This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Julie Cousineau of Lavery, speaker at the Annual Review of Commercial Case Law
Ms. Julie Cousineau, a civil and commercial litigation associate at Lavery, acted as speaker at the Canadian Bar Association, Québec Branch (CBA Québec) Annual Review of Commercial Case Law that was held on February 11, 2015 at our Conference Center in Montreal. During this examination of yearly precedential decisions, many subjects of interest were discussed by the guest speakers. Ms. Cousineau dealt with court decisions focused on extraordinary recourses such as injunctions.
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Laurence Bich-Carrière publishes an article in the Supreme Court Law Review
Ms. Laurence Bich-Carrière, litigation lawyer at Lavery, is the author of an article entitled « Le détissage juridique: étude de l’obsolescence des citations électroniques dans les décisions de la Cour suprême du Canada (1998-2014) » [Legal Citations Unweaving: a Study of the Obsolescence of Electronic Citations in the Supreme Court of Canada Decisions], published on January 16, 2015 in the Supreme Court Law Review. By reviewing the electronic references used by the Supreme Court of Canada in its decisions, Ms. Bich-Carrière seeks to assess how the dematerialization of sources and the paradigm shift of the Internet impact the legal profession’s relation to the notion of sources, on which rests the very principle of precedent. From an exhaustive empirical study arises the alarming conclusion that a third of the referenced hyperlinks are broken, and that the link rot phenomenon increases with time. Ms. Bich-Carrière then takes a two-fold approach to try to alleviate the issue: in addition to trying to discern potential factors which could help predict which links will rot, she suggests some preventive measures by drawing on both research methodology and archiving norms. To read the article (in French only), click here.
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Judgement of the Supreme Court of Canada in regards to professional secrecy – another victory for Lavery!
On February 13, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered an important decision stating that several sections from the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and from its regulationviolate sections 7 and 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, without being justified under section 1 of that same Charter. Mr. Raymond Doray, Ad. E., and Mr. Loïc Berdnikoff, Administrative Law partners at Lavery, with the help of Mr. Guillaume Laberge, represented the Barreau du Québec and the Chambre des notaires before Canada’s highest court, where they argued that lawyers and notaries should be exempted from provisions which, among other things, infringed on the attorney-client privilege, the duty of loyalty to each client and the independence of the Bar. To read the judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada, please click here. Raymond Doray, Loïc Berdnikoff and Guillaume Laberge
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Katia Opalka publishes an article regarding the wetlands for the Canadian Bar Association
On February 6, 2015, Ms. Katia Opalka, a partner practicing environmental and Aboriginal law at Lavery, published an article entitled “Wetlands: Did You Know?” (Milieux humides : Le saviez-vous?), on the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), Quebec Branch website. In her article, Ms. Opalka, who is President of the Quebec Division of the Environment, Energy and Resources Law Section of the CBA, situates Quebec’s wetlands conservation efforts at the national, continental and international level. To read Ms. Opalka’s article (in French only), please click here.
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Bernard Larocque and Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin to present insurance law year in review for 2014 in memory of Jean Bélanger
On February 11, 2015, before the Canadian Bar Association, Mr. Bernard Larocque and Mr. Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin, both lawyers at Lavery who practice in insurance law, presented an insurance law year-in-review for 2014, in memory of Mr. Jean Bélanger.
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Nadine Landry and Luc Pariseau take part in a conference on cross-border business activities in Boston
On February 4, 2015, Ms. Nadine Landry, a partner in the Labour Law Group and Mr. Luc Pariseau, a partner in the Business Law Group, both of Lavery, took part in a Conference in Boston entitled “'Doing business in Canada' can be risky business”. They provided insight on the various immigration and tax traps that exist when expanding and working outside the national American borders. This conference, attracting close to 50 participants, will also take place at our Conference center in Montreal, on April 22, 2015, this time addressing the pitfalls to avoid for a Canadian company that wants to do business in the United States.
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Daniel Bouchard of Lavery quoted in a newspaper article from Le Courrier de Saint-Hyacinthe
Mr. Daniel Bouchard, Managing Partner of the Lavery Quebec City office, was quoted in a recent article entitled «Changement de zonage en catimini », relating to a municipality’s obligation to inform its residents on zoning matters. According to Mr. Bouchard, the Act respecting land use planning and development is clear: a municipality must, by public notice in a newspaper, inform its population of any zoning by-law draft. It is at the very foundation of the democratic exercise of this process. To read this article, click here (in French only).
