News

On June 20, 2022, the Government of Québec and Plateforme Agora (now doing business as Le Panier Bleu) announced that Le Panier Bleu is transitioning to a private enterprise with the support of Quebec industry leaders. During the announcement, it was also confirmed that Le Panier Bleu will soon develop a transactional e-commerce platform making it possible to buy products from local merchants online. Lavery had the privilege of assisting Plateforme Agora in this round of financing and in Le Panier Bleu’s transition by providing advice on corporate financing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, intellectual property, commercial law in the field of technology and labour law. The Lavery team led by Étienne Brassard was composed of Jean-François Maurice, Isabelle Jomphe, Guillaume Laberge, Jessica Parent, Béatrice Bull, Isabelle Normand and Pamela Cifola.

On May 4, 2021, the Government of Canada, the Government of Québec, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Ivanhoé Cambridge announced the formation of a consortium of investors that will make $120 million available to co-ops, non-profit organizations (NPOs) and housing agencies for the construction or renovation of affordable housing. The Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation, Fondaction, the Mirella and Lino Saputo Foundation and the J. Armand Bombardier Foundation collectively added $31 million to the sum. The strategic partnership will be managed by the Association des groupes de ressources techniques du Québec (AGRTQ) starting in the fall of 2021.  Lavery Lawyers advised and assisted the project partners with the drafting and implementation of the legal structure and documentation necessary to create and start up the consortium of investors. Lavery is pleased to have put its expertise and professional and financial resources to work for the project, and to thereby contribute to an initiative that benefits both families and the economic vitality of Quebec. The Lavery team, led by Brigitte Gauthier, was composed of Jean-Sébastien Desroches, Jean-François Maurice, François Renaud, Bernard Trang and André Vautour.

On October 30, 2020, 01 Studio Inc., an enterprising, indie gaming studio, confirmed the closing of a financing with Skymoons Technology Inc., the video game division of Chinese multimedia giant iQIYI, to accelerate its growth and the development of its flagship game, Citywars Savage. In addition to the financing, the parties have agreed on the distribution of Citywars Savage in China and neighboring countries. A Lavery team composed of Jean-François Maurice, Étienne Brassard, Sébastien Vézina, Éric Lavallée, Florence Fournier and Stéphanie Dubois played a significant role in representing the interests of 01 Studio Inc. throughout the transaction, from negotiating the term sheet to the closing the transaction.

On July 7, 2020, Golo Mobile Inc., a company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange that specializes in eco-delivery in large business centres, announced the acquisition of Walter Innovations Inc., a building automation technology start-up that has created a solution to connect property managers and residents of condominiums and apartment buildings. A Lavery team composed of Étienne Brassard, Éric Lavallée and Jean-François Maurice represented the selling shareholders of Walter Innovations Inc. in an exit context, allowing Walter's initial investors and entrepreneurs to successfully sell the company and its underlying technology. More concretely, the Lavery team assisted the sellers in negotiating and implementing a transaction structure adapted to their objectives and to the consideration offered by the buyer, i.e. publicly traded shares. Through a holdback of a portion of the shares and an alignment between the duration of the holdback and the obligations of the sellers, our team enabled the seed investors to make a profitable exit and the selling shareholders involved in the direct management of Walter Innovations Inc. to transition as key employees of Golo Mobile Inc. while aligning the interests of the buyer and the sellers in order to achieve a result that is beneficial to all parties.

On June 29, Chronometriq, a North American leader in healthcare management, announced its acquisition of Health Myself Innovations Inc. A Lavery team represented and advised Chronometriq to help them succeed in this acquisition, which will enrich their platform and service offering as well as contribute to the growth of their operations in the United States. Lavery supported Chronometriq for their Series A (financing by a Silicon Valley venture capital fund) and for their Series B (financing by a New York venture capital fund). It is a privilege for us to work towards the expansion of Chronometriq and to contribute to a fast-growing Quebec success story in the field of health technologies. To read the press release, click here.

On October 1, Chronometriq, a Montréal-based supplier of technology that facilitates healthcare access and patient communications, announced that it had received more than $20 million in funding from Full In Partners. This funding will enable our client Chronometriq to strengthen its leadership position in Canada and drive its growth in the United States. Lavery played a significant role in representing Chronometriq’s interests throughout this transaction and helped it take on the kinds of challenges high-growth startups face when negotiating major funding. Chronometriq, founded in 2012, was named one of the 25 most innovative companies by C2 Montréal. It is now a leader in digital healthcare management, thanks to its range of comprehensive appointment management products suited to both clinics and patients. In the past year alone, Chronometriq has served 12 million users through the network of North American clinics that use its products. This mandate was successfully completed thanks to the extensive expertise of the Lavery team led by Jean-François Maurice and made up of Éric Gélinas, Felicia-Yifan Jin, Ali El Haskouri, Tina Basile, Guillaume Laberge, Florence Fournier, Shereen Cook and Pierre-Olivier Valiquette.

Lavery is pleased to announce that it has hired five of its articling students as associates. Rosemarie Bhérer Bouffard has joined the Labour and Employment Law group. During her studies, she volunteered with the legal information clinic at Université Laval and the Quebec association for the defence of the rights of retired and pre-retired persons. Shereen Cook has joined the Business Law group. During her studies, she assumed the position of director of the law moot court program: Les simulations de procès - Travaille en Cour, which led her to cooperate with jurists and other legal professionals to draft legal cases. Katerina Kostopoulos has joined the Business Law group. Prior to law school, Katerina obtained a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University with a major in Political Science and a double minor in Philosophy and Neo-Hellenic Studies. Élizabeth Martin-Chartrand has joined the Litigation and Conflict Resolution group. While a law student, Élizabeth served on the executive committees of the University of Ottawa’s Canadian Student Association for Children’s Rights and the Criminal Law Association, and as columnist for the student newspaper.   Jean-François Maurice has joined the Business Law group. During his university studies, Jean-François was involved in various student organizations, often as treasurer of the club or organization. While attending Peking University, he also served as a research assistant in connection with several publications in corporate and business law.