This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Lavery represents Intact Insurance regarding the tentative agreement reached with Option consommateurs for the settlement of the 1998 ice storm class action
Intact Financial Corporation announced on October 23 that its insurance subsidiaries operating in Quebec have reached an agreement in principle with Option consommateurs for an out-of-court settlement of a class action lawsuit regarding the 1998 ice storm. This tentative agreement is subject to approval by the Québec Superior Court during the next few months. The class action suit launched by Option consommateurs sought to determine, among other things, whether the insurance companies had an obligation to compensate all policyholders included in the class action for additional living expenses incurred as a result of the power outages as well as the amount to be reimbursed. The 1998 ice storm was Canada’s most costly natural disaster. Approximately $1.6 billion was paid out to consumers by insurance companies, including more than $350 million by Intact subsidiaries. The agreement with Option consommateurs applies to more than 200,000 clients insured with Belair Insurance Company Inc., Allianz Insurance Company of Canada, AXA Assurances inc. and ING Insurance Company of Canada (Commerce Group). This agreement in principle involves only Intact Financial Corporation’s insurance subsidiaries and the class action suit against the 15 other insurance companies is still in progress. The amount of the agreement is $12.5 million. Mr. Jean Saint-Onge and Mr. Jean-Philippe Lincourt from Lavery represent Intact Insurance with respect to the proposed settlement this class action.
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Two new appointments for Marie Cossette
Lavery is pleased to announce that Marie Cossette, partner of our firm, has been appointed as member of the Organizing Committee for the 2013 Congress of the Quebec Bar and as member of the Comité Affaires-Cultures for the Chambre de commerce de Québec. These two nominations represent worthy additions to an already extensive involvement with respect to professional and community activities, particularly in the areas of culture, education and law.
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2012 Lavery Discussion Event: A successful conference!
The 2012 Lavery Discussion Event on the Distribution of financial products and services was a success. Almost 65 people gathered in the Lavery Conference Centre on October 10 to take part in this seminar, which was focused on recent developments and trends with regards to investigations, inspections and remedies. More specifically, the Lavery speakers discussed important concerns related to the growing application of the legislation and power to act of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), including the scope of AMF powers, the role of registered firms and persons and the expectations of the AMF in that regard as well as the best practices and related recommendations. This Discussion Event involved the participation of Ms. Lise Girard, chief prosecutor at the Autorité des marchés financiers. From left to right: Marc Beauchemin, partner at Lavery; Josianne Beaudry, associate at Lavery; Daniel Alain Dagenais, partner at Lavery; Lise Girard, chief prosecutor at the Autorité des marchés financiers; Nathalie Durocher, associate at Lavery; and Evelyne Verrier, partner at Lavery.
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Some 200 corporate lawyers take part in the 2012 Lavery seminar!
The 2012 edition of the Lavery seminars took place on Tuesday, October 16 at the Centre Mont-Royal in Montreal under the theme "Risk Management". Some 200 corporate lawyers participated to this training activity, which was presented in the form of workshops and involved 14 lecturers, including 12 from Lavery and two external lecturers.The proposed program was comprehensive and dealt with various subjects of interest for corporate lawyers. The day began with a plenary session focused on "The corporate lawyer and the duties towards third parties with respect to information". The training activity continued with six workshops that dealt with the following issues: Certain provisions with regards to commercial leases, including from an acquisition standpoint The financing of occupational health and safety How to read an insurance policy The restrictive covenant provisions in credit agreements Consumer law and class actions Precautionary measures with respect to lobbying and the relations with public authoritiesOnce again, the Lavery seminar was a success. This seminar is a major initiative among those organized by Lavery to meet the needs of its business partners.
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Dina Raphaël quoted in an article published in the journal Finance et Investissement
Ms. Dina Raphaël, partner at Lavery and an expert in the area of insurance law, is quoted in an article of the journal Finance et Investissement and entitled "Assurance responsabilité : des contrats à revoir". The text deals with an important judgment where the Québec Court of Appeal ruled that the provision excluding gross fault, which is included in a liability insurance policy, was of no force or effect. Ms. Raphaël pointed out, among other things, that the judgment will compel insurers and policyholders to review the exclusions written into liability insurance policies. However, any exclusion for gross fault is not necessarily null and void. Click here to read this article (in French only).
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Gérard Coulombe, Q.C., winner of a 2012 Zenith Award!
Gérard Coulombe, Q.C., partner at Lavery, was given a Zenith Award on October 11 during a gala event in Toronto. This distinction is awarded by the legal directory Lexpert to recognize annually the work of lawyers who are Canadian leaders in the legal profession. According to Lexpert, Gérard Coulombe distinguished himself as a leading practitioner in business law and tax law. In the latter case, as a special advisor to the Minister of Finance of Canada from 1972 to 1977, Gérard Coulombe had the responsibility to negotiate agreements between Canada and more than 40 countries, with the aim of avoiding double taxation. This advertisement was published in a special issue of Lexpert devoted to the 2012 Zenith Awards.
