Lavery is pleased to announce that 80 of its lawyers have been recognized as leaders in 44 areas of expertise in the 21th edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada in 2027. This ranking is based entirely on peer recognition and rewards the professional achievements of the country's top lawyers. Two partners from the firm were named Lawyer of the Year in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada directory: Jean Legault : Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Judith Rochette : Insurance Law See below for a complete list of Lavery lawyers and their areas of expertise. Please note that the practices reflect those of Best Lawyers. Geneviève Beaudin : Employee Benefits Law and Labour and Employment Law Josianne Beaudry : Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Mining Law and Securities Law Geneviève Bergeron : Intellectual Property Law Laurence Bich-Carrière : Administrative and Public Law, Class Action Litigation, Construction Law, Corporate, Commercial Litigation and Product Liability Law Dominic Boisvert : Insurance Law Étienne Brassard : Aviation Law, Corporate Law, Equipment Finance Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Project Finance Law, Real Estate Law and Venture Capital Law Myriam Brixi : Class Action Litigation and Product Liability Law Benoit Brouillette : Labour and Employment Law Marie-Claude Cantin : Construction Law and Insurance Law Brittany Carson : Labour and Employment Law André Champagne : Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law Chantal Desjardins : Advertising and Marketing Law and Intellectual Property Law Frédéric Desmarais : Employee Benefits Law and Labour and Employment Law Jean-Sébastien Desroches : Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law Raymond Doray : Administrative and Public Law, Defamation and Media Law and Privacy and Data Security Law Alain Y. Dussault : Intellectual Property Law Isabelle Duval : Family Law and Trusts and Estates Philippe Frère : Administrative and Public Law and Professional Malpractice Law Simon Gagné : Labour and Employment Law Nicolas Gagnon : Construction Law and Corporate and Commercial Litigation Richard Gaudreault : Labour and Employment Law Julie Gauvreau : Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice and Intellectual Property Law Caroline Harnois : Family Law, Family Law Mediation and Trusts and Estates Ali El Haskouri : Banking and Finance Law and Venture Capital Law Alexandre Hébert : Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law and Venture Capital Law Édith Jacques : Corporate Law, Energy Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law and Natural Resources Law Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur : Labour and Employment Law and Workers' Compensation Law Isabelle Jomphe : Advertising and Marketing Law and Intellectual Property Law Nicolas Joubert : Labour and Employment Law Josiane L'Heureux : Labour and Employment Law Guillaume Laberge : Administrative and Public Law Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin : Insurance Law Awatif Lakhdar : Family Law Jean Legault : Banking and Finance Law and Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Carl Lessard : Labour and Employment Law and Workers' Compensation Law Paul Martel : Corporate Law Zeïneb Mellouli : Labour and Employment Law and Workers' Compensation Law Marc Ouellet : Labour and Employment Law Luc Pariseau : Tax Law and Trusts and Estates Ariane Pasquier : Labour and Employment Law Martin Pichette : Corporate and Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law and Professional Malpractice Law François Renaud : Banking and Finance Law and Structured Finance Law Marc Rochefort : Securities Law Ouassim Tadlaoui : Construction Law and Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law David Tournier : Banking and Finance Law André Vautour : Corporate Governance Practice, Corporate Law, Energy Law, Information Technology Law, Intellectual Property Law, Private Funds Law, Technology Law, Transportation Law and Venture Capital Law Bruno Verdon : Corporate and Commercial Litigation Jonathan Warin : Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Québec, QC Jules Brière : Aboriginal Law / Indigenous Practice, Administrative and Public Law and Health Care Law Élisabeth Pinard : Family Law and Family Law Mediation Judith Rochette : Alternative Dispute Resolution, Insurance Law and Professional Malpractice Law Sherbrooke, QC Luc R. Borduas : Corporate Law et Mergers and Acquisitions Law Christian Dumoulin : Mergers and Acquisitions Law Éric Lavallée : Privacy and Data Security Law and Technology Law Isabelle P. Mercure : Tax Law and Trusts and Estates Vincent Towner : Commercial Leasing Law Yanick Vlasak : Banking and Finance Law, Corporate and Commercial Litigation and Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Trois-Rivieres, QC Marie-Josée Hétu : Labour and Employment Law and Workers' Compensation Law   We are pleased to highlight our next generation, who also distinguished themselves in this directory in the Ones To Watch category: Montréal, QC Frédéric Bolduc : Labour and Employment Law Rosemarie Bhérer Bouffard : Labour and Employment Law Céleste Brouillard-Ross : Construction Law, Corporate and Commercial Litigation et Insurance Law Karl Chabot : Construction Law, Corporate and Commercial Litigation, Medical Negligence and Personal Injury Litigation David Choinière : Corporate and Commercial Litigation Marie-Claude Côté : Mergers and Acquisitions Law James Duffy : Intellectual Property Law Francis Dumoulin : Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law Joseph Gualdieri : Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law Katerina Kostopoulos : Banking and Finance Law, Corporate Law and Real Estate Law Despina Mandilaras : Construction Law et Corporate and Commercial Litigation Jean-François Maurice : Corporate Law Jessica Parent : Labour and Employment Law Audrey Pelletier : Tax Law Camille Rioux : Labour and Employment Law Chantal Saint-Onge : Corporate and Commercial Litigation Bernard Trang : Banking and Finance Law and Project Finance Law Mylène Vallières : Mergers and Acquisitions Law and Securities Law Québec, QC Jean-Philippe Abraham : Corporate and Commercial Litigation Marc-André Bouchard : Construction Law et Corporate and Commercial Litigation Trois-Rivieres, QC Justine Chaput : Labour and Employment Law Alexandre Pinard : Labour and Employment Law

