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On August 5, 2021, Lexpert recognized the expertise of four of our partners in its 2021 Lexpert Special Edition: Infrustructure. The partners, Jean-Sébastien Desroches, Nicolas Gagnon, Éric Thibaudeau and André Vautour now rank among Canada’s leaders in the area of infrastructure law. Jean-Sébastien Desroches practices business law and focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions, infrastructure and project development as well as strategic partnerships. He frequently steers major transactions—complex legal operations, cross-border transactions, reorganizations, and investments—in Canada and at an international level on behalf of Canadian, American, and European clients and international corporations in the manufacturing, transportation, pharmaceutical, financial, and energy sectors. 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. Éric Thibaudeau is a member of the Labour and Employment Group. He has special expertise in the area of occupational health and safety, regarding issues within the jurisdiction of the Administrative Labour Tribunal (ALT) as well as penal infractions prosecuted by the CNESST that are heard in the Court of Québec’s Criminal and Penal Division. He also acts for employers in grievance arbitrations, labour-relations matters and collective agreement decrees. In addition, he advises construction contractors and project owners on all matters within the jurisdiction of the construction industry regulatory authorities, such as the Commission de la construction du Québec and the Régie du bâtiment du Québec. André Vautour practises 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 frequently advises various clients on major infrastructure construction projects. He 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 pleased to announce the arrival of five new associates to the firm with diverse expertise. Romeo Aguilar Perez, CIRC Romeo Aguilar Perez joins our Labour and Employment Group. As part of his practice, he advises employers in the public, parapublic and private sectors on all aspects of employment relations and human capital management. He specializes in employment litigation, grievance arbitration, labour relations, labour standards, human rights, administrative investigations and occupational health and safety.   Frédéric Bolduc Frédéric Bolduc joins our Labour and Employment Group. During his studies at the Université de Montréal, He acted as a mentor and was involved with the Mobile Legal Clinic as a student clinician. The excellence of his academic results earned him a place on the undergraduate honour list at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Law and the Bar of Montréal Award for Excellence in Business Law (2019).   Frédéric Bolduc Frédéric Bolduc se joint à notre groupe Droit du travail et de l’emploi. Au cours de ses études à l’Université de Montréal, il a agi à titre de mentor et s’est impliqué à titre d’étudiant clinicien auprès de la Clinique juridique itinérante. L’excellence de ses résultats académiques lui a valu de figurer sur la liste d’honneur des étudiants du 1er cycle de la Faculté de droit de l’Université de Montréal et de se faire décerner le prix Barreau de Montréal pour excellence en droit des affaires (2019). Louis Lafleur, CIRC Louis Lafleur joins our Labour and Employment Group. In his practice, he advises employers in all areas of labour and employment law on matters concerning both individual and collective reports for employment-related disputes. Jinnie Liu Jinnie Liu joins our Business Law Group and focuses her practice on tax law. Jinnie Liu began her career in an international professional services firm’s corporate taxation group, where she played a key role by assisting clients in all aspects of the corporate life of businesses, no matter their size, including mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, financing and cross-border mandates. Adnana Zbona Adnana Zbona joins our Family law, Personal law, and Estate law group. Her practice covers every aspect of family, personal and estate law, including negotiating out-of-court settlements, reviewing and drafting proceedings and representing clients before the courts.  

Serge Shahinian, partner and patent agent in the firm’s Intellectual Property Group, has been recognized as a leading patent practitioner in the 2021 edition of the directory IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals. This distinction was determined, among other things, through exhaustive peer-reviewed surveys. The professionals are ranked in the directory based on a recognition of market share, exceptional skills, and in-depth knowledge of patent matters.

Lavery is pleased to announce that Myriam Brixi has made the ranks of the Benchmark Litigation: 40 & Under Hot List 2021, which recognizes professionals who stand out in their litigation practice in Canada and the United States. This distinction is a testament to Myriam Brixi's talent and expertise, particularly in the field of class actions. 

On June 18, 2021, Avril Supermarché, an independent, Quebec-based health food store chain, announced the closing of a transaction under which Desjardins Capital became a minority shareholder in order to support the chain’s growth in Quebec. The financing obtained will support Avril’s development plan, which includes opening a dozen more supermarkets over the next five years. The transaction was preceded by a major corporate reorganization. Lavery Lawyers feels privileged that Avril Supermarché, a long-standing client, reaffirmed its confidence in the firm by allowing it to contribute to Avril’s growth and support its founders and managers, Sylvie Senay and Rolland Tanguay, in all stages of the transaction. The Lavery team that worked with Avril Supermarché was led by Christian Dumoulin and composed of Jean-François Bilodeau, Dave Bouchard, Sophie Goulet, Katy Pelletier and Catherine Voyer.

Jimmy Pham, pharmacist-owner of three pharmacies, stands out for his well-developed entrepreneurial spirit and his approach to medicine. Placing the well-being and health of his patients at the core of his practice, he offers pharmacological treatments in the form of compounded drugs. Among others, he prepares medicines in the form of analgesic creams, the composition of which can be adapted to his patients’ specific needs. He cares about his businesses’ environmental footprint, and so he decided to offer bulk eco-responsible products and is part of the Circuit Zéro Déchet (zero waste network). We are very proud to support him in the expansion of his network of pharmacies, but especially in making his innovative vision of the pharmaceutical industry a reality. Watch the video (In French only)

Lavery is pleased to announce the arrival of four new professionals.   Laura Bassal, paralegal Laura Bassal is a paralegal member of the civil Litigation team where she specializes in the fields of insurance and construction litigation.   Marie-Claude Côté, associate Marie-Claude Côté is a member of the firm’s Business Law Group and focuses her practice on transactional and commercial law, and more specifically on securities law.   Marc-Étienne Lauzon-Joset, associate Marc-Étienne Lauzon-Joset is a member of the Business Law Group and focuses his practice on commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, corporate law and real estate law.   Brandon Yin, paralegal Brandon Yin is a paralegal member of the Business Law team where he assists lawyers practising in corporate law and helps prepare legal documents required for various business transactions.