This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Cocktail Lavery 2011
Some 175 people attended Lavery’s annual cocktail that was held in the modern, industrial surroundings of the Panoramic Hall at the Montréal Science Centre on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
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Véronique Morin Gives a Lecture at the Certified Human Resources Advisors’ Congress
The professional corporation of Quebec’s human resources managers, the Ordre des Conseillers en ressources humaines (CRHA), invited Véronique Morin to give a talk at the International Congress of Francophone HR managers, the theme of which was Innovation and Creativity. Over 1500 people attended the event, which took place in Quebec City last October 17 and 18. Ms Morin’s lecture was titled “Employment contracts: innovating in order to recruit and retain employees”.
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The Right to Privacy and the Protection of Personal Information in a Claims Process
October 26 and 27, 2011, at the Lavery Conference CentreToday, insurers must deal with increasingly stringent rules in terms of privacy and the protection of personal information. What are these rules, and how can insurers avoid them from becoming major stumbling blocks when processing a claim? Over 80 people attended lectures on this topic byMarie-Andrée Gagnon (liability, damage insurance, and personal insurance) and Loïc Berdnikoff (administrative law, personal information, and privacy) at the Lavery Conference Centre, last October 26 and 27. During the event, participants were particularly encouraged to get acquainted with the various legislative schemes that apply to insurers and to third parties they are liable to interact with, and they received much practical advice about accessing the required records and information when processing a claim.
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Seminar on the e-Distribution of Insurance Products
Last October 13, several persons involved in the compliance and distribution of financial products and services attended a Lavery Seminar titled “e-distribution of insurance products”, about present issues in the online distribution of insurance products.Lawyers who are active in the practice group on the Distribution of Financial Products and Services talked about the concerns that the use of new technologies presently generate in the insurance industry, with the special participation of Eric Stevenson, manager of distribution practices at the AMF.
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Jean-Simon Deschênes wins JCI Canada’s Award of the Most Outstanding Senator
JCI Canada (Junior Chamber International Canada) recently awarded Jean-Simon Deschênes the prestigious award of Most Outstanding Canadian Senator for 2011.JCI Canada is an affiliate of the Junior Chamber International, a world federation of young entrepreneurs and business leaders. JCI Canada comprises some 35 chapters that are active in communities from one ocean to another and are made up of young individuals who want to bring about positive change within themselves, their community and the world.
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Lavery becomes the first Canadian member of the Lease Enforcement Attorney Network (LEAN)
Lavery, through it partner Benjamin David Gross, was invited to become, and has recently become, a member of LEAN, a comprehensive network of lawyers specialising in leasing law. LEAN and its clients can now count on the assistance of Lavery’s team in negotiating, drafting or registering their Quebec leases, as well as in enforcement matters related thereto. Founded in 1999, LEAN is a non profit association of carefully selected law firms distinguished by an excellent reputation in the industry and long and broad experience in leasing. In order to meet the growing need for effective enforcement counsel, the Lease Enforcement Attorney Network continues to add experienced, reputable law firms to its list of members. LEAN is present in 37 locations in the Unites States and Lavery is its first Canadian member. More about LEAN.
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LAVERY CONFERENCE - Risk Management: Employment Contracts, Compensation and Pension Plans of Non-Unionized Employees
On September 27, 2011, 140 corporate counsel attended this Lavery Conference held (in French) at the Centre Mont-Royal in Montreal.The day started with a plenary session entitled “Blogs and social media: New issues" followed by workshops on the following subjects: Aspects of employment contracts: Constraints and precautions Reporting and complaints of harassment in the workplace Excess benefit plans: Issues to consider Tax treatment of the various components of compensation and severance pay Inquiries and inspections by public authorities: Scope of their powers and measures to take in response Issues to be negotiated and verified with respect to employment contracts and pension plans in the context of a proposed purchase and saleOur guest speakers, Suzanne Ménard and Stéphane Paré, of AON Hewitt, then led the plenary session on the theme of “Employment proposal and generations: A matter of flexibility".This activity was recognized by the Quebec Bar for purposes of the mandatory continuing education of lawyers.
