Partner
Dina Raphaël is a partner in the firm’s Litigation Group and practises in the areas of professional liability, directors’ and officers’ liability, product liability, as well as in the distribution of financial products and services and in insurance law. Ms. Raphaël has been listed in the 2012 Edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada in the areas of insurance and directors’ and officers’ liability.

In her litigation and insurance practice, Ms. Raphaël defends investment and insurance advisors, both in civil and disciplinary matters. She also defends the interests of lawyers, engineers and patent agents.

Ms. Raphaël also acts on behalf of manufacturers and suppliers in defence of claims involving their products, and advises manufacturers on issuing and managing product recalls.

Her opinion is often sought on the scope and interpretation of various insurance policies, particularly E & O policies and liability policies for directors and officers, manufacturers and vendors, as well as fidelity policies.

She advises actors governed by the Insurance Act and the Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services. Finally, she has developed a niche in e-distribution, which includes the construction of internet sites to do business on internet and the conditions of forming of contracts on the internet.

She has argued cases before the Quebec Court of Appeal and the Superior Court, and has also been involved in successful mediations in various areas of practice, including professional liability, directors’ and officers’ liability, product liability, libel and slander and insurance law.

Representative work

• Represented advisors, securities dealers and brokerage firms in litigation raising issues of knowledge of the client (KYC), knowledge of the product (KYP) and suitability.
• Represented advisors and securities dealers in proceedings claiming investment losses, leverage loans and discretionary trading.
• Retained to assist advisors before the AMF and the IIROC in respect of allegations of compliance infractions.
• Retained to assist an advisor before the AMF with respect to allegations of piggy backing.
• Defended the interests of insurance representatives with respect to claims involving universal life insurance.
• Provided opinions with respect to coverage issues in D& O insurance policies and fidelity (3D) policies;
• Reviewed several wordings of D&O policies to analyse the scope of coverage, the limitations and provided recommendations to D&Os to optimize their insurance coverage.
• Provided opinions on questions related to the forming of contracts on the internet, the sale of insurance products as well as the construction of internet sites for players in the insurance industry.
• Represented numerous manufacturers and vendors in proceedings involving allegations of design and manufacturing defects, particularly relating to swimming pool timing devices, glass panels used for giant-sized aquariums, industrial freezer components, plumbing pipes and animal feed.
• Advised manufacturers on issuing and managing product recalls and drafting agreements for the transfer of manufacturers’ liabilities and warranties.

Presentations and conferences
Ms. Raphaël has given numerous training courses and is frequently invited to speak at conferences. She has given seminars and presentations for the Institut d’assurance de dommages du Québec, the Canadian Institute, Insight Information and the Chambre de l’assurance de dommages. She has also provided trainings to investment advisors and dealers on regulatory risks, civil liability, ethics and compliance issues. She spoke before insurance industry representatives on various subjects, including insurance law, directors’ and officers’ liability, product liability and civil procedure and e-distribution of insurance.

Ms. Raphaël speaking engagements include the following:

• La réforme du code de procédure civile, Lavery Seminar, 2003;
• La fraude en assurances de biens : comment la démasquer et la prouver, The Guarantee Company of North America, September 23, 2004;
• Comment préparer un dossier de sinistre pour son avocat : Quand? Comment? Pourquoi?, Institut d’assurance de dommage du Québec, March 23, 2006;
• La responsabilité du fabricant, Lavery Seminar, October 18, 2006;
• Le dossier d’enquête dans les questions d’assurance, The Guarantee Company of North America, February 7, 2007;
• La déclaration initiale de risques, Lavery Seminar, 2007;
• La responsabilité du fabricant : mise à jour à la suite du jugement rendu par la Cour suprême dans l’affaire Domtar, Lavery Seminar, October 22, 2008;
• Police d’assurance automobile : Avenants 5a et 23b — Portée et conséquences de ces avenants à la lumière de la jurisprudence récente, Association Canadienne des Directeurs de Sinistres d’assurance, Montreal, February 18, 2009;
• Surmonter les nouveaux défis en matière d’assurance pour les administrateurs et dirigeants, The Canadian Institute, Montreal, June 11, 2009;
• La déclaration initiale de risques, Allstate Insurance Company, Montreal, October 1, 2009;
• À l’ère du Web : Formation du contrat d’assurance et preuve des documents technologiques, Lavery Seminar, Montreal, October 19 and 20 2010;
• La clause d’indemnisation dans le cadre d’une transaction de vente d’entreprise, Lavery Seminar, Montreal, September 21, 2010;
• Les risques inhérents à la profession d’un conseiller, Scotia Capital Inc., Montreal, October 7, 2010;
• Les risques inhérents à la profession d’un conseiller, Annual Congress, Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. Montreal, January 21, 2011;
• Astuces et conseils pratiques : comment éviter les avatars dans vos dossiers litigieux, Association Canadienne des Directeurs de Sinistres d’assurance, Montreal, February 9, 2011;
• À l’ère du Web : Formation du contrat d’assurance et preuve des documents technologiques, forum de l’assurance de dommages, Chambre de l’assurance de dommages, Montreal, April 6, 2011;
• Les risques inhérents à la profession d’un conseiller, Scotia Capital Inc., Montreal, May 26, 2011;
• À l’ère du Web : Formation du contrat d’assurance et preuve des documents technologiques, Annual seminar, Association des Femmes d’assurance de Montréal, May 27, 2011;
• E-Distribution de produits d’assurance, Lavery Seminar, Montreal, October 13, 2011;
• Changement de culture : ligne directrice proposée par l’Autorité des Marchés Financiers à l’égard des assureurs en matière de « pratiques commerciales », Conférence Insight, Montreal, November 17, 2011;
• Interrogatoire simulé et les leçons à retenir (une petite pièce de théâtre), Annual Congress, Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc., Montreal, January 19, 2012;
• À l’ère du web : formation du contrat d’assurance et preuve des documents technologiques, Courtiers Multi Plus Inc., Montréal, March 13, 2012;
• La vente d’assurance à l’ère du web, table ronde, Journée de l’assurance de dommages, Le Journal de l’assurance, March 15, 2012;

Publications

• “The path to partnership”, Canadian Lawyer 4 Students (September 2010)
• “Legal Developments for Directors and Officers in Canada in the Book Executive Risks: A Boardroom Guide 2010/11”, Willis (January 2011)
• “Directors and Officers Liability”, Best Lawyers (June 2011)
• “Peu de Québécois veulent acheter leur assurance en ligne”, Journal de l’assurance de dommages (April 2012)

Professional and community activities

• Member of the Young Leaders Circle of the Sainte-Justine UHC Foundation since 2009.
• Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal since 2006.
• She is the Articling Director at the firm's Montreal offices and also supervises the law students. She is actively implicated in the recruitment of articling students.
• In the past few years, she attended the Plus Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Conference in the United States which dealt with the following topics: new trends in directors’ and officers’ liability, class actions against directors and officers, breaches of directors' and officers' duties, class action suits involving securities and their impacts, Ponzi schemes, options backdating litigation, shareholder litigation, insurance coverage, and the role of excess insurers.
• Member of the Montreal Bar-Superior Court Liaison Committee from 2008 to 2011.
• For several years, she was actively involved in the Montreal Young Bar Association and sat on its board of directors.
• Member of the board of directors of the Montreal Association of Insurance Women from 2000 to 2004.