News

Étienne Brassard, and Mylène Vallières, both members of Lavery’s Business Law Group spoke about crowdfunding to Université de Montreal’s Faculty of law on January 11th. This  initiative was coordinated by Michaëlle Guilbault, a student with the firm. The event offered Faculty students an opportunity to learn more about the different aspects of this emerging method of financing. Please click here to consult the article in Need to Know to learn more about crowdfunding, in particular the new financing opportunities for start-ups.

On December 8, 2016, during the CETHR’s 35th anniversary event, André Vautour, Édith Jacques, and Étienne Brassard, all partners from the Business law group, discussed the different aspects of the Canada-EU free-trade agreement (CETA). Among other things, they highlighted the agreement’s huge economic potential for Quebec businesses since it provides access to a new market with very few tariff constraints. Mr. Vautour also addressed the topic of Canada’s strategic geographical position: “This agreement, combined with NAFTA, could turn the Canadian territory into a portal for U.S. businesses that want to reach the European market as well as European businesses that want to access the U.S. market. It’s a significant competitive advantage that we must make the most of to fully benefit from CETA.”

--> Mes Étienne Brassard, Guillaume Synnott and Sibylle Ferreira, from Lavery’s Business Law Group, published an article entitled “Early-Growth Financing and Capital Structure – Guiding Your Company to the Next Level” in the 2016-17 CCCA/ACCJE Corporate Counsel Directory and Yearbook.  The article draws a portrait of a business’ stages of growth and the financing challenges that entrepreneurs must overcome in order to proceed to the next level. Please click here to access the electronic version of this article. . 

Pierre Denis, Étienne Brassard, Benjamin David Gross and Sibylle Ferreira, whose practices focus on business law, financing and aeronautics, contributed to the development of a Q&A guide entitled Aviation finance in Canada: overview and published in the first edition of Practical Law’s Aviation Finance Global Guide. The guide provides a high-level overview of key practical issues, including financing options for purchasing aircraft; registration and deregistration requirements; transfer of title; security, including aircraft mortgages; transfer of security; enforcement of security and repossession; and the application of the Cape Town Convention. To consult the guide, please click here.

Étienne Brassard, a partner at Lavery, discusses the aerospace industry and air law in “Le droit aérien s’adapte aux progrès technologiques,” an article published in Les Affaires newspaper:  “’It is well known that Montréal has a strong aerospace cluster, but it is less well known that we also have top-notch professional services capable of supporting major operations in the global aerospace industry,’ says Étienne Brassard, a partner at the Lavery law firm.”  The complete article in French is available on-line here.

On March 3, Étienne Brassard and Guillaume Synnott, members of Lavery’s GO Inc. Program and business law group, will give the first of three training sessions on legal issues faced by startups to members of the third cohort of HEC Montréal’s Rémi-Marcoux Entrepreneurial Track. Lavery is proud to partner with the Rémi-Marcoux Entrepreneurial Track, a pre-accelerator program training and developing Quebec’s future entrepreneurs.

On November 26, 2015, Étienne Brassard, a business law partner at Lavery, was co-speaker at Stratégies PME 2016 which took place at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. The conference was entitled “Le financement participatif ou “crowdfunding”: en quoi consiste cette nouvelle alternative pour les entrepreneurs?” (Crowdfunding: what does this new alternative mean for entrepreneurs?) and was presented with Mr. Gabriel Araish, expert analyst in corporate financing at the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). Mr. Brassard discussed, among other things, various types of crowdfunding, their interaction with traditional methods of financing, the advantages and key risks for entrepreneurs, while Mr. Araish addressed the new regulatory framework put in place by the AMF with regard to equity crowdfunding.

