This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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François Bélanger leads a round table organized by Futurpreneur
On March 21, 2016, François Bélanger, a partner in Lavery’s Litigation group who acts as litigation counsel in the areas of commercial, real estate, and construction law, led a round-table discussion organized by Futurpreneur on the topic of “The importance of having a shareholder agreement”. The event took place at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Price building before young entrepreneurs mainly from the Quebec City and Levis region whose business has been up and running for two to five years. Mr. Bélanger’s role was to guide and provide added-value to exchanges between participants. Futurpreneur is a national not-for-profit organization that offers financing, mentoring and support tools to young and new entrepreneurs (18 to 39 years of age).
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Evelyne Verrier and Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin speakers at the Journée de l’assurance de dommages
Évelyne Verrier, a partner at Lavery who holds a degree in actuarial science and coordinates the Distribution of financial products and services group and whose practice focuses primarily on civil litigation and insurance, and Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin, a lawyer in the firm’s Litigation group who practises primarily in insurance law, professional liability, and commercial litigation, were speakers at the 5th edition of the Journée de l'assurance de dommages held on March 15 at Palais des Congrès de Montréal that brought together hundreds of industry participants. They participated in a panel that covered both the regulation of the online sale of insurance and a “share economy” in a digital world. For more information about this event, for which Lavery was one of the main partners, please click here.
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Myriam Brixi, Loïc Berdnikoff and Lavery on hand at Legal IT 2016 conference
The 10th anniversary of the Legal IT conference took place March 21, 2016 at the Centre des Sciences de Montréal with over 200 attendees. The event was organized by Myriam Brixi, a lawyer in Lavery’s Litigation group whose practice focuses on class actions, insurance law, and civil liability, in her role as a director and head of the IT Committee of the Young Bar Association of Montreal. Lavery was one of the event’s sponsors, and Loïc Berdnikoff, a partner in the firm’s administrative law team with expertise in the areas of access to information and the protection of personal information, presented a conference entitled “Behavioral Advertising: the New Klondike for Advertisers”. For more information about this event, please click here.
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Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur pens an article on the issue of alcohol and drugs in the workplace in Avantages magazine
The February/March 2016 edition of Avantages magazine features an article by Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur, a partner at Lavery with expertise in the fields of labour and employment lawand occupational health and safety law, and Christiane Legault, director of business development at Cyclone Santé, entitled “Alcool et drogues en milieu de travail: Agir pour éviter le pire !” (“Alcohol and drugs in the workplace: Actions to avoid the worst-case scenario !”). In the article, the co-authors describe the issues and present several strategies to remedy them. They underscore how important it is for employers to consult experts regarding drug and alcohol use, to thoroughly document and investigate cases in order to determine which situations require drug testing and to put in place a unambiguous and detailed policy regarding substance abuse.
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Élisabeth Pinard talks about the evolution of family law in the Journal du Barreau
In the special section entitled “L’Ambition au féminin” (“Women and ambition”) published in the March 2016 edition of the Journal du Barreau, Élisabeth Pinard, coordinating partner for the Family law, personal law, and estate law group at Lavery, presents her vision of progress in family law after 35 years of practice. To read this special section, please click here.
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Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin and Léonie Gagné publish an article on waiving the insurer’s right to deny coverage
Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin and Léonie Gagné, lawyers in the firm’s Litigation group whose practice focuses mainly on insurance lawwrote an article entitled “Spoken words fly away, written words remain? Waiving the insurer’s right to deny coverage” published in the Spring edition of La ChADPresse. This free magazine, published four times a year by the Chambre de l’assurance de dommages, is distributed to more than 14 500 damage insurance agents and brokers, as well as claims adjusters. In the article, the authors conclude that: “The claims adjuster’s actions or representations could result in the insurer being deprived of its right to deny coverage or to invoke an exclusion in the insurance policy. It is therefore essential to draw up a clear, comprehensive reservation of rights letter and give it to the insured as soon as possible after the loss occurs in order to avoid an implicit waiver being held against the insurer..” To read the full article, please click here.