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Pierre L. Baribeau is elected to the Board of the Quebec Lung Association
Mr. Pierre L. Baribeau, partner at Lavery, was newly elected Administrator and Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Quebec Lung Association. This not-for-profit organisation, which has 80,000 members, is dedicated to promoting respiratory health and preventing lung disease–particularly tuberculosis and asthma–through research, education and services. Let us mention that Mr. Baribeau has recently been re-elected on the Boards of Directors of three other organisations: as Administrator and President of the Board of Boscoville 2000, a well known centre dedicated to children and young people, and to the Quebec and Inuit communities; as Administrator and Secretary of the Foundation of l'Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, a major hospital centre affiliated with the Université de Montréal, and; as Administrator of the Corporation of Catholic Entities Party to the Indian Residential School Settlement (CCEPIRSS).
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Robert W. Mason, Jacques Paul-Hus and Louis Payette, AD.E of Lavery Named Best Lawyers' 2012 Lawyers of the Year
Lavery is proud to announce that Mr. Robert W. Mason, Mr. Jacques Paul-Hus and Mr. Louis Payette, Ad. E., have been named Lawyers of the Year for 2012 by Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. Robert W. Mason has been named the Best Lawyers’ 2012 Montreal Product Liability Law Lawyer of the Year. Jacques Paul-Hus has been named the Best Lawyers’ 2012 Montreal Mergers & Acquisitions Law Lawyer of the Year. Louis Payette, Ad.E, has been named the Best Lawyers’ 2012 Montreal Banking and Financial Lawyer of the Year. “I sincerely congratulate Robert W. Mason, Jacques Paul-Hus and Louis Payette, Ad. E. for this recognition which acknowledges the expertise, quality of work and integrity that they have demonstrated toward our clients as well as their professional peers”, stated Élise Poisson, Lavery’s Managing Partner. For more information, please visit the BEST LAWYERS website at bestlawyers.com
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Olga Farman Appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec
Lavery is pleased to announce that Ms. Olga Farman has been appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. The Orchestre symphonique de Québec (OSQ) is a major cultural organisation serving the Quebec City metropolitan area. The OSQ and its 66 musicians perform the works of Quebec, Canadian and international composers. The Orchestre also presents every year top quality school programs and regularly collaborates with the Conservatoire de musique de Québec and the Faculté de musique de l'Université Laval. Élise Poisson, Lavery’s Managing Partner, stated: “From the outset of her practice, Olga Farman has distinguished herself with her vision and commitment to our clients as well as her contribution to the welfare of the Quebec City region. We are extremely proud of her appointment as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and intend to support her in her endeavours.” Olga Farman is a member of the firm's Business Law Group and specialises in Health and Life Science Law. She possesses a broad understanding of the organisational structure of healthcare institutions, research funding methods and the rules governing the legal and administrative activities of health care institutions. She specialises in the preparation and negotiation of technology transfer licensing agreements, research and development, distribution and basic and clinical research contracts and intellectual property rights agreements. For more information concerning her appointment, please consult the Orchestre symphonique de Québec’s website.
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Lavery welcomes Brigitte Gagnon as Director of Professional Development
Lavery is pleased to announce that Ms. Brigitte Gagnon, a lawyer specializing in professional development and knowledge management, has joined the firm as Director of Professional Development. Brigitte Gagnon has almost 20 years of experience, including ten years in private practice in the field of banking and commercial litigation. Over the past ten years, she has held the management posts of Knowledge Manager and National Director of Professional Development with a national law firm.In addition to possessing strong expertise in planning and managing the professional development of lawyers and other legal professionals, Brigitte Gagnon is certified for Cycle 1 and 2 of the Training Program in Professional Coaching (PECP-2009) and has been a certified professional coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF) since 2010.Brigitte Gagnon has been a member of the Association for Legal Career Professionals (NALP) since 2004, of the Professional Development Consortium (PDC) since 2006, and of the International Coach Federation (ICF) since 2007. She has also been a member of the Continuing Education Committee of the Quebec Bar since 2009.
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Bernard Larocque is named treasurer of Pro Bono Québec
The general assembly of Pro Bono Québec nominated Mr. Bernard Larocque treasurer, upon renewing its Board of Directors. The non-profit organization created by the Barreau du Québec in 2008 has a mission to initiate, promote and coordinate pro bono (free) legal work for citizens or groups of citizens that are not eligible for Legal Aid, cannot access legal services or a lawyer, and have a case that is exceptional, involves issues of public importance or could cause them permanent harm, or a cause that could improve laws, the legal system or the Quebec, Canadian or international justice systems.