This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Jean Saint-Onge Organizes and Hosts a Conference on Class Actions
The field of class actions is flourishing and the related case-law is in constant evolution. On October 28th and 29th, Jean Saint-Onge, partner at Lavery, hosted a conference on class actions called “Recours collectifs : Développement récents au Québec, au Canada et aux États-Unis” as a continuing education seminar of the Quebec Bar. This conference was held at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal and welcomed no less than 34 speakers specializing in class actions from various jurisdictions in North America. Jean-Philippe Lincourt, lawyer at Lavery specializing in class actions, actively participated in the organization of this seminar.
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The Université de Montréal Honours Ms. Élise Poisson
Montreal, November 1, 2010 - Lavery is proud to announce that Ms. Élise Poisson, Managing Partner, has been honoured by the Association des diplômés de l’Université de Montréal at the closing dinner of the Mois des diplômés, which was held on October 29th at the Centre des sciences de Montréal. During this event, eight alumni who graduated in 1985 from the Université de Montréal and distinguished themselves by their professional, social or community achievements as well as the excellent reputation that they built in Quebec, were recognized. “We are proud of this recognition given to Élise Poisson,” declared Mr. Richard Dolan, Chairman of the Lavery’s Board of Directors. “This honour, attributed to her professional success, reflects on all the members of the firm.”
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Lavery Highlights Quebec SME'S Dynamism at the National Bank's SME Awards Ceremony
Montreal, October 29, 2010 - Lavery is proud to collaborate with the National Bank Recognition Program for SMEs, which has recognized the excellence of Quebec entrepreneurs for 17 years. Further to the announcement of the regional award winners, which recognized, in September, the excellence and performance of 44 SMEs, small businesses, export SMEs and agribusiness SMEs from all areas of Quebec, the gala evening for the National Bank’s SME Awards is an opportunity to reveal the provincial winners and to pay tribute to SMEs that clearly distinguished themselves in Quebec last year.“We would like to congratulate all provincial and regional winners as well as all SMEs that participated in this inspiring annual competition organized by the National Bank,” declared Ms. Édith Jacques, partner and member of the Business Law Group at Lavery. “This competition gives SMEs the chance to establish a reputation, boost their human resources’ sense of pride and develop business connections to foster their growth.”Lavery has always been engaged in the development of businesses in Quebec and has adopted a distinct Law > Business approach to depict the dedication of its 175 lawyers and all other professionals in order to contribute to the success of the business community in which SMEs play an important part thanks to their drive, performance, innovativeness and ability to create numerous jobs.
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J. Vincent O'Donnell, Q.C., Ad.E., and André Vautour of Lavery Named Best Lawyers' 2011 Lawyers of the Year
Lavery is proud to announce that Mr. J. Vincent O’Donnell, Q.C., Ad.E., and Mr. André Vautour have been named Lawyers of the Year by Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. For more than a quarter of a century, Best Lawyers designates “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. Only a single lawyer in each practice area in each community is honoured as the “Lawyer of the Year” in recognition of his/her abilities, professionalism and integrity. J. Vincent O’Donnell, Q.C., Ad.E., has been named the “Montreal Best Lawyers Director and Officer Liability Lawyer of the Year” for 2011. André Vautour has been named the “Montreal Best Lawyers Information Technology Lawyer of the Year” for 2011.
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Dina Raphaël and Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin hold a training seminar on the insurance contract formation and technological documents
Dina Raphaël and Jonathan Lacoste-Jobin held a training seminar called “Insurance Contract Formation and Technological Documents in the Web Era” on October 19th and 20th for insurance adjusters and brokers. This training was on the insurance contract formation and technological documents. During the seminar, the speakers discussed the online formation of insurance contracts and the principles governing the proposal and issuance of an insurance contract in connection with new technologies. The purpose of this presentation was also to explain the regulations governing document management in an insurance context, both in terms of use and conservation of technological documents and to describe their eligibility as evidence.