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Julie Cousineau speaker at CBA-Quebec’s “Annual review of commercial litigation jurisprudence”
On April 6, 2016, Julie Cousineau, a partner at Lavery specializing in civil and commercial litigation, as well as construction law, will be one of the speakers at the Canadian Bar Association, Quebec Branch, luncheon conference entitled “Revue annuelle de la jurisprudence en matière de litige commercial 2015” (“Annual review of commercial litigation jurisprudence 2015”). The speakers will review and assess the last year’s commercial litigation jurisprudence. For more information or to register for the conference, please click here.
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Jean Saint-Onge chairs 13th National Conference on Class Actions
On March 10 and 11, 2016, at Montreal’s Palais des Congrès, Jean Saint-Onge, a partner in the firm’s Litigation, chaired the 13th edition of the National Conference on Class Actions – Recent developments in Quebec, in Canada and in the United States organized by the Barreau du Québec. More than 40 speakers from Canada and the US shared their unique perspective of class action management and current trends during this two-day conference. This conference is one of the most important continuing education activity in the field of class actions in Canada. Click here to view the conference’s full program
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André Vautour and Guillaume Lavoie to give workshop on investment funds at the Barreau du Québec’s conference on recent developments in business law
On June 3, 2016 at Montreal’s Intercontinental Hotel, André Vautour, the firm’s chairman of the board and a partner who practises particularly in investment funds and Guillaume Lavoie, a partner whose practice focuses on private equity and venture capital, will give a workshop entitled “Sword of Damocles or Scarecrow? To what extent can an investor in an investment fund get involved in the management of the fund without risking of losing its limited liability?” (“Épée de Damoclès ou épouvantail? Jusqu'où l'investisseur dans un fonds d'investissement peut s'impliquer dans ce fonds sans risquer de perdre sa responsabilité limitée?”) at the Barreau du Québec’s conference “Recent developments in business law (2016)” (“Les développements récents en droit des affaires (2016)”). They’ll touch on, among other topics, the issue of the potential liability of investors in private investment funds and will explain to what extent the setting up of an advisory committee made up of partners’ representatives or the conclusion of side letters is likely to make them lose their limited liability. To view the conference’s full program or to register, please click here.
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Jessica Akué becomes Vice President of African Business Network private financing committee
Jessica Akué, a lawyer at Lavery who specializes in coporate law and taxation, recently was recently appointed Vice President of the Private Financing committee of the African Business Network (Réseau des Entrepreneurs & Professionnels Africains – REPAF), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to networking and collaboration to create a business network made up mostly of professionals, students and entrepreneurs of African origin. To learn more about the REPAF, click here.
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Lavery ranked as Quebec’s top regional firm
-->Lavery has topped Canadian Lawyer’s 2016 list of regional law firms in Quebec, maintaining its #1 ranking for the fourth edition in a row. This recognition, which Lavery also received in 2010, 2012 and 2014, is based on the results of a survey conducted by the magazine to rate the main law firms in Quebec. The magazine surveys lawyers, in-house counsel and clients from across the country and takes into account each firm’s territory, client list and important cases, as well as the quality of its service and expertise. “Again this year, Lavery ranks as the top regional law firm in Quebec, and we are very pleased, because this ranking is based on feedback from colleagues in private practice, in-house counsel and clients across Canada,” said Don McCarty, the firm’s Managing Partner. “This result shows that we are continuing to set ourselves apart and to offer expertise that meets the needs and requirements of the businesses that retain our services. Moving forward, our goal is to strengthen our position as a leader in all fields.” For more information about the results of the survey, visit the Canadian Lawyer website at http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/5955/Laser-Focus.html.
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Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin and Odette Jobin-Laberge contribute to LexisNexis book on insurance law
Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin, a lawyer in the Litigation group whose practice focuses in the areas of insurance law, has written two chapters in LexisNexis’ reference book entitled “Le contrat d'assurance de dommages et le contrat de réassurance: sujets choisis” (“Damage insurance and reinsurance contracts: selected topics”): one on the concept of intentional fault in property and liability insurance, and another, written in cooperation with Odette Jobin-Laberge, covers general property insurance principles. To obtain a copy of this publication, please click here.