This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Jonathan Warin chairs a CBA-Quebec conference on insolvency in Quebec
On February 18, 2016, Jonathan Warin, a partner at Lavery, a member of the Commercial Litigation group and the President of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency section of the Canadian Bar Association’s – Quebec Branch, chaired a CBA-Quebec luncheon conference entitled “Supreme Court’s decision in the Lemare Lake Logging Ltd. case: anticipated effects on insolvency practice in Quebec” (“Décision de la Cour suprême dans l'affaire Lemare Lake Logging Ltd. : effets à anticiper sur la pratique de l'insolvabilité au Québec”) was held at the Intercontinental Hotel. The conference was targeted to insolvency practitioners, lender representatives, borrowers and bankruptcy trustees. For more information, please click here.
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Pierre Marc Johnson to host a luncheon conference on CETA during MTL à Paris week
On March 8, 2016 at the Chambre de Commerce et de l’Industrie de la region Paris Ile-de-France, Mr. Pierre Marc Johnson, a former Premier of Quebec and counsel at Lavery recognized for his expertise in international trade, negotiations and cross-border partnerships, will host a luncheon conference on the Canada-EU trade agreement (CETA). The conference, which will take place during the MTL à Paris week, will be followed by an afternoon networking session using a creative and dynamic networking platform which will facilitate meetings between French and Montreal businesses. The second edition of the MTL à Paris week, a Tourism Montreal and Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal (BTMM) initiative, is presented by Air Canada and will be held March 6-10, 2016. For more information about this day’s events, please click here.
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Bernard Larocque and Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin present an insurance law jurisprudence year in review for 2015
Bernard Larocque, and Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin, both members of the litigation group at Lavery,presented a comprehensive year in review of insurance law jurisprudence for 2015 at four separate events in early February 2016, more specifically on February 3 and 5 at the Lavery Conference Center, on February 4 at the Canadian Bar Association, Quebec Branch, Jean Bélanger Conference and on February 10 before members of the Canadian Insurance Claims Managers Association. The presentations elicited a great deal of interest from the over 200 participants who had the opportunity to attend any one of these events.
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Nicolas Gagnon chairs CBA-Quebec’s Jean Savard Conference: 2015 Annual Jurisprudence Review of Construction Law
On February 24, 2016, Mr. Nicolas Gagnon, a partner at Lavery specializing in construction and surety law, will chair a CBA-Quebec luncheon conference entitled “Jean Savard Conference: 2015 Annual Jurisprudence Review of Construction Law” (“Conférence Jean Savard : Revue de la jurisprudence 2015 en droit de la construction”) to be held at the Intercontinental Hotel. The conference will cover the current state of jurisprudence in construction law and 2015’s landmark decisions. The conference is sold out but for more information on this topic, please click here (French-only link).
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Pierre Marc Johnson talks about CETA at a Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf Alumni Association event
On February 11, 2016 at Club Saint-James, Mr. Pierre Marc Johnson, a former Premier of Quebec and counsel at Lavery recognized for his expertise in international trade and cross-border partnerships, was the guest speaker at a breakfast conference hosted by the Alumni Association of Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf. One hundred and twenty-five of the Collège’s alumni and students were on hand to listen to Mr. Johnson’s talk, which was entitled “The ins and outs of the Canada-EU Agreement” (“Les tenants et aboutissants de l’Accord Canada-Union européenne”). After the conference, Me Johnson fielded questions from the audience during a question period. For more information about Brébeuf’s Alumni Association events, please click here.
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Pierre Denis and Benjamin David Gross will be panelists at the Canadian Institute’s inaugural conference on asset-based lending (ABL)
On February 24 and 25, 2016, at the Toronto Hilton Hotel, Pierre Denis and Benjamin David Gross, both of whom are partners and members of the firm’s financial services group, will be panelists at the Canadian Institute’s inaugural ABL conference. At 11 a.m. on February 24, Mr. Benjamin Gross will give a presentation entitled “Lending into Quebec: The Bridge Between Common and Civil Law”, while on February 25 at 9 a.m., Mr. Pierre Denis will participate as a panelist for a session entitled “Equipment Leasing as a Bank Alternative: Case Studies. The conference aims at presenting cutting-edge solutions to educating delegates about asset-based lending, thereby dispelling the stigma associated with ABL in Canada, a stigma that has given rise to the misconception that ABL is a “product of last resort” meant primarily for distressed businesses. For more information or to register, please click here.
