News

On May 23, 2023, Lexpert recognized the expertise of two of our partners in its 2023 Lexpert Special Edition: Infrastructure. Nicolas Gagnon and André Vautour now rank among Canada's leaders in the area of infrastructure law. Nicolas Gagnon specializes in construction law and surety law. He counsels public and private sector clients, professional services firms and contractors as well as surety companies at every stage of construction projects. He advises clients with respect to the public bidding and procurement process, and is involved in the drafting of contract documents and the management of the work and any claims resulting therefrom. André Vautour practices in the fields of corporate and commercial law and is particularly interested in corporate governance, strategic alliances, joint ventures, investment funds and mergers and acquisitions of private corporations. He also practises in the field of technology law (drafting technology development and transfer agreements, licensing agreements, distribution agreements, outsourcing agreements, and e-commerce agreements).

Lavery is proud to announce that Myriam Brixi was named Quebec Litigator of the Year in the emerging talent category at the 12th annual Benchmark Litigation Canada Awards held in Toronto on May 10, 2023. This prestigious award is given to leading litigators involved in landmark litigation cases who have distinguished themselves in the legal profession by providing outstanding service to clients. Each year, the Benchmark Litigation team analyzes the most notable cases in the country over several months and conducts in-depth interviews with litigation lawyers and their clients to evaluate peer nominations and recognizes the work of outstanding lawyers. As a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group, Myriam Brixi focuses her practice primarily in the areas of class actions, product liability, consumer law and insurance law. She has participated in complex class actions raising important legal issues, including a wide range of multi-jurisdictional class actions.   Myriam adds this recognition to the Litigation Star awards she received earlier this year, as well as her nomination as one of the Top 100 Women in Canadian Litigation by Benchmark Litigation in 2022. Congratulations to Myriam for this distinction that is a testament to her talent and expertise. For more information, please go to: https://benchmarklitigation.com/NewsAndAnalysis/View-the-2023-Benchmark-Canada-Awards-shortlist/Index/8860

On April 19, 2023, Lexpert recognized the expertise of four of our partners in its 2023 Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A. Etienne Brassard, Jean-Sébastien Desroches, Édith Jacques and Selena Lu now rank among Canada's leaders in the financial sector and in M&A. Etienne Brassard practices business law, more specifically corporate financing, mergers and acquisitions and corporate law. In his practice, he advises local and international businesses in relation to all forms of private financing, from traditional or convertible debt to equity investments. He has thus developed extensive expertise in setting up complex financing structures, in both operational and transactional contexts. Jean-Sébastien Desroches practices business law and focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions, infrastructure, renewable energy and project development as well as strategic partnerships. He has had the opportunity to steer several major transactions, complex legal operations, cross-border transactions, reorganizations, and investments. Édith Jacques is a partner in Montréal's Business law group. She specializes in mergers and acquisitions, commercial law, as well as international law and acts as business and strategic consultant to mid- and large-size companies. Selena Lu is a partner in the Business Law group and focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions. She frequently advises clients abroad on commercial law matters relating to investment and expansion in Canada. Selena has strong business acumen and offers practical and innovative solutions to her clients, who are mainly entrepreneurs and owner-operators.

On March 13, 2023, Fancamp Exploration Ltd. (Fancamp) officially announced that it had entered into a joint venture agreement with Platinex Inc. (Platinex) to further explore and promote certain gold mining properties located in Ontario and owned by the two entities. The transaction involved Fancamp transferring its Heenan Mallard and Dorothy mining properties to South Timmins Mining Inc. (Goldco), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Platinex, in exchange for shares representing 25% of Goldco's issued and outstanding shares and a 1% royalty on the properties to Platinex. The transaction also included a shareholder agreement providing for the governance of Goldco's activities. Fancamp subscribed for a number of shares representing 9.5% of Platinex's issued and outstanding shares. Lavery was privileged to represent Fancamp in this important mandate led by Jean-Paul Timothée and Alexandre Turcotte. -- Fancamp is a growing Canadian mineral exploration corporation dedicated to its value-added strategy of advancing its priority mineral properties through exploration and innovative development. The corporation owns numerous mineral resource properties in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick, where it mines chromium sector, strategic rare-earth metals, gold, zinc, titanium and other resources. To learn more about Fancamp, go to: https://www.fancamp.ca

