Class Actions

Overview

Lavery has been handling class actions for over 30 years. The firm sets itself apart by its multidisciplinary approach, the breadth of its expertise and its thorough understanding of the reality in which its clients carry on business. Our team is often solicited for major cases involving complex issues. We know how to act quickly in response to the media’s interest in any eventual proceedings. We don’t just provide legal services; we provide strategic advice tailored to our client’s needs ensuring that the integrity of its business is properly defended.

Our team is equipped with a solid grasp of the Quebec class action regime. We have access to an extensive network of partners that allows us to act in a concerted fashion globally and remain up to date on the latest trends in class actions. Lavery’s expertise in this field is recommended by the 2018 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory.

Lavery acts both preventively and in defense of your interests. Our team can of course help defend your rights before the courts, but it can also advise you with respect to drafting contracts, making representations to the public, devising best practices regarding governance and business integrity or complying with the relevant regulatory framework, to minimize vulnerability to class actions.

We are:

Seasoned lawyers who regularly handle class actions and provide strategic advice tailored to your sector of activities.
A dedicated team where the group as well as several individual members are recommended in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2017) and The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018, for multi-jurisdictional and cross-border class actions.
Strategically located in four offices across the province of Quebec, with an advanced understanding of local particularities and issues.

Our vision

To mobilize an agile and committed team that works both before and after legal proceedings are instituted. This is why our professionals:

Advise to prevent risks that might open the door to class actions;
Act proactively so that they are ready to deploy an effective defence strategy as soon as an action is instituted, whether before the courts, in the media, or in relation to government bodies;
Quickly determine the resources needed to present an effective defence at every stage (preliminary exceptions, authorization, on the merits, recovery, settlement);
Propose creative and innovative solutions tailored to the specific needs of your circumstances;
Have a thorough knowledge of the particularities of the Quebec class action regime and its developments;
Benefit from an excellent network throughout Canada and internationally so that they can coordinate the defence of national or transnational class actions;
Optimize information, document, and digital data management to ensure the effective and beneficial control and use of the evidence;
Minimize the impact of a class action on your business, in particular with respect to issue and crisis management;
Offer guidance to management on business integrity issues;
Work with you for a successful outcome, as quickly as possible;

Act in a concerted manner with a depth of consideration unparalleled in the market.

Our team is multi-talented and well-versed in several fields of law and can support clients in a wide range of areas and industries included but not limited to:

Agri-food and food products
Competition law
Consumer law
Directors & Officers Liability
Environment
Financial products and services
Health law and pharmaceutical law
Insurance
Labour law and pension plans
Liability for historic social wrongs
Privacy and defamation
Product liability
Securities law

Recognized expertise

The long-standing expertise of Lavery and the members of its class action team has been recognized in a number of legal directories:

Louis Charette was recognized by The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018 in the areas of Aviation, Transportation and Product Liability law and in Canadian Legal LEXPERT® Directory 2017 in the areas of Aviation and Litigation - Product Liability.
Bernard Larocque was recognized by The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018 in the areas of Class Action Litigation and Insurance Law.
Guy Lemay, CRIA, was recognized by The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018 in the areas of Class Action Litigation and Labour and Employment Law and by The Canadian Legal LEXPERT® Directory 2017 in the area of Class Actions.Mr. Lemay was also named Lawyer of the Year 2014 – Class Action Litigation – Montreal by The Best Lawyers in Canada.
Ian Rose was recognized by The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018 in the areas of Director and Officer Liability Practice and Insurance Law, in Who’s Who Legal Canada 2017 in the area ofInsurance and Reinsurance, and in The Canadian Legal LEXPERT® Directory 2016 in the area of Litigation – Directors’ and Officers’ Liability.