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Appointment of Justice Richard Wagner to the Supreme Court of Canada
Lavery is proud of the appointment, last October 5, of Mr. Justice Richard Wagner, a former lawyer of the firm, to the Supreme Court of Canada. After completing his law degree at the University of Ottawa in 1979, Justice Wagner practised for almost 25 years at Lavery. An articling student with the firm in 1980, he was hired as an associate the same year, and became a partner in February 1988.A thorough and passionate jurist, Justice Wagner became an accomplished and recognized litigator in the areas of commercial litigation, professional liability and construction law. He was diligent in responding to the requirements of Lavery's clients, attentive to the needs of his colleagues, and also contributed as a mentor and educator to the success of many young lawyers at Lavery.In addition to participating actively in several committees of the firm, Justice Wagner was always very involved in the legal community. Among other things, he was a founding fellow of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers in 1998, and was elected as the bâtonnier of the Bar of Montreal for 2001-2002. He also sat on the board of directors of the Quebec Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, chairing the Construction Law Section in 2003-2004. In June 2005, he received the Quebec Bar's Award of Merit for his contribution to the legal profession.In September 2004, he was appointed as a judge to the Québec Superior Court, a position he held until he was appointed to the Québec Court of Appeal in February 2011. For Lavery, the appointment of Justice Wagner to the highest court in the country is an honour that brings credit to the firm as a whole.
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Carolyne Corbeil author of an article in Industrie & Commerce magazine
Carolyne Corbeil, lawyer at Lavery, is the author of a text that was published in the September-October 2012 issue of Industrie & Commerce, and entitled "Nouvelles embûches pour l’employé offrant ses services par l’entremise d’une société". In this article, Carolyne Corbeil analyzes the impact of a new provision in the Canadian Income Tax Act that significantly increases the tax rate applicable to personal services businesses (PSB). She particularly examines the rules to qualify for the status of PSB, the regime governing this category of business and the new tax measure proposed by the Minister of National Revenue.Click here to read this article (in French only).
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Dina Raphaël and Nathalie Durocher co-authors of an article in Premières en affaires magazine
Dina Raphaël and Nathalie Durocher, respectively partner and lawyer at Lavery, published a text in the August-September 2012 issue of Premières en affaires, entitled "Votre contrat d’assurance sur Internet". In this article, they focus on the legislative and legal challenges of a fast-growing phenomenon: the online distribution of insurance products. Ms. Raphaël and Ms. Durocher observe that the insurance industry is currently going through significant changes and the Internet represents a very interesting marketing tool for the industry. In their concluding comment, they point out that such a tool must be used with caution and according to the current laws governing the distribution of insurance products and the formation of the insurance contract while taking into account consumer rights. Click here to read this article (in French only).
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Marie-Claude Perreault in a short video of the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés
Marie-Claude Perreault, CIRC, partner at Lavery, appears in a short video of the Ordre, which is focused on the key human resources trends from an occupational health and safety standpoint. In her comments, Ms. Perreault briefly discusses three major challenges that corporate human resources managers are confronted with:• the importance of good governance with respect to occupational health and safety files;• the financial management of employment injury files; and• the management of psychological injury files.Click here to view the video :www.portailrh.org/StudioRH/MCPerreault
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Lavery represents Black Diamond in the acquisition of White Birch Paper Company in Quebec
On September 18, 2012, Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C. and BD White Birch Investment LLC announced the acquisition of the assets of White Birch Paper Company, the second largest newsprint manufacturer in North America. This transaction represents an important milestone in the restructuring process of the business commenced more than two years ago and will ensure the long-term viability of the new company. Black Diamond, a US-based independently owned alternative investment firm, was represented in Quebec by a multidisciplinary team from Lavery, which included Jean-Yves Simard and Jonathan Warin (restructuring and insolvency), Catherine Maheu, Josée Dumoulin and François Parent (labour and employment; pension and benefits), Dominique Bélisle, Brigitte Gauthier, Chantal Joubert and Étienne Guertin (financing and real estate law), Jean-Sébastien Desroches, Guillaume Lavoie, Ariana Lisio and Maxime Bergeron (business transactions, mergers and acquisitions), Yvan Biron and Sophie Prégent (environment) as well as Philippe Asselin and Audrey Gibeault (tax law). The Lavery team demonstrated its expertise and worked closely with colleagues at Goodmans (Toronto) and Skadden (Chicago), both counsel to Black Diamond.
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Lavery Welcomes Nine New Lawyers
Lavery is pleased to announce that nine lawyers have joined the firm during the last months. Adding these young professionals to the Lavery team demonstrates the firm’s willingness to attract new talent and optimize its service offering in areas of practice that respond to the needs of business clients in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. These new lawyers will be members of three of the firm’s practice groups. Business Law Year of CallMs. Bianca Laliberté 1999Ms. Catherine Méthot* 2010Ms. Audrey Gibeault 2011Mr. Maxime Bergeron* 2011Mr. Étienne Guertin* 2012 LitigationMr. Michael Beeson 2011Mr. Alexis Devroede-Languirand* 2012Mr. Dominic Boisvert* 2012 Labour and Employment LawMs. Paméla Kelly-Nadeau* 2012*Articling student at Lavery. "The addition of these talented lawyers shows that Lavery gives priority to succession planning. We are dedicated to developing the skills of these young men and women within our firm. In this regard, our commitment is particularly expressed through our support of articling students. Among the nine new Lavery lawyers, six completed their articling at our firm", says Élise Poisson, Lavery’s managing partner.