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Judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada - A Municipality Cannot, by by-law, Prohibit the Operation of an Activity Within Federal Jurisdiction in a Zone on its Territory
On October 15, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a decision in which it concluded that a municipality cannot establish a zone within which the operation of a federal activity is prohibited, in this case, an aerodrome. The operators of the aerodrome and aviation company were represented by a team from the firm of Lavery led by Mathieu Quenneville, which also included Jules Brière, Odette Jobin-Laberge, Yvan Biron and Sophie Prégent. Originally, the municipality of Sacré-Cœur brought a motion for an injunction against an aviation company and its managers to prevent them from operating an aerodrome within a zone of its territory. Initially, this motion was granted by the Superior Court, but the Court of Appeal set aside that decision, holding that a municipal by-law which prescribes zones within which an aerodrome can be prohibited is constitutionally inapplicable. The Attorney General of Quebec, which intervened in the file before the Superior Court in support of the municipality's claims, applied to the Supreme Court of Canada for a ruling on the validity of the disputed by-laws and, ultimately, that the aviation company be obliged to comply with the land use planning by-law of the municipality of Sacré-Cœur. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of the Attorney General of Quebec. According to the Supreme Court, the real object of the by-law was not related to zoning and did not fall under any provincial head of power. Rather, its essence was to regulate the location of aerodromes in the municipality, a matter within the exclusive federal jurisdiction over aeronautics. The provisions of the municipal by-law prohibiting aeronautical activities in the zone in question were therefore declared invalid by the Court. This decision clarifies the framework for the constitutional analysis applying not only to aeronautics, but to any activity involving the division of constitutional powers, particularly in relation to radiocommunications, telecommunications, navigation, railway transportation and extra-provincial transportation.
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Four Lavery Partners Nominated by Peers as Leading Practitioners in Who’s Who Legal: Canada 2010
Lavery is proud to announce that four of its partners have been recognized by their peers as leading practitioners in Canada in their field of expertise in Who’s Who Legal: Canada 2010. Nominees are selected based on comprehensive, independent survey work with both general counsels and private practice lawyers worldwide. Only specialists who meet independent international research criteria are listed. This recognition reflects our lawyers’ established expertise and excellent skills. The following Lavery partners have been recommended in the 2010 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Canada 2010. Yvan Biron (Environmental Law) Robert W. Mason (Product Liability) J. Vincent O’Donnell (Insurance Law) Michel Yergeau (Environmental Law)
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Josianne Beaudry Featured in The Gazette
On October 13th, Josianne Beaudry, Business Law Group member at Lavery, wrote an article called “Stock Options instead of a Pay Hike : Is this Good for Me?” published in Legal Matters, the online legal page of The Gazette. Ms. Beaudry’s article reviews the advantages and disadvantages of receiving stock options rather than salary increases from employers.
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Bernard Larocque and Odette Jobin-Laberge, Speakers at a training seminar for litigation lawyers at the Canadian Institute
On October 19th, Bernard Laroque, in collaboration with Odette Jobin-Laberge, both partners at Lavery, will be speakers at the Canadian Institute during a training seminar for litigation lawyers on the competitive advantage needed for litigation lawyers to distinguish themselves before the courts entitled: “L’avantage compétitif dont vos avocats de litige ont besoin pour se démarquer devant les Tribunaux, leurs clients et dans la gestion de leurs dossiers.” Mr. Larocque’s and Ms. Jobin-Laberge’s presentation pertains to art of writing in litigation as well as writing techniques required to present efficient and persuasive summons before the courts. It will be held in French only at the Hôtel Omni Mont-Royal in Montreal at 9 a.m. For more information on this conference, please click here.
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Three’s the charm for Alexandre Despatie, gold medal winner at the XIX Commonwealth Games
Proud sponsor of Alexandre Despatie, Lavery is pleased to recognize this champion’s triple gold medal wins in diving, the first for the men’s one-metre springboard event, the second for the men’s three-metre springboard and the third for the men’s three-metre synchronized event with his partner Reuben Ross on October 10th, 11th and 12th at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.With these wins, Despatie became the 9th man to win eight medals or more at the Commonwealth Games, having won himself nine medals in total throughout his career to date. Lavery is extremely proud to support this remarkable Quebec athlete.
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Nicolas Gagnon, Member of the Surety Association of Canada’s Board of Directors
For 2010-2011, Nicolas Gagnon, partner at Lavery, will be a member of the Surety Association of Canada’s Board of Directors, an association formed by a group of companies who believe that the surety industry needs a voice that is independent of its cousins in the insurance industry.Mr. Gagnon, who specializes in construction and surety law, will provide a sound judgement and counsel to the Surety Association of Canada's members in their objective to build on their successes to ensure a more surety friendly environment for the contruction and business communities in Canada.
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Lavery retained by Goodmans LLP in the acquisition of Van Houtte
Montreal, October 5, 2010 - A team of professionals at Lavery was retained by Goodmans LLP to help represent the interests of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., a company based in Vermont, in its acquisition of the A.L. Van Houtte Coffee business, which is based in Quebec. Lavery’s services were retained, in particular, for the due diligence review, consultation on the purchase agreement and to assist generally with Quebec matters; particularly, commercial issues, environmental law, labour law, real estate law and litigation. Lavery’s team was mainly made up of following lawyers: Carl M. Ravinsky, Melanie Chartrand, Jean Tessier and Sive Burns (corporate/commercial), Chantal Joubert and Catherine Rioux (real estate), France Legault and Catherine Maheu (labour and employment) and Yvan Biron and Sophie Prégent (environmental law).