This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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LAUNCH OF THE LAVERY GO INC. PROGRAM IN TROIS-RIVIÈRES
Legal services tailored to the needs of start-up businessesLavery is pleased to announce the launch today of the Lavery GO inc. Program in Trois-Rivières. This program’s mission is to help young entrepreneurs and provide affordable, quality legal services to qualifying start-up businesses. This personalized program offers a wide-range of legal services, often required in the start-up phase of businesses, namely incorporation, trademark and domain name registration, employment agreements, as well as workplace policies. The legal services will be provided at a fixed rate to accommodate the budget of young entrepreneurs. “For the past couple of years, Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec have been going through a transformation process in regards to their economy, namely marked by emerging new businesses characterized by their dynamism and sense of innovation. The Lavery GO inc. Program will consolidate the firm’s position in the business world of these regions, by concretely reaching out to start-up businesses which present an important growth potential”, said Jean Boulet, Managing Partner of the firm’s Trois- Rivières office. Each business selected for the Lavery GO inc. Program will be supported and receive legal advice from Lavery’s professionals who have both the experience and expertise required, such as Myriam Lavallée, Étienne Brassard and many more. Moreover, the businesses selected will benefit from multiple hours of legal advice. The services will be offered at a fixed rate to take into account these young businesses’ abilitiy to pay. For more information on the Lavery GO inc. Program, please visit: www.laverygoinc.ca.
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Élodie Brunet and Josiane L’Heureux take part in the “Think Prevention” event
On March 25, 2015, in Val-d’Or, Élodie Brunet, in collaboration with Josiane L’Heureux, respectively associate and partner in the Labour and Employment Law Group at Lavery, gave the opening presentation at the “Think Prevention” conference. This event, organized by the SPI Health and Safety firm, was a gathering of more than 80 people representing local businesses, such as mining companies, cities and municipalities. The presentation entitled “Le succès d’une défense de diligence raisonnable passe inévitablement par la prévention” (“A successful due diligence defence necessarily begins with prevention”) sought to sensitize managers to the practical elements an employer must implement when faced with a CSST inspection, a statement of offence alleging a violation of the Act Respecting Occupational Health and Safety or a charge of criminal negligence. In such situations, the employer must be able to demonstrate his diligence, and more specifically, that he took the necessary measures to protect the health and safety of his employees and to prevent, to the extent possible, any impact on their health and safety.
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Jean Saint-Onge presides the Symposium on class actions of the Quebec Bar
Once again this year, Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E., a Litigation partner at Lavery, presided the National Symposium on Class Actions of the Quebec Bar, on recent Developments in Québec, in Canada and the United States. The event, which was held on March 26 and 27 at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, featured over 40 speakers from several jurisdictions in North America and addressed the most recent case law and trends with regards to class actions.
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Jean Boulet will give a conference to the Corporation des concessionnaires de la Mauricie
Mr. Jean Boulet, a Labour and Employment partner and manager of the Lavery Trois-Rivières office, will discuss the state of labour relations in the automotive industry in Quebec during the annual general assembly of the Corporation des concessionaires de la Mauricie, which will be held at La Cité de l’Énergie in Shawinigan (Quebec), on Thursday April 2, 2015.
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Pierre Marc Johnson delivers an address at the 3rd edition of the Canada-France Business Convention
In Montreal on March 24, 2015, Pierre Marc Johnson, former Premier of Quebec and counsel at Lavery recognized for his expertise in international trade and cross-border partnerships, spoke before the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie Française au Canada on the topic of business opportunities offered by the Canada-European Union free trade agreement. During his remarks, Quebec’s Chief negotiator for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement identified aspects of the agreement that should be of interest to businesses wishing to access the Canadian or EU market, including as regards the opening of public procurement, easing of trade in goods, and relaxation of investment review rules.
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Jean Boulet quoted in a newspaper article from the Nouvelliste of Trois-Rivières
Jean Boulet, a Labour and Employment Law partner and head of the Lavery Trois-Rivières office, was quoted in a recent article entitled “Centraide récupère le Consortium en développement social” (“Centraide retrieves the Social Development Consortium”), relating to the Consortium’s relocation following the dissolution of the Regional conference of elected officials of Mauricie. As chairman of the board of directors of Centraide Mauricie, Mr. Boulet reaffirms the essential role Centraide holds, notably in the regions with a high suicide rate. The Consortium’s vocation in training, health and employment, is up to par with Centraide’s purpose, which is to support those in need. Centraide will house the Consortium until the end of the social development agreement in March 2016. To read this article, click here (in French only).
