This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
For all media inquiries, please contact Jean-François Lemieux:
- jflemieux@lavery.ca
- 514 877-3002
News
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Seven partners named as Canadian leaders in finance and mergers and acquisitions by Lexpert
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.
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Repreneurship business transfers: not just transactions, but strategic, people-centric adventures
At Lavery, we help businesses through pivotal moments in their life cycles every day. During the recently held Sommet du repreneuriat 2026, our partner Alexandre Hébert shared the stage with Daniel Valois for a talk on how to close the key stages of a business transfer, covering everything from letters of intent to indemnification clauses. Their talk brought a fundamental reality to light: A business transfer is not just another commercial transaction. It’s a complex process where transactional law and its technical language comes face-to-face with the emotional realities of those involved. Here is a summary of what we see as necessary for a successful transfer, inspired by the talks given at the aforementioned summit. Each business transfer is unique Unlike traditional institutional transactions, business transfers often involve sellers who will only ever go through one such transaction in their lifetime. They are entrepreneurs who know every employee involved in their business, from their own administrative assistant to the photocopier repairperson, and have for decades. Success begins by knowing that business transfer transactions require the use of a special language. Often, the seller’s advisors their lawyer or general accountant, for example do not know this “transactional language,” which adds a layer of complexity. Our role is to translate technical challenges such as these into solutions that truly help those involved. The foundations of a successful transaction To make the transaction successful, we recommend doing the following: Put people first: It’s important to understand how the seller, who is about to part with their “baby” feels, and how they see things. Show your competence but leave your ego behind: Technical expertise is quite necessary, but connecting with the people on the other side of the table by communicating in simple terms and putting one’s ego aside is just as important. Be as open as possible: Proactivity is key. The earlier things are said, the greater the chances of success. Manage fatigue: A transaction is a marathon. Fatigue, if not anticipated, can derail a project a few feet from the finish line. The Letter of Intent (LOI): more than a tacit agreement Although a letter of intent is technically non-binding where business terms are involved (price, structure), it will inevitably create expectations for both the buyer and the seller. Any attempt at making changes later on creates tension. A common mistake is neglecting the transition period. We have seen transactions fall through because a seller suddenly realized they had no plan for their life after the sale, just days before closing. To allay such emotional fears, it is crucial to disclose all information we have and determine what the parties want after the business purchase or sale, right from the LOI stage. Due diligence: the analogy of the three drawers Daniel Valois has a powerful analogy for due diligence: that of the three drawers. The top drawer: What you know for sure. Middle drawer: What you think you know but has yet to be confirmed. Bottom drawer: What you don’t know you don’t know. This is where major risks hide. The goal of the due diligence process is to move the contents of the lower drawers to the upper ones. Today, we have artificial intelligence as an increasingly valuable ally in identifying sectoral blind spots that experience alone cannot always detect. Although eliminating all risk is impossible, the buyer must make every effort during due diligence to confirm whether they are comfortable with identified risks. The art of compensation and the role of experts The final phase consists of allocating identified risks. This is where representations, guarantees, limits and indemnification deductibles come into play. This is also the stage where fatigue peaks. This climate is tense, requiring lawyers and experts to act as “shields.” Rather than letting the buyer and seller argue over technical indemnification clauses and risk damaging their future relationship, it is often preferable to let the professionals negotiate among themselves to come up with a balanced solution. Towards collaborative negotiation The negotiation process has changed. Today’s “discussions” often take place through intermediary versions of documents rather than with the parties at the same table. Negotiating this way can be impersonal and cause misunderstandings, or even frustration, for a seller who sees dozens of versions without understanding the nuances of each one. The speakers recommend a collaborative approach. It is important to know when to step out of the formal setting to make a direct call and defuse an emotional crisis or the overreaction of an advisor. The ultimate goal is to keep the business in operation and ensure the transition goes smoothly. In conclusion, a successful business transfer requires not only legal acumen, but also great emotional intelligence. By keeping people at the heart of every step and surrounding ourselves with experts who can speak the entrepreneurs’ language, we can transform complex transactions into a lasting success.