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Benjamin David Gross and Anne-Sophie Lamonde give a conference on mining project streaming agreements
On January 27, 2015, Mr. Benjamin David Gross, a partner in the financial services and creditors' rights, real estate law, and mining law teams, and Ms. Anne-Sophie Lamonde, a lawyer practicing in corporate law, both of Lavery, took part in the Conference on financing and security on property organized by the Canadian Institute. Their conference was entitled “Financing of mining projects: What you should know about ‘Streaming Agreements’” and sought to provide insight on this method of financing, which is gaining in popularity among senior mining companies, and more specifically, to explain the key provisions which one should consider when drafting or negotiating such agreements.
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The Pierre-Basile-Mignault competition bears the colours of Lavery's!
Teams mentored by Lavery lawyers win nine of the ten prizes in the 2015 edition. On February 6 and 7, 2015, students from all Canadian civil law faculties gathered at McGill University to engage in debates regarding real rights and the protection of the environment, during the prestigious Pierre-Basile-Mignault Moot Competition. For many years now, Lavery has been involved in this event and the 2015 edition is no exception. Three teams were supervised by our lawyers: Laurence Bich-Carrière and Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin for UQÀM Mary Delli Quadri and our former colleague Marie-Andrée Gagnon for University of Montreal (UdeM) Justin Gravel for University of Sherbrooke The finale pitted the UQÀM and UdeM teams against each other. The former team won (along with the Fasken-Martineau Cup; the Yvon-Blais Cup being handed to the UdeM team), and together, these two teams won almost every prize, which highlights Lavery’s strength in both civil law and oral advocacy. Four individual oratory prizes were awarded, going to Christophe Savoie (UdeM) (Robinson Cup for best speaker), Marie-Pier Lauzon-Raza (UQÀM) and Philippe Moisan-Royal (UQÀM) (Canadian Bar Cup (Quebec division) for 2nd best speakers, ex aequo) and Dominique Samson (UdeM) (Lavery Cup for 3rd best speaker, given by Bernard Larocque). If the Lauzon-Raza and Moisan-Royal pair won the finale, a discretionary prize was awarded to Savoie and Samson as best pair not participating in the finale. The SOQUIJ Cup for second best factum was awarded to Jessica Leblanc, Marylin Ménard et Jonathan Raizenne (UQÀM). Ms. Bich-Carrière and Mr. Lacoste-Jobin are particularly proud that their teams’ efforts were recognized, UQÀM being awarded the President of the Barreau du Québec for best overall team.
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Éric Gélinas gives a conference on anti-avoidance rules at the Canadian Tax Foundation’s Technical seminar on private corporations
On January 29, 2015, Mr. Éric Gélinas, legal counsel at Lavery and member of the Business Law Group, gave a conference entitled “Specific Anti-Avoidance Rules: paragraphs 56(2), 75(2), 83(2.1), 83(2.2) and 83(2.4) ITA – within the scope of corporate reorganization and corporate sale planning” (Les règles anti-évitement spécifiques: paragr. 56(2), 75(2), 83(2.1), 83(2.2) et 83(2.4) LIR – dans le cadre de la réorganisation corporative et de la planification de vente d’entreprise) during the Canadian Tax Foundation’s Technical seminar on private corporations. For more information about the seminar, please click here.
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Bernard Larocque and Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin present insurance law year-in-review for 2014 in memory of Jean Bélanger
On January 21 2015, at Lavery’s Montreal offices, and January 22, 2015, before the Canadian Bar Association, Mr. Bernard Larocque and Mr. Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin, both lawyers at Lavery who practice in insurance law, presented an insurance law year-in-review for 2014, in memory of Mr. Jean Bélanger. Both conferences were a great success.
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Katia Opalka publishes an article regarding policy decisions and the duty to consult
On January 23, 2015, Ms. Katia Opalka, a partner at Lavery who provides transactional support on environmental and Aboriginal law matters, published an article entitled “Duty to Consult and the Division of Powers” on the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), Quebec Branch website. In her article, Ms. Opalka, who is President of the Quebec Division of the Environment, Energy and Resources Law Section of the CBA, discusses the fact that the Federal Court of Canada recently addressed the question of whether the Crown’s constitutional duty to consult First Nations can be triggered by a policy decision. To read Ms. Opalka’s article, please click here.