This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Four New Partners in Lavery’s Team
Lavery is pleased to announce that Laurence Bich-Carrière, Myriam Brixi, Isabelle Duval and Eric Lavallée have been appointed partners of the firm.
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Laurence Bich-Carrière named YBM Lawyer of the Year in Civil and Commercial Litigation
On November 22, Laurence Bich-Carrière, an associate in the firm's Litigation and Conflict Resolution group, was named as YBM Lawyer of the Year in the category of Civil and Commercial Litigation at the 12th edition of the Young Bar of Montreal "Leaders of Tomorrow" Gala, held at the St-James Theatre.
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Laurence Bich-Carrière publishes an article in Cahiers de propriété intellectuelle
Laurence Bich-Carrière, a lawyer of the Litigation and Conflict Resolution group, wrote an article entitled “Quelques décisions d’intérêt en matière de cyberdiffamation 2016” that was published in the most recent issue of Cahiers de propriété intellectuelle. In her case comment, she reviews a number of cyber defamation decisions rendered in 2016 and recommends the cases to follow in 2017. The article discusses various topical subjects such as private international defamation law, the right to be forgotten, and the liability of search engines, Internet archives, or Facebook friends for defamatory comments made by third party, addressed by decisions such as Goldhar v. Haaretz, 2016 ONCA 515, A.B. c. Google inc., 2016 QCCS 4913, Chiara c Vigile Québec, 2016 QCCS 5167 and others.
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Associate Laurence Bich-Carrière and partner Luc Thibaudeau, of the Litigation and Conflict Resolution group, wrapped up the Cycle de conférences 2016-2017 organized by the Fondation Claude-Masse with a presentation on “Le mythe de Sisyphe et le consommateur heureux: la nécessité d'une législation efficace en matière de crédit à la consummation”. Held at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Law on April 12, the conference cycle discussed the myths and mysteries surrounding consumer law. Ms. Bich-Carrière and Mr. Thibaudeau reviewed the bases and functioning of modern consumer credit mechanisms measured against the statistical reality of Canadian consumer debt level, and sought to identify avenues to allow access to responsible consumer credit while ensuring that the consumer goods and services sector remains financially healthy and functions effectively.
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The Pierre-Basile-Mignault Moot Court Competition: three prizes for a team supervised by Lavery
On February 17th and 18th, 2017, the 39th edition of the Pierre-Basile-Mignault pleading competition was held between students from six civil law faculties in Canada. Lavery has been involved in this competition for several years. This year, students from two teams were supervised by four lawyers from the Litigation group: Laurence Bich-Carrière and Maude Lafortune-Bélair for the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Justin Gravel and Audrey-Julie Dallaire for the Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS) UQAM’s appellant team won the Yvon Blais Cup, which is awarded to the finalist team. Two members of the UQAM team were awarded prizes for best speaker: Laurence Landry-Plouffe received the Canadian Bar Association Cup, Quebec Division (2nd best) and Mélissa Desgroseillers was the recipient of the Lavery Cup (3rd best). Click here for more information on the Pierre-Basile-Mignault Moot Court Competition.
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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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Laurence Bich-Carrière member of the Quebec Bar's civil procedure committee
Laurence Bich-Carrière, a lawyer in the firm’s Litigation group has become a member of the Barreau du Québec’s Comité sur la procédure civile for a four-year mandate that began on September 1st, 2016. The committee is called upon to examine various issues regarding legislative or regulatory changes to civil procedure as well as all changes to Quebec court regulations pertaining thereto.
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In Luxembourg, Laurence Bich-Carrière wins Tony-Pemmers international public speaking competition
Good things come in threes! Winner of the Young Bar of Montreal's Prix de l'orateur in June 2015 and the oratory competition at the 30th Conférence internationale des barreaux de tradition juridique commune held in Cotonou, Benin, in December 2015, Laurence Bich-Carrière took home top honours at the first edition of the Tony-Pemmers international public speaking contest organized as part of the solemn reassembly of the Luxembourg Bar. The eliminatory round of this speaking contest was held on June 2, 2016, at the Superior Court of Justice of Luxembourg before a five-member jury composed of European and Luxembourgian magistrates and lawyers. The winner of the finals, held the following day, was decided by popular vote, so it was an audience of 250 jurists that Ms. Bich-Carrière had to convince and delight to win first place. The competition focused on eloquence, soundness of argument, and strength of conviction, but also on the speaker’s charisma, sense of humour, and ability to make a connection with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. A member of the Quebec Bar and the Law Society of Upper Canada, Ms. Bich-Carrière is part of Lavery’s litigation group. She has worked as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada and received numerous merit-based scholarships during her years of study. Her practice includes all aspects of civil and commercial litigation, among other things.
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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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Laurence Bich-Carrière of Lavery wins the oratory competition of the “Conférence internationale des Barreaux”
Lavery is pleased to announce that Laurence Bich-Carrière, one of its promising young lawyers, has won the international oratory competition of the “Conférence internationale des barreaux de tradition juridique commune (CIB)”, on December 3, 2015. Winner of the Young Bar of Montreal Oratory Competition in June 2015, Ms. Bich-Carrière was invited to represent the Bar of Montreal at the CIB which was held in Cotonou, Benin, from December 2 to December 5, 2015. On this occasion, she participated in an oratory competition against lawyers from all over the French-speaking world, where she took 1st place! Member of the Quebec Bar since 2009, Me Bich-Carrière is part of the Litigation group and focuses her practice on all aspects of civil and commercial litigation. Her academic record is replete with frequent appearances on the Dean’s List as well as the receipt of graduate-level scholarships, in particular the MacDonald Travelling Scholarship. “We are delighted to recognize Laurence’s outstanding success at this event. Her knowledge of the law, her wit, and quick repartee are remarkable. We are pleased to count her as one of our own”, said Don McCarty, Lavery’s Managing Partner.
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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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Julie Cousineau and Laurence Bich-Carrière, speakers at the CAP Annual Convention
On June 19, 2015, Julie Cousineau and Laurence Bich-Carrière, respectively partner and associate in Lavery’s Litigation Group, were speakers at the Annual Canadian Association of Paralegals Convention, which took place at Montreal’s Palais des Congrès. Their conference, entitled « Les grands aspects de la réforme de la procédure civile québécoise » (The key aspects of the Quebec civil procedure reform), discussed both theoretical and practical concerns regarding the coming into force of the new Civil code of procedure, S.Q. 2014. c. 1. The global trends relating to access to justice, participatory justice and alternative dispute resolution methods were addressed, as well as concrete illustrations of the new legislative strategies in case management, discovery, expertise and legal fees.