We are pleased to welcome Gaspard Petit, Suzanne Antal and Marie-Eve Tremblay to Lavery. Gaspard Petit – Associate and technical advisorGaspard is a lawyer and technical advisor in Lavery's Intellectual Property group.He has also worked as a software engineer and has over 15 years of experience in programming, developing and managing IT products and services, particularly in the areas of broadcasting, video games and cloud computing. "I joined the Lavery IP team for the quality of its professionals, and each encounter confirmed that this was the ideal place for me to grow." Suzanne Antal – Trademark AgentSuzanne is a trademark agent in Lavery's Intellectual Property group. She has over 20 years of experience as a trademark agent and paralegal with a number of Quebec firms. She focuses her practice on all aspects of trademark registration, including drafting and filing trademark applications and representing clients in trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings, both nationally and internationally. "Lavery is a firm with an ideal working environment, the organization of a large office and caring people. It is a pleasure to join the intellectual property group that I have admired for years. Now I'm in! The practice is diverse and the challenges are significant. Anything to make me feel like there's room to grow." Marie-Ève Tremblay – Paralegal and Trademark Agent in trainingMarie-Ève is a paralegal and trademark agent in training with the Intellectual Property group. She has nearly 10 years of experience as a paralegal. Prior to joining Lavery, Marie-Ève worked for another Montréal firm specializing in intellectual property in the trademark industry. She has also worked for companies managing international trademark portfolios.

Lavery is pleased to announce the appointment of Jean-François Denis as Chief Client Officer. As it continues its strong growth, the firm can count on his expertise of legal operations and understanding of the needs, expectations and business realities of the firm’s clients, in addition to consolidating its client approach and experience. Among other things, Jean-François will be playing a key role in implementing innovative strategies, optimizing processes in connection with legal operations and assisting partners and professionals with clients matters. His unifying leadership makes him an undeniable asset for Lavery. “I am very pleased to be joining Lavery’s dynamic and committed team,” said Jean-François Denis. “Our industry is changing exponentially. I look forward to contributing to the firm’s development by helping it stay on the cutting edge of best practices.” Lavery is privileged to draw on Jean-François Denis’ professional experience. After practicing law for several years, he went on to hold a variety of client-centred positions. Extending for over 20 years, his career path ties in well with our sector’s realities and will enable the firm to forge even stronger relationships with its clients and to continue assisting them with their growth and the challenges they face. His understanding of the legal services market worldwide gives him a unique perspective on the delivery of services and on their optimization within a framework of solid client relationships. Before joining Lavery, Jean-François worked for six years at SNC-Lavalin, where he became one of the first professionals in Canada entirely dedicated to managing legal operations as Director of Legal Affairs, Global Operations. Prior to that, he practised for several years in a law firm as a litigation counsel before acting as legal advisor to BRP and Bombardier Aerospace. He also served on the board of directors of the Association of Corporate Counsel (Quebec Chapter) for five years, including three as chair. “I cannot imagine a better association for Lavery: Jean-François’ strong leadership skills and his grasp of the legal practice, as well as the transformation of our industry, make him a powerful ally.” said Anik Trudel, Chief Executive Officer.

Lavery is pleased to welcome the following professionals as senior associates and a senior notary in the firm. Elizabeth Bourgeois - Senior Associate Elizabeth is a member of the firm's Employment and Labour Law Group. She has acted as a lawyer-investigator and has specific experience in the prevention and treatment of psychological harassment and incivility in the workplace. Since 2018, Elizabeth has also been a mediator certified with the Barreau du Québec in, among other areas, labour relations. In her practice, she also advises employers in the public, para-public and private sectors on matters relating to human resources management and labour relations. Olivier Boileau - Senior Associate Olivier Boileau is a member of the firm’s Litigation and Conflict Resolution Group, and his practice focuses primarily on civil, commercial and corporate litigation. As part of his practice, Olivier has developed an expertise in commercial litigation. He advises and represents a diverse clientele before the courts, in particular shareholders of corporations of all sizes. Nadia Yasmine Hanine - Senior Associate Nadia Yasmine Hanine is a member of the Business Law group. She has participated and played a significant role in numerous share and asset purchase and sale transactions involving companies of various sizes. She represents entrepreneurs and investors as part of the acquisition of interests in private issuers. She also advises entrepreneurs and start-ups on various legal issues relating to their businesses. Chantal Saint-Onge - Senior Associate Chantal Saint-Onge is a member of the firm’s Litigation and Conflict Resolution Group. She works predominantly in the areas of insurance law and civil liability. In her practice, Chantal has been called upon to represent clients from various economic sectors and industries, which has enabled her to continually develop new fields of expertise and specialization. Letta Wellinger - Senior Associate Letta Wellinger is a member of our Business law group and practices primarily in the areas of commercial law, transactional law, and corporate reorganizations. Ms. Wellinger also practises in civil and commercial litigation. Marie-Andrée Truchon - Senior Notary Marie-Andrée Truchon is a notary and tax specialist and practices in the Business Law group where she works chiefly in the areas of corporate law and taxation. As part of her practice, she is assigned to cases dealing with acquisitions/sales of corporations, mergers and corporate reorganizations, where she is called upon to draft a variety of commercial agreements. Congratulations to all of you!