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Lavery’s Quebec City office makes a donation to the Fondation du Cégep Garneau and partners with the École d’entrepreneuriat de Québec
Lavery’s Quebec City office made a donation in the amount of $5,000 to the Fondation du Cégep Garneau in order to lend support to the École d’entrepreneuriat de Québec’s scholarship program and next generation entrepreneurs. A partnership with the École d’entrepreneuriat will allow three cohorts of entrepreneurs to benefit from a broad range of services, including those of Lavery’s Go inc. Program. Lavery’s Go inc. Program offers basic legal services for emerging young businesses, as well as guidance and support to young entrepreneurs.
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Pierre Marc Johnson on a CETA mission to Brussels and Luxembourg
From January 22 to 27, 2016, Mr. Pierre Marc Johnson, a former Premier of Quebec and counsel at Lavery recognized for his expertise in international trade and cross-border partnerships, was on a mission with Mr. Jacques Daoust, then Minister of Economy, Innovation and Exports , and Ms. Christine St-Pierre, Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie, as part of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiation process. Mr. Johnson, Québec’s head CETA negotiator, met with the Luxembourg President of the Chamber of Deputies, Mars Di Bartolomeo and testified at the Meeting of the Foreign and European Affairs Committee. There are some qualms in the EU about the Investors-States dispute settlement system that could delay ratification of the Agreement. Me Johnson has stated that while Canada was keeping an open mind about the EU’s concerns regarding the arbitration system, the “agreement’s worst enemy was time.”
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Pierre Marc Johnson addresses Collège des médecins du Québec directors regarding the mutual recognition agreement (MRA)
On January 19, 2016, during the strategic planning retreat of Collège des médecins du Québec’s directors, Mr. Pierre Marc Johnson, a former Premier of Quebec and counsel at Lavery recognized for his expertise in international trade and cross-border partnerships, delivered an address in particular on the MRA regarding the professional qualifications of physicians, the migratory flow of health professionals, as well as negotiations pertaining to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
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Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur gave a conference on integrating status of women issues in large law firms
On January 27, 2016, Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur, a partner with expertise in the fields of labour and employment law, health law as well as occupational health and safety law, spoke at a lunch conference hosted by the Comité Femmes et Droit of the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Law entitled “Integrating status of women issues in big law firms” (“L’intégration des enjeux de la condition féminine dans le milieu des grands cabinets”). The conference was a great success with around 50 attendees.
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Pier-Olivier Fradette signs an article in the January edition of BâtiVert magazine
Pier-Olivier Fradette, a lawyer whose practice focuses on municipal law, land use planning, and municipal contract management, has published an article in the January 2016 quarterly issue of BâtiVert, a magazine that covers recent jurisprudence, distributed by the Corporation des officiers municipaux en bâtiment et environnement du Québec (COMBEQ). The article entitled “The protection of municipal executive again put to the test… and again confirmed” (“La protection des cadres des municipalités testée de nouveau… et confirmée de nouveau”) analyses the decisions of the Commission des relations de travail (first instance) and the Superior Court (judicial review) in Jean-François Fournier v. Municipalité de Lac-des-Plages. Mr. Fradette explains the heavy burden a municipality carries when attempting to terminate an executive and that such a thing cannot be done without sound and meritorious reason even if a notice of termination clause was included and accepted in a work contract. The full article will be soon available on the COMBEQ website (French only)
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The JCCM congratulates Élodie Brunet on her volunteer work
Recently, the Jeune Chambre de Commerce de Montréal (JCCM) highlighted the volunteer efforts of Élodie Brunet, a lawyer who practices in Lavery’s Labour and Employment law group, for her volunteer work with the Comité du Réseau des jeunes administrateurs. The JCCM praised Ms. Brunet for her interest in the Réseau des jeunes administrateurs program, her availability, enthusiasm, as well as her initiative and willingness to get involved. For more information about the JCCM, please click here.