This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Lavery involved in the construction of the new Île-aux-Tourtes bridge
Following a qualification process, the Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable du Québec (MTMD) issued a call for tenders in 2022 for the construction of the new Île-aux-Tourtes bridge pursuant to the project delivery method known as design-build-finance (DBF). Since this was a DBF, the financing of this project had to be included in the proposals made by the selected candidates. Lavery represented the successful consortium made up of Dragados Canada Inc., Roxboro Excavation Inc. and Construction Demathieu & Bard Inc. Our role required expertise in the following areas: (a) Governance and corporate law (b) Project financing (banking and securities) (c) Public procurement (d) Construction law (e) Commercial agreements (f) Taxation Lavery represented the consortium from the call for proposals to the financial close, including the drafting phase leading up to the awarding of the contract to the consortium. The financing was the most complex part of this transaction. Under the hybrid approach retained for that project, a major credit facility to be granted by a bank syndicate had to be set up, as well the private placement of two tranches of bonds. This involved adjusting the rights and obligations of creditors on both sides within a sophisticated intercreditor agreement. The financing also required parent company guarantees, including from French and Spanish corporations, which required us to find common ground to accommodate the typical requirements of a North American financing and the specific corporate and commercial features applicable in France and Spain. To meet this challenge, we put together a multidisciplinary team, divided up the work in accordance with our professionals’ diverse expertises, and dedicated a team member exclusively to interactions with the MTMD, its lawyers and the issuers of performance bonds typical for this kind of projects. Sound project management practices were essential to the success of this team effort. It is a privilege for Lavery to have participated in this essential project allowing the people of Quebec to obtain a new bridge linking the regions of Montérégie and Montréal. The Lavery team was led by Josianne Beaudry, Nicolas Gagnon, Édith Jacques, David Tournier and André Vautour, and included Véronik Bonneville-Pesant, Katerina Kostopoulos, Jean-François Maurice, Joseph Gualdieri, Siddhartha Borissov-Beausoleil, Alexandre Turcotte, Luc Pariseau, Charles Hugo Gagné, Mickaël Pageau, Jean-Vincent Prévost-Bérubé and Yohann Lévy.
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Infrastructure projects: Lexpert Recognizes Four Partners as Leading Lawyers in Canada
On August 5, 2021, Lexpert recognized the expertise of four of our partners in its 2021 Lexpert Special Edition: Infrustructure. The partners, Jean-Sébastien Desroches, Nicolas Gagnon, Éric Thibaudeau and André Vautour now rank among Canada’s leaders in the area of infrastructure law. Jean-Sébastien Desroches practices business law and focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions, infrastructure and project development as well as strategic partnerships. He frequently steers major transactions—complex legal operations, cross-border transactions, reorganizations, and investments—in Canada and at an international level on behalf of Canadian, American, and European clients and international corporations in the manufacturing, transportation, pharmaceutical, financial, and energy sectors. Nicolas Gagnon specializes in construction law and surety law. He counsels public and private sector clients, professional services firms and contractors as well as surety companies at every stage of construction projects. He advises clients with respect to the public bidding and procurement process, and is involved in the drafting of contract documents and the management of the work and any claims resulting therefrom. Éric Thibaudeau is a member of the Labour and Employment Group. He has special expertise in the area of occupational health and safety, regarding issues within the jurisdiction of the Administrative Labour Tribunal (ALT) as well as penal infractions prosecuted by the CNESST that are heard in the Court of Québec’s Criminal and Penal Division. He also acts for employers in grievance arbitrations, labour-relations matters and collective agreement decrees. In addition, he advises construction contractors and project owners on all matters within the jurisdiction of the construction industry regulatory authorities, such as the Commission de la construction du Québec and the Régie du bâtiment du Québec. André Vautour practises in the fields of corporate and commercial law and is particularly interested in corporate governance, strategic alliances, joint ventures, investment funds and mergers and acquisitions of private corporations. He frequently advises various clients on major infrastructure construction projects. He practises in the field of technology law (drafting technology development and transfer agreements, licensing agreements, distribution agreements, outsourcing agreements, and e-commerce agreements).
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Lavery ranked in Canada's Top 10 Infrastructure Firms
According to the Inframation Deals’ quarterly report (global infrastructure transaction database), Lavery ranked 10th in terms of the value of transactions. This internationally renowned database regularly publishes reports that position the various players involved in infrastructure transactions. This year, Lavery is the only Quebec law firm to be included in this national report. Click here for more information on Inframation Group.
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Nicolas Gagnon, Benjamin Gross and André Vautour recognized by Lexpert as Canada's Leading Infrastructure Lawyers
Lavery is proud to highlight that the expertise of Nicolas Gagnon, Benjamin David Gross and André Vautour, partners at Lavery, is recognized in the 2017 Lexpert Special Edition on Canada's Leading Infrastructure Lawyers as leading lawyers in the field of Infrastructure. Please click here to access the electronic version of this publication.
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Gérard Mounier appointed to the board of directors of the Infrastructure Council
On May 31, Gérard Mounier, a strategic advisor with the Business Law group and co-chair of the Infrastructure group, was appointed to the board of directors of the Infrastructure Council. Part of his mandate will be to further the three main principles of the Council, which are to i) promote advantageous partnerships for the community, ii) intervene objectively with public organizations and iii) foster technological innovation and sustainable economic development while ensuring the good governance of the organization.
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Benjamin Gross panelist at the ELFA Legal Forum
On May 7, Benjamin Gross, a partner of the Business Law group and the co-chair of the Infrastructure Law group, participated as a panelist during the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) Legal Forum held May 7 to 9 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Entitled Canada and Mexico – What You Need to Know, Mr. Gross highlighted similarities in United States, Canada and Québec laws and demonstrated how typical transactions elsewhere can be structured simply in Québec, while reviewing recent case law that had an impact on Canadian transactions.