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42 partners from Lavery ranked in the 2026 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory
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
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86 Lavery lawyers recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2026
Lavery is pleased to announce that 86 of its lawyers have been recognized as leaders in 42 areas of expertise in the 20th edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada in 2026. This ranking is based entirely on peer recognition and rewards the professional achievements of the country's top lawyers. Three partners from the firm were named Lawyer of the Year in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada directory: Josianne Beaudry: Mining Law Marie-Josée Hétu: Labour and Employment Law Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin: 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 / Labour and Employment Law Josianne Beaudry: Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Mining Law / Securities Law Geneviève Bergeron: Intellectual Property Law Laurence Bich-Carrière: Administrative and Public Law / Class Action Litigation/ Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation / Product Liability Law Dominic Boisvert: Insurance Law Luc R. Borduas: Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law René Branchaud: Mining Law / Natural Resources Law / Securities Law Étienne Brassard: Equipment Finance Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Project Finance Law / Real Estate Law / Structured Finance Law / Venture Capital Law Jules Brière: Aboriginal Law / Indigenous Practice / Administrative and Public Law / Health Care Law Myriam Brixi: Class Action Litigation / Product Liability Law Benoit Brouillette: Labour and Employment Law Marie-Claude Cantin: Construction Law / Insurance Law Brittany Carson: Labour and Employment Law André Champagne: Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Chantal Desjardins: Advertising and Marketing Law / Intellectual Property Law Jean-Sébastien Desroches: Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law Raymond Doray: Administrative and Public Law / Defamation and Media Law / Privacy and Data Security Law Christian Dumoulin: Mergers and Acquisitions Law Alain Y. Dussault: Intellectual Property Law Isabelle Duval: Family Law / Trusts andEstates Ali El Haskouri: Banking and Finance Law / Venture Capital Law Philippe Frère: Administrative and Public Law Simon Gagné: Labour and Employment Law Nicolas Gagnon: Construction Law Richard Gaudreault: Labour and Employment Law Julie Gauvreau: Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice / Intellectual Property Law Marc-André Godin: Commercial Leasing Law / Real Estate Law Caroline Harnois: Family Law / Family Law Mediation / Trusts and Estates Alexandre Hébert: Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Venture Capital Law Marie-Josée Hétu: Labour and Employment Law / Workers' Compensation Law Édith Jacques: Corporate Law / Energy Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Natural Resources Law Marie-Hélène Jolicoeur: Labour and Employment Law / Workers' Compensation Law Isabelle Jomphe : Advertising and Marketing Law / IntellectualProperty Law Nicolas Joubert: Labour and Employment Law Guillaume Laberge: Administrative and Public Law Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin: Insurance Law Awatif Lakhdar: Family Law / Family Law Mediation Marc-André Landry: Alternative Dispute Resolution / Class Action Litigation / Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation / Product Liability Law Éric Lavallée: Privacy and Data Security Law / Technology Law Myriam Lavallée: Labour and Employment Law Guy Lavoie: Labour and Employment Law / Workers' Compensation Law Jean Legault: Banking and Finance Law / Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Carl Lessard: Labour and Employment Law / Workers' Compensation Law Josiane L'Heureux: Labour and Employment Law Paul Martel: Corporate Law Zeïneb Mellouli: Labour and Employment Law / Workers' Compensation Law Isabelle P. Mercure: Tax Law / Trusts and Estates Patrick A. Molinari: Health Care Law Marc Ouellet: Labour and Employment Law Luc Pariseau: Tax Law / Trusts and Estates Ariane Pasquier: Labour and Employment Law Martin Pichette: Corporate and Commercial Litigation / Insurance Law / Professional Malpractice Law Élisabeth Pinard: Family Law / Family Law Mediation François Renaud: Banking and Finance Law / Structured Finance Law Marc Rochefort: Securities Law Judith Rochette: Alternative Dispute Resolution / Insurance Law / Professional Malpractice Law Ouassim Tadlaoui: Construction Law / Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law David Tournier: Banking and Finance Law Vincent Towner: Commercial Leasing Law André Vautour: CorporateGovernance Practice / Corporate Law / Energy Law / Information Technology Law / Intellectual Property Law / Private Funds Law / Technology Law / Venture Capital Law Bruno Verdon: Corporate and Commercial Litigation Sébastien Vézina: Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Mining Law / Sports Law Yanick Vlasak: Banking and Finance Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation / Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law Jonathan Warin: Insolvency and Financialanick Vlasak: Banking and Finance Law / Corporate We are pleased to highlight our next generation, who also distinguished themselves in this directory in the Ones To Watch category: Anne-Marie Asselin: Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Rosemarie Bhérer Bouffard: Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Frédéric Bolduc: Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Marc-André Bouchard: Construction Law (Ones To Watch) Céleste Brouillard-Ross: Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Karl Chabot: Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation / Medical Negligence (Ones To Watch) Justine Chaput: Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) James Duffy: Intellectual Property Law (Ones To Watch) Francis Dumoulin: Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions Law (Ones To Watch) Joseph Gualdieri: Mergers and Acquisitions Law (Ones To Watch) Katerina Kostopoulos: Banking and Finance Law / Corporate Law (Ones To Watch) Joël Larouche: Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Despina Mandilaras: Construction Law / Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Jean-François Maurice: Corporate Law (Ones To Watch) Jessica Parent: Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Audrey Pelletier: Tax Law (Ones To Watch) Alexandre Pinard: Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch Camille Rioux: Labour and Employment Law (Ones To Watch) Sophie Roy: Insurance Law (Ones To Watch) Chantal Saint-Onge: Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Ones To Watch) Bernard Trang: Banking and Finance Law / Project Finance Law (Ones To Watch) Mylène Vallières: Mergers and Acquisitions Law / Securities Law (Ones To Watch)
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Lavery welcomes Alexandre Hébert to its Business Law group as partner
Lavery is delighted to welcome Alexandre Hébert to its Business Law group as a partner. Alexandre earned a BFA from Concordia University and has been a member of the Barreau du Québec since 2008. His experience in corporate law and commercial law strengthens the firm's expertise in mergers and acquisitions, financing and venture capital in particular. "Alexandre's expertise and vision fit perfectly with our growth and innovation ambition. His dedication to excellence and his commitment to training the next generation of lawyers are aligned with the firm's values" adds Anik Trudel, Chief Executive Officer. With a diverse client base that includes private investment funds and players from the innovation and technology sector, Alexandre Hébert will help expand Lavery's service offering in key areas. His knowledge of the market outside Quebec will also be a definite asset to support our teams in closing domestic and cross-border transactions for our current and future clients. "I am delighted to be joining Lavery. The firm's reputation for excellence, its culture and vision of the future has me excited. I am looking forward to leveraging my experience for the benefit of my clients and contributing to the growth of the firm in a collaborative and innovative environment.", says Alexandre. About Lavery Lavery is the leading independent law firm in Québec. 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 Québec. 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 Québec jurisdiction.