This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
-
Yvan Biron and Sophie Prégent of Lavery, speakers at the 2013 Annual Review of Environmental Law
Mr. Yvan Biron and Ms. Sophie Prégent, partner and associate at Lavery, respectively, acted as speakers at the 2013 Annual Review of Environmental Law. Their presentation was given before the members of the National Environmental, Energy and Resources Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association – Québec Branch.During this case law review, Mr. Biron and Ms. Prégent discussed various issues, such as the Minister’s powers, authorizations, municipal powers in environmental matters, contaminated soils and administrative monetary penalties.
-
Julie Cousineau, Caroline Harnois and Nadine Landry appointed partners at Lavery
Lavery is pleased to announce the appointment of Julie Cousineau, Caroline Harnois and Nadine Landry as partners at the Montreal office of the firm. Ms. Julie Cousineau has developed expertise in the areas of civil litigation, commercial litigation and construction law. In the course of her practice, she represents clients who are active in the public, private and financial sectors. Ms. Cousineau has acted in many contract litigation raising complex and various issues pertaining to non-competition and confidentiality clauses as well as extraordinary recourses such as injunctions. Her long-standing experience also enables her to advise private corporations at all stages of their product distribution and sales business. Ms. Cousineau’s litigation expertise helps her develop practical and efficient strategies that are focused on her clients’ business objectives. Ms. Caroline Harnois is a member of Lavery’s Family Law, Personal Law and Estate Law team. Her practice is focused on all aspects of family and estate law, which comprises private international family law, including international child abduction. Before joining the firm, she worked as a lawyer at The Hague Conference on Private International Law in the Netherlands, where she developed expertise in extraterritorial conflicts and the application of international conventions, particular with regards to international child abduction, recovery of maintenance abroad, inter-country adoption and international protection of children and vulnerable adults. Ms. Harnois is also the author of numerous articles on family law. Ms. Nadine Landry practises in the firm’s Labour Law Group where she specializes in employee mobility and economic immigration matters. She represents and advises a number of businesses with respect to the process of hiring foreign workers and transferring key employees to Canada. She also represents entrepreneurs, investors, senior executives and skilled workers wishing to settle in Canada on a temporary or permanent basis. In addition, Ms. Landry has work experience in the cultural field and several years of involvement with national and international sports communities. She was a member of the boards of directors of various organizations in these fields and also held the position of President of Synchro Canada for several years. "We are very proud to welcome Julie, Caroline and Nadine as new partners of Lavery. This appointment, which represents an important milestone in their career, recognizes the quality of their work with clients and their solid expertise in their respective areas of practice. Moreover, the appointment of three women as partners recognizes the firm’s commitment to the growing presence of women in the legal profession", said Don McCarty , Managing Partner of the firm.
-
Marie Cossette of Lavery appointed ambassador of a committee of the Conseil de la culture des régions de Québec et de Chaudière-Appalaches
Ms. Marie Cossette, a Litigation partner at Lavery, was recently appointed as ambassador of a committee of the Conseil de la culture des régions de Québec et de Chaudière-Appalaches. The committee’s objective is to design an action plan aimed at encouraging young people to have access and participate in the cultural life of their region.Member of the Comité Affaires-Culture of the Chambre de commerce de Québec since 2012, Ms. Cossette decided to become involved in this initiative launched by the Conseil de la culture and which regroups various sectors, including business and culture. Among other things, ambassadors will be required to mobilize their sector, to gather through their own contact networks ideas and recommendations for their sector, and to submit them to other committee members for approval.
-
Caroline Roberge joins Lavery as an associate
Lavery is pleased to announce that Ms. Caroline Roberge has recently joined the firm as an associate. Called to the Quebec Bar in 2008, Ms. Roberge will practise in the firm’s Administrative Law Group.Recipient of a Master’s degree in environmental law, sustainable development and food security and of awards for academic excellence, Ms. Roberge’s expertise is focused on municipal law, environmental law and agricultural law. Before joining Lavery, she was a municipal councillor and worked as legal advisor for the Fédération des producteurs de lait du Québec.
-
Luc Thibaudeau of Lavery, speaker at the eCOMMTL Convention
Mr. Luc Thibaudeau, a Litigation partner at Lavery, acted as speaker at the eCOMMTL Convention that was held at the Palais des congrès de Montréal on April 23-24, 2014. During his conference entitled “Les aspects légaux reliés au commerce électronique”, Mr. Thibaudeau discussed various subjects of interest, such as the applicable laws, recent case law, B2B and B2C, the Consumer Protection Act, cross-border issues and payments processing.Since 2011, eCOMMTL has been drawing hundreds of participants, including entrepreneurs, representatives from various industries and renowned speakers, who have developed an interest in consumer behavior in an environment that is increasingly defined by technologies and e-business.
