This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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André Vautour, panelist at the World Services Group Meeting of the Americas
On March 2–3, 2017, Business Law Group partner André Vautour served as a panelist at the World Services Group Meeting of the Americas in Dallas. The panel was made up of Patrick Kelly from Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. in Minnesota, Juan Jose Lopez de Silanes Molina from Basham, Ringe y Correa, S.C. in Mexico, and Mr. Vautour. Entitled The Northern American Market in 2017 – Comparing the US, Canadian, and Mexican Perspectives, the panel gave stakeholders an opportunity to share their views on the upcoming challenges facing trade between North American countries and to identify possible solutions. For more information about the World Services Group, click here.
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Jean-Philippe Turgeon, speaker at Funding Meet-and-Greet – Franchise Special
On March 30, 2017, Jean-Philippe Turgeon, partner and head of the Franchising and Distribution group, was a speaker at the Funding Meet-and-Greet – Franchise Special held by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. More specifically, he led the discussion on the topic of Franchise rules and legal aspects in a roundtable panel that gave several franchisors and franchisees an opportunity to learn more about the legal aspects of various funding options.
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Lavery welcomes three new lawyers
Lavery is pleased to welcome three new lawyers, Katherine Athanasopoulos, Nadia Hanine and Sonia Rasquinha, to the firm. They bring with them the knowledge and experience they gained as articling students with the firm and will be joining the Business Law group. “Hiring these three new lawyers is a testament to the quality of their work as articling students. We are proud to be keeping the students we trained among our ranks,” said Jean-Yves Simard, Lavery’s Interim Managing Partner.
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Pierre Marc Johnson participates in the “Québec, porte d'entrée de l'Amérique du Nord” conference in Toulouse
On March 9, Pierre Marc Johnson, counsel and chief negotiator for the Government of Quebec for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), spoke at an event held at the head office of the Banque Courtois in Toulouse and organized by International Mission. Mr. Johnson’s subject was Québec, porte d'entrée de l'Amérique du Nord (Quebec, the gateway to North America), and he shared the platform with Yves Grimard, Europe director atInvestissement Québec, and David Kassar, President of International Mission. The speakers discussed the various business opportunities in Quebec for firms from the region, in particular in connection with the recent ratification of the CETA by the European Parliament. For more information about International Mission, click here.
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Bernard Larocque speaks to the National Conference on Class Actions
On March 23, Bernard Larocque, a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group, was a panel member at the 14th annual National Conference on Class Actions held by the Barreau du Québec at the Palais des Congrès in Montréal. The purpose of the presentation, entitled Action collective en matière environnementale (class actions in environmental law), was to discuss various issues that arise in hearings on the merits of class actions relating to environmental problems.
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“Défi 100 jours L’Effet A”: Marie Cossette discusses how she achieved personal growth
As the 5th group of participants is about to begin the “Défi 100 jours L’effet A” (the 100-day challenge, the “A Effect”), Marie Cossette talks about her experience. Marie, who is a partner and heads the Business Integrity group, participated as a leader in the fourth edition of “l’Effet A”, which took place from September 9 to December 16, 2016. The challenge she set for herself was to encourage meetings and dialogue between business and cultural communities, all in the while emphasizing the importance of communication for professional advancement. She strongly believes that culture contributes significantly to economic development and is also a vector for enriching both our personal and our professional lives. Much to the delight of the participants in the fourth edition of the challenge, Marie also set herself the goal of guiding them on how to improve the way they express their opinions by encouraging them to communicate authentically and confidently. Marie Cossette spoke positively about her experience and confesses to having achieved personal growth through it. “The workshops and discussions we had with the participants made us think about things we had pushed aside; we dive back into them, we look at the concepts and ideas anew. These events also give us an opportunity to ask ourselves questions we had never thought about before. It is very unsettling! Ultimately, it is an experience that forces you to get off the beaten track,” she said. She will continue to be involved with the movement over the coming year. “L’effet A” is an initiative whose aim is to inspire women to get involved professionally and give them the courage to get out of their comfort zones and take concrete action for themselves. This is accomplished by presenting inspirational leaders who provide a new perspective on women’s ambition by offering practical tools that are suited to the new realities of women’s lives. For more information on “l’Effet A”, click here (in French only).
