Partner
Louis Payette specializes in the areas of secured transactions, equipment financing, structured finance, loan syndications, trusts and implementation of securitization programs in Québec for pools of loans and receivables.

In recent years, he served on the Canadian delegation to the Organization of American States in connection with the negotiation and drafting of a model Personal Property Security Act for the Latin American states and has recently participated in the implementation of real estate credit and mortgage financing programs in countries in Africa and Eastern Europe. At the request of Justice Canada, and with a view of harmonizing the federal legislation with Québec civil law, Mr. Payette has submitted reports on Part VIII of the Canada Business Corporations Act and on some sections of the Financial Administration Act.

Mr. Payette has been a member of the secured transactions Committee of the Québec Bar since 1990. He was invited by the Québec Bar to prepare the proficiency course on the subjects of personal property security and mortgages, for the judges and legal practitioners in Québec, in connection with the coming into force of the Québec Civil Code in 1994.

The material prepared for that course was eventually reworked into a book published by Les Éditions Yvon Blais inc. (Thomson). Each of the first and second editions of that book was awarded the "Foundation for Legal Research's Walter Owen Book Prize" which is said to recognize "a work that is both substantial and topical, and is judged to be the most outstanding book written about law in Canada within a two-year period". Les sûretés réelles dans le Code civil du Québec (4^th edition 2010) is now a reference book, reportedly quoted or referred to hundreds of times by the Supreme Court of Canada, the Québec Court of Appeal and other courts sitting in Québec.

Mr. Payette is consistently listed in The Canadian Legal LEXPERT® Directory 2012 as one of the leading Canadian practitioners in the area of Banking and Financial Institutions and he is listed in Lexpert 2012 Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-border Corporate Lawyers in Canada. He is also listed in the 2013 edition of Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading practitioner in the field of Banking and Finance.

In 2007, he received the Canadian Bar Association's Paul-André Crépeau Medal awarded to a jurist who has contributed to the advancement of the international aspects of private law and commercial law in Canada. And in 2008, the Québec Bar Association awarded Mr. Payette the distinction of Emeritus Lawyer granted to lawyers who distinguish themselves according to the following three criteria: professional excellence, a sustained and remarkable contribution to the profession and a profound influence.