This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Marie Cossette to be awarded Lawyer Emeritus distinction by the Barreau du Québec
Lavery is pleased to announce that Me Marie Cossette, partner in the litigation group at Lavery, will be awarded the Lawyer Emeritus (Ad. E.) distinction by the Barreau du Québec during a ceremony to be held on September 17, 2014, at the Windsor Hotel, in Montréal.Me Cossette’s name will thus be added to the list of Lavery lawyers who have received this prestigious honorary award, created to pay tribute to exceptional legal careers. Called to the Barreau du Québec in 1991, Me Cossette has participated in several public inquiries and developed recognized expertise in crisis management as well as in issues relating to ethics, professional conduct, and integrity.For more than twenty years, Me Cossette has been at the heart of major cases in various fields of litigation. A significant component of her practice is devoted to public law, administrative law, and disciplinary law, and she is often called upon to work on cases involving government relations. Her expertise is also recognized in the fields of commercial and construction law litigation, where she advises clients in both the private and public sectors. A skilled communicator, she is the author of numerous publications, appears frequently as guest speaker, and regularly serves as legal expert in the national media.“Lavery is delighted by the awarding of the Lawyer Emeritus (Ad. E.) distinction to Marie Cossette. Marie makes a significant contribution to her profession in various ways, whether through her leading expertise in her areas of practice, her sense of ethics, or her remarkable communication skills,” declared Don McCarty, the firm’s managing partner.
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Jean-Simon Deschênes, of Lavery, jury member at Rendez-vous Relève inc. in Québec
Jean-Simon Deschênes, partner in business law at Lavery, served on the jury for the Rendez-vous Relève inc. MC held in Québec on June 5. To watch a video about this event (in French), click here.Between June 3 and 5,the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ held activities in three Quebec regions to raise awareness of, promote, and facilitate the transfer of businesses.Quebec is in danger of losing thousands of companies. This will be a growing problem in coming years, since 30% of business owners are planning to retire within the next decade, and half of them have no plans to sell or transfer ownership of their business. The events were attended by more than 600 people.
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20 Lavery partners ranked in the 2014 edition of the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory
Lavery is pleased to announce that 20 partners of the firm are ranked among the most recommended lawyers in Canada in their respective practice areas in the 2014 edition of Thomson Reuters’s Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory is the most comprehensive publication to legal talent in the country. It is a reference guide for Canadian and U.S. corporate counsel and law firms in need of specialized legal services. The 2014 edition of the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory identifies the best lawyers in 64 practice areas based on the results of a thorough annual peer-review survey completed by more than a thousand respected legal professionals and a wide range of well-informed clients. Lavery lawyers are recommended in a vast array of fields, including banking, asset finance, mining law, mergers and acquisitions, employment law and labour relations, pensions, class actions, construction law, family law, and commercial insurance litigation. "In the 2014 edition of this legal directory, 20 Lavery partners were recognized for their first-rate expertise. I congratulate our 20 colleagues for this recognition and for their continued commitment to serving the needs of our clients", said Don McCarty, Lavery’s Managing Partner. The following Lavery partners are listed in the 2014 edition of the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory : Pierre-L. Baribeau - Labour (Management) Yvan Biron* - Environment Michel Blouin - Mining René Branchaud – Mining Louis Charette* - Aviation Gérard Coulombe, Q.C., Ad. E. – Corporate Commercial, Mergers & Acquisitions Pierre Denis - Asset Equipment Finance/Leasing Josée Dumoulin - Pensions (Management) Nicolas Gagnon - Construction Jean Hébert - Litigation – Commercial Insurance Odette Jobin-Laberge, Ad. E. - Litigation – Commercial Insurance Guy Lavoie* - Labour (Management) Guy Lemay – Class Actions Robert W. Mason - Litigation – Commercial Insurance François Parent* - Pensions (Labour) Louis Payette, Ad. E. – Banking Élisabeth Pinard* - Family Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E. - Class Actions; Litigation – Commercial Insurance; Litigation - Product Liability André Vautour - Technology Transactions Sébastien Vézina* - Mining *New postingFor more information, please visit Lexpert’s website at: www.lexpert.ca/directory.
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Raphaël H. Schachter, of Lavery, re-elected to the board of the Canadian Foundation of the American College of Trial Lawyers
Recently, Mr. Raphaël H. Schachter, Q.C., Ad. E, partner in criminal and penal law at Lavery, was re-elected to the board of directors of the Canadian Foundation of the American College of Trial Lawyers. The honourary president of the Foundation is the Honourable John C. Major, C.C., Q.C., former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Other members of the board include the Honourable George K. MacIntosh (Supreme Court of British Columbia), Mr. Michel Décary, Q.C., Ad. E. (BCF), and Mr. David W. Scott, Q.C. (Borden Ladner Gervais).Founded in 1950, the American College of Trial Lawyers is a professional association of the best trial lawyers in the United States and Canada. The College is dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, the administration of justice, and the ethics of the profession.
