie : Labour and Employment Law / Workers' Compensation Law Jean Legault : Banking and Finance Law / Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Carl Lessard : Workers' Compensation Law / Labour and Employment Law Josiane L'Heureux : Labour and Employment Law Despina Mandilaras : Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Hugh Mansfield : Intellectual Property Law Zeïneb Mellouli : Labour and Employment Law Patrick A. Molinari : Health Care Law André Paquette : Mergers and Acquisitions Law Luc Pariseau : Tax Law Ariane Pasquier : Labour and Employment Law Jacques Paul-Hus : Mergers and Acquisitions Law Hubert Pepin : Labour and Employment Law Martin Pichette : Insurance Law / Professional Malpractice Law Élisabeth Pinard : Family Law François Renaud : Banking and Finance Law / Structured Finance Law Judith Rochette : Insurance Law / Professional Malpractice Law Ian Rose FCIArb : Director and Officer Liability Practice / Insurance Law Chantal Saint-Onge : Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Éric Thibaudeau : Workers' Compensation Law André Vautour : Corporate Governance Practice / Corporate Law / Information Technology Law / Intellectual Property Law / Technology Law Bruno Verdon : Corporate and Commercial Litigation Sébastien Vézina : Mergers and Acquisitions Law Yanick Vlasak : Corporate and Commercial Litigation Jonathan Warin : Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law These recognitions are further demonstration of the expertise and quality of legal services that characterize Lavery’s professionals.
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The Best Lawyers in Canada 2022 recognize 68 lawyers of Lavery
Lavery is pleased to announce that 68 of its lawyers have been recognized as leaders in their respective fields of expertise by The Best Lawyers in Canada 2022. Lawyer of the Year The following lawyers also received the Lawyer of the Year award in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada: Caroline Harnois: Family Law Mediation Bernard Larocque: Professional Malpractice Law Consult the complete list of Lavery's lawyers and their fields of expertise: Josianne Beaudry : Mining Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Dominique Bélisle : Energy Law Laurence Bich-Carrière : Class Action Litigation René Branchaud : Mining Law / Natural Resources Law / Securities Law Étienne Brassard : Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Real Estate Law / Equipment Finance Law Dominic Boisvert: Insurance Law (Ones To Watch) Luc R. Borduas : Corporate Law Daniel Bouchard : Environmental Law Jules Brière : Administrative and Public Law / Health Care Law Myriam Brixi : Class Action Litigation Benoit Brouillette : Labour and Employment Law Richard Burgos : Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Marie-Claude Cantin : Construction Law / Insurance Law Charles Ceelen-Brasseur : Corporate Law (Ones To Watch) Eugène Czolij : Corporate and Commercial Litigation / Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Chantal Desjardins : Intellectual Property Law Jean-Sébastien Desroches : Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Michel Desrosiers : Labour and Employment Law Raymond Doray, Ad. E : Administrative and Public Law / Defamation and Media Law / Privacy and Data Security Law Christian Dumoulin : Mergers and Acquisitions Law Alain Y. Dussault : Intellectual Property Law Isabelle Duval : Family Law Chloé Fauchon: Municipal Law (Ones To Watch) Philippe Frère : Administrative and Public Law Simon Gagné : Labour and Employment Law Nicolas Gagnon : Construction Law Richard Gaudreault : Labour and Employment Law Danielle Gauthier : Labour and Employment Law Julie Gauvreau : Intellectual Property Law Michel Gélinas : Labour and Employment Law Caroline Harnois : Family Law / Family Law Mediation / Trusts and Estates Marie-Josée Hétu : Labour and Employment Law Alain Heyne : Banking and Finance Law Édith Jacques : Corporate Law / Energy Law Pierre Marc Johnson, Ad. E., G.O.Q., MSRC : International Arbitration Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur : Labour and Employment Law Isabelle Jomphe : Intellectual Property Law Guillaume Laberge: Administrative and Public Law Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin: Insurance Law Awatif Lakhdar: Family Law Bernard Larocque: Class Action Litigation / Insurance Law / Professional Malpractice Law Myriam Lavallée: Labour and Employment Law Guy Lavoie: Labour and Employment Law / Workers’ Compensation Law Jean Legault: Banking and Finance Law / Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Carl Lessard: Labour and