-
Marie-Claude Armstrong, Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers
Lavery is pleased to announce that the Honourable Marie-Claude Armstrong, a former Litigation partner at the firm who was appointed as a Judge to the Superior Court of Québec on April 10, 2014, was named a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) during an induction ceremony that was held on April 22, 2014.The ceremony was chaired by the ACTL president, Mr. Robert L. Byman. It included Mr. Jeffrey S. Leon, a member of the ACTL Board of Regents, Mr. Sylvain Lussier, representative for Quebec, and other ACTL members, such as Mr. Michel Robert, former Chief Justice of Quebec, the Honourable Michel Yergeau, judge of the Superior Court of Québec, as well as Ms. Suzanne-Hélène Pringle, Ms. Suzanne Côté and Ms. Marie-Josée Hogue.Founded in 1950, the American College of Trial Lawyers comprises the best trial lawyers from the United States and Canada. The ACTL is dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, the administration of justice and the ethics of the profession.
-
Appointment of Marie-Claude Armstrong of Lavery to the Superior Court of Québec
Lavery is very pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Marie-Claude Armstrong, a Litigation partner with our firm, as a Judge of the Superior Court of Québec, as of April 11, 2014.Ms. Armstrong was a leader in our Family, Personal and Estate Law team. Throughout the years, she has forged a solid reputation in family, estate and trust law litigation as well as in matters pertaining to the institution of protective supervision, the homologation of mandates in anticipation of incapacity, patrimony protection and pension plans.Author and coauthor of several publications, she was also a renowned speaker. Moreover, her expertise has been recognized in various legal directories, such as The Best Lawyers in Canada directory where she is recognized as Lawyer of the Year 2014 in Family Law in Montreal as well as in The Canadian Legal LEXPERT® Directory 2013 in the field of Family Law.The appointment of Ms. Armstrong to the bench pursues a long tradition of judicial appointments that have led Lavery to be considered "a seedbed of judges" in the legal community.
-
Nicolas Gagnon of Lavery, speaker at the Advanced Conference on the management of claims and litigation in the construction industry
Mr. Nicolas Gagnon, a partner in Lavery’s Construction and Surety Law team, acted as speaker at the Advanced Conference on the management of claims and litigation in the construction industry that was organized by the Canadian Institute and held in Montreal on April 2-3, 2014.The presentation in which Mr. Gagnon took part was entitled “Mise au point sur les appels d’offres : jurisprudence récente, mise à jour législative et meilleures pratiques”. The subject matters discussed by the speakers included the preparation of requests for proposals (RFPs) in the light of recent case law, the elements of content that should be part of every RFP in order to counter collusion, good ethical practices and the impact of the Charbonneau Commission on the claims process.
-
Pierre Marc Johnson of Lavery, speaker in the Série Enjeux of Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec
Mr. Pierre Marc Johnson, G.O.Q., FRSC, counsel at Lavery and former Premier of Quebec, gave a conference entitled “Commerce transatlantique : quelles opportunités pour le Québec ? ” on April 9, 2014 as part of the Série Enjeux organized by Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec (MEQ).Mr. Johnson’s conference focused on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union, particularly the business opportunities offered to Quebec because of its geographical position between Europe and America. Mr. Johnson is chief negotiator for the Government of Quebec in the CETA process.For more information (in French), click here.
-
Marie Cossette of Lavery comments the beginning of the trial of former Lieutenant Governor of Québec, Lise Thibault
On April 9, 2014, Ms. Marie Cossette, a Litigation partner at Lavery and the coordinator of the firm’s Corporate and Business Integrity team , was a guest on the radio program Radio-Canada cet après-midi and Radio-Canada’s television program Le téléjournal Québec, both broadcasted in Quebec City, to comment the beginning of the trial of former Lieutenant Governor of Québec, the Honourable Lise Thibault.Recognized for her long-standing experience in public law and integrity matters, Ms. Cossette discussed several issues related to Lise Thibault’s trial that began on April 9 in Quebec City on charges of fraud, breach of trust and forgery, including the four-year delay between the charges laid and the opening of the trial, the concept of Crown immunity, the on-going civil and criminal proceedings in this case as well as the right of recourse of defendants to protect their rights.
-
Katia Opalka of Lavery quoted in National magazine, a publication of the Canadian Bar Association
Ms. Katia Opalka, an Environmental and Aboriginal Law partner at Lavery, was quoted in a recent issue of National magazine, in an article focusing on the Crown’s duty to consult aboriginal peoples.According to Ms. Opalka, if the Crown fails to fulfill this duty in advance of authorizing a project on lands subject to aboriginal claims, the validity of project authorizations may be called into question. This risk needs to be minimized in order for project proponents to attract the investment they need to bring their projects into production.To read this article, click here.
-
Pierre Marc Johnson of Lavery, speaker at the PwC Canada series Les soupers des dirigeants
Mr. Pierre Marc Johnson, G.O.Q., FRSC, counsel at Lavery and former Premier of Quebec, was the first guest speaker to launch the series Les soupers des dirigeants organized by PwC Canada’s French Desk. The event was held in Montreal on April 1, 2014. These dinner conferences are particularly intended for the senior executives of French corporations with operations in Canada.During this dinner, Mr. Johnson gave an address on the key issues of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. Mr. Johnson acts as chief negotiator for the Government of Quebec with regards to this international agreement.