On April 15, 2026, Lexpert recognized the expertise of seven of our partners in its 2026 Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A. René Branchaud now ranks among Canada’s leaders in the area of finance and Étienne Brassard, Jean-Sébastien Desroches, Alexandre Hébert, Édith Jacques, Paul Martel and André Vautour are among Canada’s leading lawyers in mergers and acquisitions. Finance René Branchaud practises in the fields of securities, mergers and acquisitions, as well as corporate law. With more than thirty years’ experience, he advises companies on matters such as incorporation and organization, the drafting of shareholder agreements, private placements, public issues, going public, dispositions, and takeovers. M&A Étienne Brassard practises business law, more specifically corporate financing, mergers and acquisitions and corporate law. He advises local and international businesses in relation to all forms of private financing, from traditional or convertible debt to equity investments. Jean-Sébastien Desroches practises business law and focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions, infrastructure, renewable energy and project development as well as strategic partnerships. Alexandre Hébert is a partner in the Business Law group, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and venture capital. He advises SMEs and investment funds, particularly in the innovation and technology sectors, including on cross-border transactions. Known for his business-minded approach, he supports clients with pragmatic legal and strategic guidance aligned with their growth objectives. Édith Jacques is a partner in our Business Law Group in Montréal. She specializes in mergers and acquisitions, commercial law and international law. Édith acts as strategic business advisor for medium to large private companies. Paul Martel is a partner in the Business Law Group. He practises primarily in the area of corporate law, focusing on corporations, not-for-profit corporations and general partnerships. He is also an expert in commercial contracts. Paul is recognized for his ability to find effective, innovative solutions to the most complex legal issues in corporate law. André Vautour practises corporate law and commercial law, and is specifically interested in corporate governance, strategic alliances, joint ventures, investment funds, and mergers and acquisitions of private companies. About Lavery Lavery is the leading independent law firm in Quebec. Its more than 200 professionals, based in Montréal, Québec City, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières, work every day to offer a full range of legal services to organizations doing business in Quebec. Recognized by the most prestigious legal directories, Lavery professionals are at the heart of what is happening in the business world and are actively involved in their communities. The firm’s expertise is frequently sought after by numerous national and international partners to provide support in cases under Quebec jurisdiction.

Today marks a significant milestone for the innovation ecosystem in Quebec and Canada. Formed through the merger of the activities of the Institut national d’optique (INO) and the Centre de recherche informatique de Montréal (CRIM), Luqia is a major industrial innovation laboratory specialising in artificial intelligence and photonics, dedicated to Canadian businesses. Drawing on the expertise of more than 250 specialists, Luqia aims, among other things, to accelerate the development and industrialisation of critical technologies and to help strengthen the capabilities of National Defence. In this context, Lavery has supported CRIM and INO in transforming a shared ambition into a robust legal structure, commensurate with this large-scale project. Lavery would like to highlight the work of the dedicated team, led by André Vautour (CRIM’s legal adviser for several years) and Selena Lu, as well as the contributions of Radia Amina Djouaher, Siddhartha Borissov-Beausoleil, Paul Martel, Marc-André Landry, Brittany Carson, Jessica Parent, Geneviève Bergeron, Diane L’Écuyer, Ana Cristina Nascimento and Annie Groleau. Congratulations to the teams at INO and CRIM on this major achievement. Lavery wishes them every success with Luqia, which is set to become a catalyst for the industrialisation of critical technologies in AI, advanced photonics and quantum technology.

Lavery is proud to announce that 42 partners are ranked among the leading practitioners in Canada in their respective practice areas in the 2026 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. The following Lavery partners are listed in the 2026 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory: Asset Securitization Brigitte M. Gauthier Banking Étienne Brassard Class Actions Laurence Bich-Carrière Myriam Brixi Marie-Nancy Paquet Construction Law Laurence Bich-Carrière Nicolas Gagnon Marc-André Landry Ouassim Tadlaoui Corporate Commercial Law Étienne Brassard Jean-Sébastien Desroches Christian Dumoulin Alexandre Hébert Édith Jacques Paul Martel André Vautour    Corporate Finance & Securities Josianne Beaudry          René Branchaud Corporate Mid-Market Étienne Brassard Jean-Sébastien Desroches Alexandre Hébert Édith Jacques    André Vautour Employment Law Benoit Brouillette Frédéric Desmarais Simon Gagné Richard Gaudreault Marie-Josée Hétu Guy Lavoie Josiane L’Heureux Zeïneb Mellouli Environment Valérie Belle-Isle Family Law Caroline Harnois Awatif Lakhdar Elisabeth Pinard Infrastructure Law Nicolas Gagnon Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Yanick Vlasak Insolvency Litigation Jean Legault      Ouassim Tadlaoui Yanick Vlasak Jonathan Warin Intellectual Property Chantal Desjardins Alain Y. Dussault Isabelle Jomphe Eric Lavallée Labour (Management) Benoit Brouillette Brittany Carson Simon Gagné Richard Gaudreault Marie-Josée Hétu Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur Guy Lavoie Carl Lessard Zeïneb Mellouli Litigation - Commercial Insurance Dominic Boisvert Martin Pichette Litigation - Corporate Commercial Laurence Bich-Carrière Marc-André Landry Litigation - Product Liability Laurence Bich-Carrière Myriam Brixi Medical Negligence Anne Bélanger Mergers & Acquisitions Josianne Beaudry    Étienne Brassard       Jean-Sébastien Desroches Christian Dumoulin Alexandre Hébert Édith Jacques Mining Josianne Beaudry           René Branchaud Occupational Health & Safety Josiane L'Heureux Professional Liability Marie-Nancy Paquet Judith Rochette Technology André Vautour Workers' Compensation Marie-Josée Hétu Josiane L'Heureux Guy Lavoie Carl Lessard