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Lavery hosts a workshop for the Institute for governance of private and public organizations
On March 25, 2015, Mr. Gérard Coulombe, Q.C., Ad. E., a Business Law partner at Lavery, gave a training to about 40 young directors enrolled in the Incubator Training Program for Young directors of the Institute for governance of private and public organizations (YDIGPPO). The workshop, which was held at Lavery’s Conference Center and was followed by a heated period of questions, discussed shareholders’ activism in large corporations and highlighted the pros and cons of such actions in the Quebec, Canadian and American context.
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Lavery hosts a conference organized by the In-House Counsel Committee of the Bar of Montreal
On March 17, 2015, Jean-Yves Simard, a litigation partner at Lavery, gave a presentation entitled “Outside counsel and the in-house lawyer…Succeeding together” during the Double Program on Communication organized by the In-house Counsel Committee of the Bar of Montreal and held at Lavery’s Conference center. More than 50 in-house counsels gathered for this presentation, which highlighted the key points of a successful business relationship between a company’s external and in-house lawyers, as well as presented concrete examples of the best practices to adopt and the pitfalls to avoid.
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Valérie Korozs of Lavery, speaker at the Conference on Recent Developments in Labour Law
Ms. Valérie Korozs, a Labour and Employment Law associate at Lavery, gave a conference entitled “Le congédiement déguisé découlant de motifs légitimes : quelle est la compétence de la Commission des relations du travail (CRT)?” (Constructive dismissal based on legitimate grounds: what is the jurisdiction of the Commission des relations du travail (CRT)?), which took place on March 20, 2015 during the Seminar on Recent Developments in Labour Law that was organized by the Continuing Education Department of the Quebec Bar. As part of this presentation, Ms. Korozs addressed decisions of interest as well as trends before the CRT in regards to constructive dismissal, focusing her analysis on substantial changes made by an employer on legitimate grounds, such as economic or organizational reasons.
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Jean Saint-Onge named Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers
Lavery is pleased to announce that Mr. Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E., a Litigation partner at Lavery, received the title of Fellow by the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL), during a ceremony in Santa Barbara, California, on March 20, 2015. The IATL is a prestigious group of elite trial lawyers from over 30 countries. Nominations of fellows are by invitation only and are highly selective, being based on accomplishment and excellence in litigation. Only 500 active members can have this title. Mr. Saint-Onge practices at Lavery in commercial insurance, class actions, competition and antitrust, product liability as well as the distribution of financial products and services. He is regularly asked by clients to intervene in pending class action cases to assist in concluding a settlement and achieve a favourable outcome for all parties, most often in complex matters involving multiple defendants. Mr. Saint-Onge has been involved in numerous precedent-setting cases and has represented major corporations in multijurisdictional and cross-border class actions, more particularly in the areas of competition law and consumer law. He is also a widely published author and a regular guest speaker. Mr. Saint-Onge’s expertise and social commitment has been well recognized by his peers, whether it be through awards he has won, such as the 2003 Pro Bono Award, 2007 Mérite Award from the Quebec Bar and the 2007 Quebec Justice Prize, or his numerous nominations in prestigious legal directories, namely The Best Lawyers in Canada, The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory, Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross border Litigation Lawyers in Canada and Chambers Global. "Lavery is delighted that Jean Saint-Onge is the recipient of this Fellowship. In a career that spans more than 30 years, Jean has made a significant contribution to the legal profession: as a specialist in certain areas of practice, a skillful negotiator and litigator or by his high level commitment to the community", said Don McCarty, Managing Partner of the firm. To know more about this organization, visit the IATL website at:www.iatl.net.
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Lavery hosts the Emerging Managers Board members’ annual general assembly and cocktail (EMB)
On March 19, 2015, Lavery hosted the Emerging Managers Board (EMB) members’ annual general assembly and cocktail, which took place at Lavery’s Conference Center. Philippe Décary and Jean Martel, Business Law partners at Lavery, welcomed the 70 members gathered for the occasion and participated in the event, during which the Chairperson of the Board, Mrs. Geneviève Blouin, presented the Association’s agenda of activities for 2015, the budget, the new EMB board members and newcomers. The EMB is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and contribute to the growth of local emerging managers. To know more about this organization, click here.
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Katia Opalka delivers a talk to a delegation of French businesses
On March 19, 2015, Katia Opalka, a partner at Lavery and an assistant to Quebec’s Chief negotiator for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union (CETA), Pierre Marc Johnson, delivered an address concerning the agreement to a delegation of French businesses visiting Montreal as part of a trade mission organized by Kassar International. In her presentation, entitled “Key Elements of CETA”, Ms. Opalka provided an overview of the agreement and identified steps businesses should take to get ready for its ratification.