News

Lavery held the 2016 edition of its Major Symposium in Labour and Employment Law and it was a great success. About 300 people made their way to Centre Mont-Royal on June 8, 2016, to participate in the event. The plenary session was hosted by Nicolas Joubert and Guy Lavoie, partners in the Lavery’s Labour and Employment Law group. On this occasion, attendees got to participate in various workshops presented by Dave Bouchard, Jean Boulet, Élodie Brunet, Brittany Carson, Norman A. Dionne, Josée Dumoulin, Carl Lessard, Josiane L’Heureux, Zeïneb Mellouli, Véronique Morin and François Parent. Speakers addressed many different subjects, such as best practices in recruiting, in employment termination and in disability management; in psychological harassment, in pension plans and lessons we can learn about labour and employment law after forty years of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.      

The Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers (CACE) held its 12thannual conference from September 10 to September 12, 2015 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Two Labour Law partners at Lavery, Nicolas Joubert and Guy Lavoie, were speakers at this event Mr. Joubert presented a conference entitled “Mitigation of damages in the context of wrongful dismissals - Recent developments across Canada”. He covered several aspects of mitigation in the context of wrongful dismissal, namely self-employment as a fulfillment of an employee’s duty to mitigate, and the employer’s burden of proof in establishing the employee’s failure to mitigate. As for Mr. Lavoie, he took part in a panel answering 11 ethics questions in labour law. 

Lavery is pleased to announce that 45 of the firm’s lawyers have been listed as leading Canadian practitioners in their respective areas of expertise in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2016. "We are delighted that 45 lawyers of our firm are included in the 2016 edition of this prestigious directory. This recognition acknowledges the expertise, quality of work and dedication of these lawyers and the entire Lavery team. I would like to congratulate our 45 colleagues who have been singled out for their contribution to our clients’ success and the development of our service offering", said Don McCarty, Lavery’s Managing Partner. Among the Lavery lawyers listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2016, Richard Burgos, Jules Brière, Richard A. Hinse, Jean Legault, Jean Martel and Sylvain Poirier are first-time honourees. The following lists the names of all Lavery lawyers included in the directory as well as their practice area(s):  1. Pierre-L. Baribeau Labour and Employment Law 2. Yvan Biron Environmental Law 3. Michel Blouin Natural Resources Law 4. René Branchaud Natural Resources Law 5. Jules Brière, Ad. E. Health Care Law 6. Richard Burgos Corporate Law 7. Marie-Claude Cantin Insurance Law 8. Louis Charette Aviation Law; Product Liability Law; Transportation Law 9. Gérard Coulombe, c.r., Ad. E. Corporate Law 10. Eugène Czolij Corporate and Commercial Litigation; Insolvency and Financial Restructuring 11. Pierre Denis Equipment Finance Law 12. Raymond Doray, Ad. E. Administrative and Public Law 13. Louis-Martin Dubé Real Estate Law 14. Josée Dumoulin Employee Benefits Law 15. Nicolas Gagnon Construction Law 16. Michel Gélinas Labour and Employment Law 17. Marie-Andrée Gravel Mergers & Acquisitions Law 18. Jean Hébert Insurance Law 19. Richard A. Hinse Corporate and Commercial Litigation 20. Odette Jobin-Laberge, Ad. E. Insurance Law 21. Pierre Marc Johnson International Arbitration 22. Bernard Larocque Class Action Litigation; Insurance Law 23. Guy Lavoie Labour and Employment Law; Workers’ Compensation Law 24. Jean Legault Banking and Finance Law; Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law 25. Guy Lemay Labour and Employment Law; Class Action Litigation 26. Jean Martel, Ad. E. Corporate Governance Practice 27. Robert W. Mason Director and Officer Liability; Insurance Law; Personal Injury Litigation; Product Liability Law 28. Patrick A. Molinari Health Care Law 29. Philip Nolan Tax Law 30. François Parent Employee Benefit Law 31. Luc Pariseau Tax Law 32. Jacques Paul-Hus Mergers & Acquisitions Law 33. Louis Payette, Ad. E. Banking and Finance 34. Jacques Perron Transportation Law 35. Élisabeth Pinard Family Law 36. Sylvain Poirier Health Care Law 37. Marc Rochefort Securities Law 38. Louis Rochette Health Care Law 39. Ian Rose Director and Officer Liability, Insurance Law 40. Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E. Class Action Litigation 41. Raphaël H. Schachter, c.r., Ad. E. Criminal Defense 42. Jean-Yves Simard Corporate and Commercial Litigation; Insolvency and Financial Restructuring 43. Gerald Stotland Family Law 44. Philippe Tremblay Construction Law 45. André Vautour Corporate Law, Information Technology Law; Technology Law   For more information, please visit the Best Lawyers’ website at www.bestlawyers.com.

