Jean-François Denis Chief Client Officer and Lawyer
Bar Admission
- Québec, 1998
Languages
- English
- French
Profile
Chief Client Officer
Jean-François Denis serves as Chief Client Officer for all of Lavery's activities.
He is responsible for the firm's growth and client positioning strategy and for building the firm's reputation with clients and business partners.
As part of Lavery's client approach, he oversees client experience and provides proactive support to associates and professionals.
Jean-François has been a member of the Barreau du Québec since 1998. He practised law as a litigator for five years and then worked as a corporate lawyer at Bombardier (BRP, Bombardier Aerospace) for 14 years. In this role, he was involved in both litigation and commercial law, in addition to leading a team dedicated to developing and managing BRP's dealer network for three years. He joined SNC-Lavalin in 2017, where he became one of the first professionals fully devoted to managing legal operations as Director, Global Operations.
He was instrumental in SNC-Lavalin's legal transformation initiative, as a result of which the organization established one of the most modern legal departments in Canada, both by acquiring cutting-edge technology and rethinking its procurement structure, but also by carefully assessing how the assignment of various tasks usually performed by legal professionals could be more effective and improved.
Jean-François has expertise that combines an excellent understanding of the practice of law and the transformation of the legal industry, with extensive knowledge of new trends in legal operations involving technology integration.
LECTURES
- Étude de cas : comment démarrer l'analyse de la performance de vos services juridiques, trouver des solutions pour remédier aux points faibles et utiliser l'innovation comme moteur de changement?, Canadian Legal Innovation Forum, February 23, 2023
- How to make the business case to deliver change in your legal department, Canadian Legal Innovation Forum, May 5, 2022
- Key Insights to Strategically Cost Cutting Litigation Fees, Marcus Evans, January 12, 2021
- Re-Envisioning the Next Generation Corporate eDiscovery Playbook, Corporate Counsel Business Journal, May 21, 2020
- Legal Operations Virtual Knowledge Bridge – Leading an in-house Law Department Through Uncertain Times: Challenges & Opportunities for the Legal Operations Practitioner, Bodhala/Consero, May 20, 2020
- Les indicateurs-clé de l'état de santé de votre département juridique, Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), September 23, 2019
- Technology in the courtroom, The Harmonie Group, September 29, 2018
- CLOC Special Ops – The New Cool Kid on the Block, Legal Marketing Association, November 21, 2017
- Strategic Planning for Law Departments, ACC – Law Department Leadership 2.0, September 18, 2017
- Le droit commercial dans un contexte transfrontalier : une approche pratique, 2017 Young Bar of Montreal annual conference, June 13, 2017
- Comment aller encore plus loin dans l'accroissement de la valeur?, ACC, September 11, 2016
INTERVIEWS
- Legal Ops 101: Find your data, Canadian Lawyer, March 25, 2019
- What keeps in-house counsel up at night?, Canadian Lawyer, November 20, 2017
- Conseillers juridiques c. cabinets, Droit-inc.com, December 6, 2016
- Q&A with the EIC: Jean-François L. Denis, Senior Legal Counsel, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, ACCDocket.com, August 24, 2016
-
-
Jean-François Denis Chooses Lavery, Becoming the Firm’s New Chief Client Officer
Lavery is pleased to announce the appointment of Jean-François Denis as Chief Client Officer. As it continues its strong growth, the firm can count on his expertise of legal operations and understanding of the needs, expectations and business realities of the firm’s clients, in addition to consolidating its client approach and experience. Among other things, Jean-François will be playing a key role in implementing innovative strategies, optimizing processes in connection with legal operations and assisting partners and professionals with clients matters. His unifying leadership makes him an undeniable asset for Lavery. “I am very pleased to be joining Lavery’s dynamic and committed team,” said Jean-François Denis. “Our industry is changing exponentially. I look forward to contributing to the firm’s development by helping it stay on the cutting edge of best practices.” Lavery is privileged to draw on Jean-François Denis’ professional experience. After practicing law for several years, he went on to hold a variety of client-centred positions. Extending for over 20 years, his career path ties in well with our sector’s realities and will enable the firm to forge even stronger relationships with its clients and to continue assisting them with their growth and the challenges they face. His understanding of the legal services market worldwide gives him a unique perspective on the delivery of services and on their optimization within a framework of solid client relationships. Before joining Lavery, Jean-François worked for six years at SNC-Lavalin, where he became one of the first professionals in Canada entirely dedicated to managing legal operations as Director of Legal Affairs, Global Operations. Prior to that, he practised for several years in a law firm as a litigation counsel before acting as legal advisor to BRP and Bombardier Aerospace. He also served on the board of directors of the Association of Corporate Counsel (Quebec Chapter) for five years, including three as chair. “I cannot imagine a better association for Lavery: Jean-François’ strong leadership skills and his grasp of the legal practice, as well as the transformation of our industry, make him a powerful ally.” said Anik Trudel, Chief Executive Officer.
-