Lavery is pleased to announce the launch of the Lavery GO inc. Program today in Quebec City. The goal of this program is to assist young entrepreneurs and provide eligible start-ups with high-quality legal services at a price that fits their means. The Lavery GO inc. Program provides each selected start-up with personalized support over a wide range of legal services needed during the start-up process, including incorporation, trademark and domain registration, service agreements and various internal company policies. “The economy of Quebec City’s metropolitan region has been experiencing sustained growth over the last several years. In fact, the region’s economy is considered to be one of the most dynamic in the country. Emerging entrepreneurs play a key role in supporting economic development and diversification in the National Capital and Chaudière-Appalaches regions. The Lavery GO inc. Program is ideally suited to the present context because it allows us to lend a hand to start-ups and help them develop, while also reinforcing our ties with the business world”, stated Daniel Bouchard, Managing Partner of Lavery’s Quebec City office. Each start-up selected for the Lavery GO inc. Program will be supported and mentored by Lavery lawyers who have both the experience and expertise required within the scope of this program, including Karine Pelletier, Étienne Brassard and many others. Moreover, selected start-ups will benefit from several hours of legal advice. Legal services will be provided at a fixed rate, taking into account these start-ups’ ability to pay. For more information about the Lavery GO inc. Program, please visit our web site: www.laverygoinc.ca.

It’s during C2 Montreal on May 28, 2015, that the Lavery GO inc. Program team took part in the M2DAY Conference which gathered close to 300 participants. Mr. Étienne Brassard, Mr. Raphaël Bacal and Ms. Brittany Carson were part of Lavery’s official delegation for this event. This was a great opportunity to meet young entrepreneurs with a shared desire to develop a more social economy within a more engaged population. The Lavery GO inc. Program team is proud to be the exclusive legal partner of the M2DAY Conference and happy to encourage a new generation of entrepreneurs.

Numerous Committee members of the Lavery GO inc. Program took part on May 1st and 2, 2015 in the 48h Entrepreneurs, an initiative of the Jeune Chambre de commerce de Montréal and the Regroupement des Jeunes Chambres de commerce du Québec whose program is entirely dedicated to Quebec entrepreneurship. On May 1st, Lavery held a stand throughout the day at the Salon des entrepreneurs of the Palais des congrès de Montréal, where they presented the Lavery GO inc. Program to the many participants of the 48h Entrepreneurs. Four teams comprised of Committee members of the Lavery GO inc. Program held the fort in rotation: Guillaume Synnott and Judith Houle-Couture, Étienne Brassard, Raphaël Bacal and Élodie Brunet, Ariane Lauzière and Anne-Sophie Lamonde as well as Jean-Philippe Latreille and Rhonda Grintuch. On May 2, Mr. Brassard, a Business Law partner and Coordinator of the Lavery GO inc. Program, took part in the Startup Next Demo Night, which was held at La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in Montreal. On this occasion, four tech startups presented their businesses to a panel of four judges comprised of Mr. Brassard, Ty Denco (Director, Techstars), Maryse Gingras (Director, Futurpreneur Canada), Alexandre Guertin (Investment Associate, Teralys Capital) and Simon Lapointe (Audit Director, Richter). Following the judges’ deliberations, the startup MakerBloks was crowned winner of the competition. During the day, Mr. Latreille, Business Law lawyer, was co-responsible for the Relève d’affaires course during which were discussed issues relating to the transfer, the change of ownership and the start of a business.   From left to right : Maryse Gingras (Director, Futurpreneur Canada), Étienne Brassard (Partner, Lavery), Simon Lapointe (Audit Director, Richter), Alexandre Guertin (Investment Associate, Teralys Capital) and Ty Denco (Director, Techstars)