Employment Law / Workers' Compensation Law Josiane L'Heureux: Labour and Employment Law Hugh Mansfield : Intellectual Property Law Zeïneb Mellouli : Labour and Employment Law Patrick A. Molinari, Ad.E., MSRC : Health Care Law André Paquette: Mergers and Acquisitions Law Luc Pariseau : Tax Law Jacques Paul-Hus : Mergers & Acquisitions Law Ariane Pasquier : Labour and Employment Law Hubert Pepin : Labour and Employment Law Martin Pichette : Insurance Law / Professional Malpractice Law Élisabeth Pinard : Family Law François Renaud : Banking and Finance Law Marc Rochefort : Securities Law Judith Rochette : Professional Malpractice Law Ian Rose : Director and Officer Liability Practice / Insurance Law Éric Thibaudeau: Workers' Compensation Law Philippe Tremblay : Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation Jean-Philippe Turgeon : Franchise Law André Vautour : Corporate Law / Energy Law / Information Technology Law / Intellectual Property Law / Private Funds Law / Technology Law Bruno Verdon : Corporate and Commercial Litigation Sébastien Vézina : Mergers and Acquisitions Law Yanick Vlasak : Corporate and Commercial Litigation Jonathan Warin : Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law
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Three New Partners in Lavery’s Team
Lavery is pleased to announce that Valérie Belle-Isle, Guillaume Laberge et Béatrice Ngatcha have been appointed partners of the firm.
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Lavery helps Chronometriq obtain $20 million in funding
On October 1, Chronometriq, a Montréal-based supplier of technology that facilitates healthcare access and patient communications, announced that it had received more than $20 million in funding from Full In Partners. This funding will enable our client Chronometriq to strengthen its leadership position in Canada and drive its growth in the United States. Lavery played a significant role in representing Chronometriq’s interests throughout this transaction and helped it take on the kinds of challenges high-growth startups face when negotiating major funding. Chronometriq, founded in 2012, was named one of the 25 most innovative companies by C2 Montréal. It is now a leader in digital healthcare management, thanks to its range of comprehensive appointment management products suited to both clinics and patients. In the past year alone, Chronometriq has served 12 million users through the network of North American clinics that use its products. This mandate was successfully completed thanks to the extensive expertise of the Lavery team led by Jean-François Maurice and made up of Éric Gélinas, Felicia-Yifan Jin, Ali El Haskouri, Tina Basile, Guillaume Laberge, Florence Fournier, Shereen Cook and Pierre-Olivier Valiquette.
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Lavery represents the Conférence des juges de paix magistrats du Québec and its members before the Supreme Court of Canada
On January 18, 2016, Mr. Raymond Doray, Ad.E., and Mr. Loïc Berdnikoff, both of whom are partners in the firm’s Administrative Law and Constitutional Law group, represented the Conférence des juges de paix magistrats du Québec and its members before the Supreme Court of Canada to obtain a declaration of unconstitutionality regarding various provisions of the Act to Amend the Courts of Justice Act and Other Legislative Provisions as regards the Status of Justices of the Peace (“Act regarding the Status of Justices of the Peace”) which allowed the government, notably, to unilaterally determine the starting treatment and work conditions of the justices of the peace, without having recourse to a remuneration commission. In an important judgment rendered on October 14, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada declared that since sections 27, 30 and 32 of the Act regarding the Status of Justices of the Peace did not provide for a retroactive committee review of the starting treatment of the members of a new judicial office created within a reasonable time, these sections infringe the institutional financial security guarantee of judicial independence, and are thus contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter”) and to the Constitution Act, 1867. This infringement of judicial independence is not justified under section 1 of the Charter, because there is no evidence of a dire and exceptional financial emergency. Therefore, sections 27, 30 and 32 are unconstitutional. Mes Guillaume Laberge and Laurence Bich-Carrière also assisted in the preparation of this case. To see the judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada, click here.