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Death of the Honourable Anthime Bergeron
On June 11, we were sorry to learn of the death of the Honourable Anthime Bergeron, retired Justice of the Superior Court of Québec and former member of Lavery. He was the comrade-in-arms of Louis-Philippe de Grandpré, Vincent O'Donnell, and Claude Lavery.Me Bergeron had an impressive legal career. Called to the Barreau du Québec in 1948, he was recruited by Jean de Grandpré in 1955, when he joined the firm of Tansey, de Grandpré & de Grandpré. A few years later, this firm become Lavery, Johnston, Chauvin, O'Donnell, Clark, Carrière, Mason & Associates and, in 1979, it merged with another Montréal law firm to become Lavery, O' Brien. Me Bergeron practiced at this firm until he was appointed to the bench of the Superior Court of Québec in 1973, a seat he held until his retirement in 1999.During his practice, Me Bergeron built a strong reputation in insurance law and argued on several occasions before the Supreme Court. As partner, he was also responsible for recruiting lawyers. Me Bergeron always believed that the recruiting and training of lawyers was a top priority, and his avant-garde approach ensured that the firm recruited the best talent. This attitude, which still guides us today, has helped build the firm’s reputation for integrity, respect, commitment, and excellence.On behalf of the entire Lavery team, we offer our sincere condolences to Me Bergeron’s friends and family.
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Philippe d'Etcheverry, of Lavery, named board member of the Canadian Construction Association
Philippe d'Etcheverry, commercial litigation lawyer at Lavery, was recently appointed to the board of directors of the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) as representative of the Québec region.The CCA is the national voice of Canada’s non-residential construction sector. As such, it represents more than 20,000 member firms belonging to some seventy local and provincial construction associations.
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Loïc Berdnikoff, of Lavery, on-line guest speaker at the Canadian Bar Association (CBA)
Loïc Berdnikoff, partner in administrative law at Lavery, was an on-line guest speaker at an event sponsored by the CBA’s National Privacy and Access Law Section. The subject of his talk was “Questions related to the protection of privacy and post-secondary institutions: practical advice on ‘private’ things.” Me Berdnikoff’s speech focused on the protection of privacy, access to information, and the handling of requests for information at institutions of higher education. The other guest speakers were Me Mandy Woodland, Mandy Woodland Law, and Me Lorne I. Randa, of Brownlee, LLP.
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Marie Cossette, of Lavery, guest speaker at the Canadian Institute on disciplinary law
On June 11, Ms. Marie Cossette, litigation partner at Lavery, lead a day-long conference on disciplinary law as part of an advanced training session on administrative law organized by the Canadian Institute. During this event, participants updated their knowledge of administrative law through a review of the new rules and the consequences of decisions made in this area by the various courts.On this occasion, Ms. Cossette delivered a talk on the recent case law developments in disciplinary law and the role of the Tribunal des professions and the Superior Court in this field.
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Lavery welcomes Me Awatif Lakhdar, lawyer
Lavery is pleased to announce that Ms. Awatif Lakhdar recently joined the firm’s Montreal offices as an associate. Ms. Lakhdar is specialized in Family Law, Personal Law and Private International Law. Called to the Bar in 2002, she also is a mediator certified by the Quebec Bar since 2006.Educated in Law at the Université du Québec à Montréal, she has appeared before the Court of Québec, the Court of Appeal of Québec, the Federal Court of Canada and administrative tribunals.Prior to joining Lavery, Ms. Lakhdar founded the firm of Lakhdar & associés, specialized in Family Law and Private International Law.
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Audrey-Julie Dallaire joins Lavery as an associate
Lavery is pleased to announce that Ms. Audrey-Julie Dallaire recently joined our Sherbrooke office as an associate. Called to the Barreau du Québec in 2005, Ms. Dallaire practices in our Litigation group.Ms. Dallaire works primarily in the fields of civil and administrative litigation, municipal law, and labour law. The author of numerous articles, she has lead many training sessions and given many presentations, primarily on the role of elected municipal officers. Before joining Lavery, she practiced with a Montréal law firm.
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Laurence Bich-Carrière, of Lavery, author of an article in the Asper Review of International Business and Trade Law
Ms. Laurence Bich-Carrière, litigation lawyer at Lavery, is the author of an article entitled “Homère, Gutenberg, Helen Keller et Stevie Wonder: Commentaire sur le traité de l'OMPI pour l'accès des aveugles à l'imprimé,” recently published in the Asper Review of International Business and Trade Law.On June 27, 2013, after many years of negotiation, the World Intellectual Property Organization adopted the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access To Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities. In this commentary, Ms. Bich-Carrière explores the negotiation background and the evolution of the proposed instrument before turning to an analysis of how the international copyright community sought to modulate the rules regarding reproduction of copyright-protected works and their cross-border distribution to increase access to accessible format works. Impact on Canadian copyright law is also discussed.To read the article, (in French) click here.To read the Treaty and related official documents, click here.
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Guillaume Lavoie, of Lavery, appointed as director and corporate secretary of Jeunesses Musicales du Canada (JMC)
Mr. Guillaume Lavoie, corporate lawyer at Lavery, was recently appointed as director and corporate secretary of Jeunesses Musicales du Canada (JMC) following a meeting of its board of directors.A non-profit organization, JMC has a dual mandate: to promote the performance of classical music and to support the career development of young instrumentalists, singers, and composers on both the national and international scenes.