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On June 17, 2024, Lexpert recognized the expertise of five of our partners in its 2024 Lexpert Special Edition: Technology and Health. Chantal Desjardins, Isabelle Jomphe, Béatrice T Ngatcha, Selena Lu and André Vautour now rank among Canada’s leaders in the area of Technology and Health. Chantal Desjardins is a partner, lawyer and trade-mark agent in Lavery’s intellectual property group. She contributes actively to the development of her clients’ rights in this field, which includes the protection of trademarks, industrial designs, copyright, trade secrets, domain names and other related forms of intellectual property, in order to promote her clients’ business goals. Isabelle Jomphe is a partner, lawyer and trade-mark agent in Lavery’s intellectual property group. Ms. Jomphe’s expertise includes trademark, industrial design, copyright, domain names, trade secrets, technology transfers, as well as advertising law, labelling and Charter for the French Language regulations. She is known for providing strategic and practical advice in all aspects of IP law, with an emphasis in the field of trademarks. She advises clients in trade-mark clearance searches, filing strategies, opposition proceedings and litigation in Canada and abroad. Béatrice T Ngatcha is a lawyer and patent agent in Lavery’s intellectual property group. She is a patent agent registered to practice in Canada and the United States. She is also a lawyer called to the Ontario Bar and a member of the Quebec Bar (c.j.c). Béatrice holds a doctoral degree in chemistry from Université Laval and has been a post-doctoral fellow at the National Research Council in Ottawa. In addition to a busy patent prosecution practice serving Canadian and foreign clients, Beatrice’s expertise in sought in the areas of intellectual property litigation, trade secrets, due diligence, strategy, portfolio value building, licensing and arbitration. 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. Over the years, Selena has developed an interest and acquired significant experience in supporting customers in their technological change. On a day-to-day basis, she advises clients on the legal impacts of the introduction of new technologies. Moreover, she oversees the development of the structure and negotiation of mergers and acquisitions along with complex business relationships for developing, marketing and acquiring technologies. 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 practises in the field of technology law (drafting technology development and transfer agreements, licensing agreements, distribution agreements, outsourcing agreements, and e-commerce agreements). 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.

On May 13, 2024, Lexpert recognized the expertise of four of our partners in its 2024 Lexpert Special Edition: Infrastructure. Jean-Sébastien Desroches, Nicolas Gagnon, Marc-André Landry 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, 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 in Canada and at an international level on behalf of Canadian, American and European clients, international corporations and institutional clients in the manufacturing, transportation, pharmaceutical, financial and renewable 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 on the public bidding and procurement processes and participates in the negotiation and drafting of contractual documents involving various project delivery methods, such as public-private partnership projects and design, construction, financing and maintenance contracts. In addition to advising various construction industry stakeholders on construction management and any claims that may arise, he also assists them with dispute resolution processes. Marc-André Landry  is a member of the Litigation and Conflict Resolution group and focuses his practice on commercial litigation. He frequently assists his clients in resolving their disputes through negotiation, mediation or arbitration, or before the various courts of law. Over the years, he has represented businesses in many sectors, including construction, real estate, renewable energy, conventional energy, new technologies, financial services and pharmaceuticals. 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). 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.

Mr. Martel is recognized for his ability to provide pragmatic, innovative solutions to the most complex legal issues in corporate law. He was a law professor for over 25 years and has contributed to most major corporate law journals, including La Revue du Barreau du Québec. “I’m so pleased and excited to be starting the fifth chapter of my professional career at Lavery, a firm I hold in high esteem. I look forward to putting my expertise to good use with the firm’s clients, as well as helping to consolidate the multidisciplinary service offering for which Lavery is renowned in the legal and business markets,” said Paul Martel, partner at Lavery. As a leading expert in corporate law, and a respected teacher, lecturer and author, he regularly advises government authorities on major legislative changes, including those to the Civil Code of Québec, Quebec’s Companies Act, the Canada Business Corporations Act and the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises. He has also acted as a consultant to the Minister of Finance of Quebec in developing and drafting the new Business Corporations Act, and to the Agence du Revenu du Québec in updating the Quebec Enterprise Register. “Paul Martel has authored several landmark legal works on corporate law, and his outstanding track record and extensive expertise in the legal and business industries of Quebec, Canada and the United States will further strengthen the quality of Lavery’s services in this area of practice. He will certainly be a great inspiration to us all, and his presence at the firm will have a major impact on our teams, as he assists our Business Law group,” concluded René Branchaud, Head of practice of Lavery’s Business Law group.

In a landmark decision, the Court confirms the scope of the surety bond indemnity agreement that our firm helped to draft in Gestion ITR inc. v. Intact Compagnie d'assurance.. Lavery’s reputation in construction bonding is well established. The firm has been a leader in this field for decades. Under the direction of our partner Nicolas Gagnon, Lavery supports the industry in contentious matters, while providing guidance on major policies. Over 30 years ago, our firm was in charge of drafting the content of an indemnity agreement between a construction company and a major surety company. That agreement is still widely used in the industry today. The Court of Appeal of Québec recognized the scope of the agreement in a recent decision, confirming that the obligations of the signatories to the agreement included, in particular, the reimbursement of losses incurred by the surety, not only under surety bonds it had issued, but also under agreements entered into between the principal surety and another surety that had agreed to act as the construction company’s guarantor. This essentially means that the signatories to an indemnity agreement must reimburse the losses incurred by a surety that was obtained by the principal surety. Our partner Nicolas Gagnon commented on this as follows: “So much effort went into drafting this indemnity agreement, given its significance for the industry. We’re obviously thrilled to see that Quebec’s highest Court agrees with our logic, and that it confirmed that the scope of the agreement we helped to draft applies to the situations we had identified.” We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our industry colleagues’ skillful work in defending the indemnity agreement.

Lavery is pleased to announce that seven of its lawyers have been recognized as leaders by Benchmark Litigation Canada 2024. This directory ranks the leading litigators involved in Canada's landmark litigation cases who have distinguished themselves in the legal profession by providing outstanding service to clients. The following lawyers received the Litigation Star distinction in the 2024 edition of the directory: Myriam Brixi Raymond Doray Nicolas Gagnon Marc-André Landry Martin Pichette The following lawyers received the Future Star distinction in the 2024 edition of the directory: Laurence Bich-Carrière Céleste Brouillard-Ross 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.