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Élodie Brunet gives a presentation on mental health in the workplace for future CRHA and CRIA
On March 8, 2017, Élodie Brunet, a lawyer in the Labour and Employment Law group, was a speaker at the industrial relations week organized by the future CRHA and CRIA at the Université de Montréal jointly with the Ordre des CRHA. The presentation was an opportunity for students to learn more about the practical and legal aspects of managing mental health in the workplace.
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Pier-Olivier Fradette and Charlotte Fortin present recent developments in municipal law
On March 17, Pier-Olivier Fradette and Charlotte Fortin, lawyers in the Administrative Law group, gave a presentation at the 26th annual conference on recent developments in municipal law organized by the Barreau du Québec. The presentation dealt with the new Act to improve the legal situation of animals and analyzed the novel features of that Act, the standards it maintains from previous legislation, and its impact on the treatment of animals and on municipalities’ powers in the management of domestic animals and stray animals.
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Lavery supports the Université de Sherbrooke’s Faculty of Law and its students
On March 9, 2017, several members of the firm attended the official opening of the new library of the Faculty of Law at the Université de Sherbrooke. The rebuilding of the Faculty library was made possible by a substantial financial contribution by Lavery and other partners. With the upgrading completed, the library will now provide law students with high quality work spaces, equipped with cutting edge technology and arranged to facilitate teamwork. We would note that on March 22, 2016, following Lavery’s financial contribution, the Faculty named a new multimedia room after the firm. Upper row : Marie-Claude Lacaille, Nicolas Thibault-Bernier, Marilyn Paré, Christian Dumoulin, Loïc Berdnikoff, Cynthia Fortin, Isabelle P. Mercure Middle row : Jean Hébert, Alain Heyne, Danielle Gauthier, Letta Wellinger, Marika Couture-Houle, Justin Gravel, Laurent Bellemare-Proulx Bottom row : Kay-Sandra Boyer, Mylène Boisvert
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Chloé Fauchon leads panel discussion for the CBA-Quebec
On March 16, Chloé Fauchon led a panel discussion entitled “La cohérence décisionnelle - pourquoi ? par qui ? – débat sur les suites de l’arrêt Wilson de la Cour suprême du Canada” (consistency in decision-making: why? by whom? – discussion on the aftermath of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Wilson), organized by the Administrative Law Section of the Quebec Chapter of the Canadian Bar Association. Using the recent divided opinion in Wilson as an example, this panel discussion sought primarily to define the respective roles of the courts and administrative tribunals when they are faced with conflicting decisions by an administrative tribunal on the same legal issue. The panelists, Denis Lemieux, professor of administrative law in the Université Laval’s Faculty of Law, and Lucie Nadeau, vice-president for quality and consistency at the Tribunal administratif du travail, also attempted to identify concrete solutions that dispel the legal uncertainty caused by inconsistency in decision-making.
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Léonie Gagné leads a discussion at the Journée de l’assurance de dommages 2017
On March 14, Léonie Gagné, a lawyer in the Litigation and Conflict Resolution Group, led a discussion as part of the sixth annual Journée de l’assurance de dommages (damage insurance conference) at the Montréal Convention Centre organized by the Journal de l’assurance, this year’s theme being “Connectés à l’assurance réinventée” (Connected to reinvented insurance). Over the years, the Journée de l’assurance has become an event not to be missed in the insurance industry. The panel discussion, entitled L’économie collaborative change la société : l’assurance en fera-t-elle partie ? (the sharing economy is changing society: will insurance be part of that change?), saw panelists examine the business potential for insurers and insurance brokers in the emergence of the sharing economy.
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A Lavery team meets the Leucan Ski Challenge
On March 11, five members from Lavery’s Sherbrooke office participated in the Leucan Ski Challenge held at Bromont. Justin Gravel, Jordy-Philippe Bernier, Geneviève Chamberland, Nicolas Thibault-Bernier and Marie-Claude Lacaille raised $1,900 to be donated to Leucan in support of children with cancer and their families. Click here for more information on Leucan.