Lavery is pleased to announce the appointment of Étienne Brassard, Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur, Guillaume Lavoie and Jonathan Warin as partners of the firm. Étienne Brassard practises business law with the firm and is a member of the Private Financing Group. His main areas of practice are business finance, banking law and commercial law and, in particular, the negotiation and drafting of credit, the related movable and immovable security agreements, as well as the documentation required for lease financing and installment sales. He has also acted in several major crossborder syndicated and non-syndicated financings during his practice, or relating to specific assets such as aircraft financing, rolling stock and heavy machinery. He is also the Lavery Go inc. Program Coordinator. Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur has particular expertise in the areas of labour and employment law, health law and the law of occupational health and safety. She pleads before administrative tribunals and courts of law, particularly the Commission des lésions professionnelles. She also acts as an employer spokesperson for collective agreements. Guillaume Lavoie practises in private equity, venture capital and securities law and mergers and acquisitions. He acts as a legal advisor to various Canadian and foreign corporations and private equity and venture capital funds in connection with asset purchases and sales and the acquisition of public and private corporations. He has extensive experience with respect to international transactions. He also advises Canadian issuers and their boards of directors on corporate governance issues and advises some clients on competition law, foreign investment and regulatory matters. Jonathan Warin is a member of the firm's Commercial Litigation Group and specializes in bankruptcy and insolvency, extraordinary remedies and realizing on security. He regularly intervenes in various insolvency cases, whether to represent institutional lenders, trustees or debtors in a restructuring and liquidation context. He also handles commercial litigation cases of all kinds, particularly shareholder remedies and injunctions. “We are very pleased to welcome Étienne, Marie-Hélène, Guillaume and Jonathan as Lavery partners. Being named partner undoubtedly represents an important milestone in their career as well as a recognition of the quality of their work in representing our clients. Over the years, they have all acquired comprehensive expertise in their respective areas of practice, making them among the best lawyers in their field”, said Don McCarty, Managing Partner of the firm. Étienne Brassard Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur Guillaume Lavoie Jonathan Warin

Lavery is pleased to announce that its involvement in the Startup Next Montreal program that will allow selected Quebec entrepreneurs to participate in one of the most renowned pre-acceleration startup program in the world and to also benefit from a special session on the legal issues that startups face, offered by the lawyers of Lavery’s GO inc. Program. The Startup Next Montreal pre-acceleration program runs from February 23 to May 2, 2015 and is aimed at priming four startups for success in their search for financial backing either from seed or accelerator funds. The four selected companies are Makerbloks, led by François Poirier, Logrr, led by Julien Denaes, Elysia, led by Vanessa Cheranfant, and Heddoko, headed by its founder Mazen Elbawab. Startup Next is a global program implemented in 40 cities around the world and backed by Google for Entrepreneurs and the Global Accelerator Network. Lavery is hosting six consecutive and mandatory weekly sessions of three hours each, plus one special session dedicated to the legal issues associated to business startups. During these sessions, entrepreneurs meet with company founders as well as with experts who share their own experiences in growth-company management, get to make their elevator pitch before a panel of mentors who provide feedback and are paired with mentors who help them delve more deeply into strategic issues. The entrepreneurs will discuss namely with Bob Dorf, Startup Trainer and Professor of Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School, LP Maurice, CEO of Busbud and Partner at Interaction Ventures, Chris Arsenault, Managing Partner of iNovia Capital, and Sean Brownlee, General Partner at Rho Canada Ventures. The best Montreal entrepreneurial teams will be invited to present their start-up companies to investors or accelerator funds like XPND Capital, Interaction Ventures, Real Ventures, to angel investors like Anges Québec, and to decision makers, as well as to the Jeune chambre de commerce de Montréal (JCCM) and the Regroupement des jeunes chambres de commerce du Québec (RJCCQ) business community during Startup Next Montreal’s presentation day at the 48h Entrepreneurs event.   “With its GO inc. Program, Lavery targets dynamic and innovative startups that stand out from the crowd. Our partnership agreement with Startup Next Montreal helps us reach out to several of the most promising technology startups in Quebec,” said Don McCarty, the firm’s Managing Partner. “We are very pleased that the Lavery GO inc. Program is partnering with Startup Next Montreal, because it is essential that entrepreneurs understand the main legal issues they will need to manage in order to successfully grow their company. We added a training session to the program specifically to address this topic and provide entrepreneurs with the best tools possible for the challenges that lie before them,” added Sergio A. Escobar, Startup Next Montreal Program Facilitator.  “Lavery is delighted to welcome the entrepreneurs selected by Startup Next Montreal. The members of the Lavery GO inc. Program plan will analyze with them the major legal issues related to their startups,” stated Étienne Brassard, lawyer in charge of the Lavery GO inc. Program. The Lavery GO inc. Program provides personalized support to selected businesses over a wide range of legal services needed during the start-up process, including incorporation, trademark and domain registration, service agreements and various internal company policies.