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Victory for Lavery at the Supreme Court on behalf of the Chambre des notaires du Québec
In an important judgment rendered on June 3, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada declared certain provisions of the Income Tax Act (ITA), which allowed the Minister of National Revenue to require notaries or lawyers to provide documents or information which could be useful for the application or enforcement of the ITA and which excluded their accounting records from the protection of the duty of professional secrecy of legal advisers, to be unconstitutional. The Court concluded that several deficiencies caused the requirements sent to notaries or lawyers to be unreasonable and contrary to s. 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It also concluded that the exception to the professional secrecy set out at s. 232(1) of the ITA is unconstitutional and of no force or effect with respect to notaries and lawyers. Raymond Doray and Loïc Berdnikoff, two partners practising administrative and constitutional law at Lavery, represented the Chambre des notaires du Québec before the country’s highest court. Guillaume Laberge and Laurence Bich-Carrière also assisted in the preparation of this case. To see the judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada, click here.
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Lavery in Lexpert Top 10 business cases of 2015
In its January 2016 edition, Lexpert magazine ranks the Canada (Attorney General) v. Federation of Law Societies of Canada case second in its list of the Top 10 business cases of 2015. Lavery wishes to extend its heartiest congratulations to Mr. Raymond Doray, Ad.E., and Mr. Loïc Berdnikoff, both of whom are partners in the firm’s Administrative Law group, who argued the case of behalf of the interveners the Barreau du Québec and the Chambre des notaires du Québec. Mr. Guillaume Laberge assisted them in their preparation. In its ruling, the country’s highest court concluded that certain sections of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and of its regulation violate sections 7 and 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and cannot be saved by section 1. Raymond Doray Loïc Berdnikoff Guillaume Laberge
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Application for authorization to submit a class action against the Commission de la construction du Québec represented by Lavery rejected
On January 7, 2016, the Superior Court of Quebec refused to grant an authorization to submit a class action on behalf of the linemen having worked for a federal undertaking and who, since the establishment of the Commission de la construction du Québec ("CCQ"), paid different assessments and contributions under the Act Respecting Labour Relations, Vocational Training and Workforce Management in the Construction Industry, CQLR c. R-20. The representative of the proposed group requested, amongst other conclusions, the reimbursement of the assessments deducted by the CCQ. In Caron c. Fraternité provinciale des ouvriers en électricité-section locale 1676, 2016 QCCS 25, justice Chantal Lamarche, j.s.c. found that the conditions for the exercise of a class action were not met. More specifically, she rejected the application for authorisation because of the complexity of the evidence which would have to be administered to determine if the employers of the members of the proposed group were under federal or provincial jurisdiction and because the refund of the assessments raised issues that were not common to all members of the group. Lavery has successfully represented the CCQ against who the application for authorization to submit a class action was specifically directed. The team was composed of Mr. Raymond Doray, Ad.E. and Mr. Bernard Larocque assisted by Mr. Guillaume Laberge. Raymond Doray Bernard Larocque Guillaume Laberge
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Lavery represents the Chambre des notaires du Québec before the Supreme Court of Canada
On November 3, 2015, Raymond Doray, Ad. E., and Loïc Berdnikoff represented the Chambre des notaires du Québec before the Supreme Court of Canada to obtain a declaration of unconstitutionality regarding various provisions of theIncome Tax Act (ITA) which authorize the Minister of National Revenue, by means of a simple letter, to require that any person provide information or documents that might be of assistance in the administration or enforcement of the ITA, including lawyers and notaries. According to the Chambre, the provisions in question, when applied to a notary, violate the right to “solicitor-client privilege” and restrict the freedom of notaries in a manner that is not in accordance with the principle of fundamental justice relating to the legal counsel’s duty of committed representation. Mr. Guillaume Laberge and Ms. Laurence Bich-Carrière actively took part in the preparation of this case. To read a summary of the case, please click here.
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Judgement of the Supreme Court of Canada in regards to professional secrecy – another victory for Lavery!
On February 13, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered an important decision stating that several sections from the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and from its regulationviolate sections 7 and 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, without being justified under section 1 of that same Charter. Mr. Raymond Doray, Ad. E., and Mr. Loïc Berdnikoff, Administrative Law partners at Lavery, with the help of Mr. Guillaume Laberge, represented the Barreau du Québec and the Chambre des notaires before Canada’s highest court, where they argued that lawyers and notaries should be exempted from provisions which, among other things, infringed on the attorney-client privilege, the duty of loyalty to each client and the independence of the Bar. To read the judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada, please click here. Raymond Doray, Loïc Berdnikoff and Guillaume Laberge