Lavery is pleased to announce that 18 partners of the firm are ranked among the leading practitioners in Canada in their respective practice areas in the 2015 edition of Thomson Reuters’s Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory is the most comprehensive publication to legal talent in the country. It is a reference guide for Canadian and foreign corporate counsel and law firms in need of specialized legal services in Canada. The 2015 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory identifies the leading practitioners in more than 40 practice areas based on the results of a thorough annual peer-review survey completed by more than a thousand respected legal professionals and a wide range of well-informed clients. Lavery lawyers are recommended in a vast array of fields, including banking, asset finance, mining law, mergers and acquisitions, technology transactions, employment law and labour relations, pensions, class actions, construction law, family law, and commercial insurance litigation. "In the 2015 edition of this legal directory, 18 Lavery partners were recognized for their first-rate expertise. I congratulate our 18 colleagues for this recognition and for their continued commitment to serving the needs of our clients", said Don McCarty, Lavery’s Managing Partner. The following Lavery partners are listed in the 2015 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory : Michel Blouin | Mining René Branchaud | Mining Louis Charette | Aviation; Litigation – Product Liability *Magali Cournoyer-Proulx | Employment (Management) Pierre Denis | Asset Equipment Finance/Leasing Josée Dumoulin | Pensions (Management) Nicolas Gagnon | Construction *David Benjamin Gross | Asset Equipment Finance/Leasing Jean Hébert | Litigation – Commercial Insurance Guy Lavoie | Labour (Management) Guy Lemay | Class Actions Robert W. Mason | Litigation – Commercial Insurance François Parent | Pensions (Management) Louis Payette, Ad. E. | Banking Élisabeth Pinard | Family Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E. | Class Actions; Litigation – Product Liability André Vautour | Technology Transactions Sébastien Vézina | Mining *New posting For more information, please visit Lexpert’s website at: http://lexpert.ca/directory.

Lavery is pleased to announce it has acted as legal counsel for the Province of Québec to a consortium led by Magris Resources Inc. in the completion of the acquisition of Niobec Inc., a subsidiary of IAMGOLD Corporation (TSX : IMG, NYSE: IAG)  and one of the world’s three primary niobium producers. The total consideration of US$530 million was comprised of a US$500 million cash proceeds payable at closing, as well as an additional US$30 million payable upon commencement of commercial production from adjacent rare earths element properties. Lavery also acted as local counsel in connection with the financing of the acquisition. Lavery’s transactional and financing team was led by Mr. Sébastien Vézina (M&A and Mining Law) and Mr. Benjamin Gross (Financing), and included Mr. René Branchaud (Mining Law), Ms. Nicole Messier and Ms. Carole Gélinas (Real Estate Law and Mining Titles), Ms. Sophie Prégent (Environmental Law), Ms. Catherine Méthot and Mr. Raphaël Bacal (M&A), Mr. François Parent (Pension and Benefits), Ms. Catherine Maheu, Mr. Guy Lavoie and Ms. Valérie Korozs (Labour and Employement), Mr. Éric Gélinas (Tax Law), Mr. Pierre Denis and Ms. Anne-Sophie Lamonde (Financing).

Loïc Berdnikoff, Magali Cournoyer-Proulx and Guy Lavoie of Lavery gave a two-day training session to representatives of Corporation des services d’ambulance du Québec (CSAQ) member companies last November 19th and 20th in Quebec City.  The various sessions of the training program covered Privacy rules and issues applicable in the ambulance field, a review of decisions rendered during the last year specifically regarding labour relations within the pre-hospital environment and the impact and future of social media on the field.  Loïc Berdnikoff, Magali Cournoyer-Proulx and Guy Lavoie

Guy Lavoie, Brittany Carson and Élodie Brunet have authored a chapter in "New Perspectives on Canadian Employment Law", published by LexisNexis in October 2014. Their contribution reviews decisions of interest rendered in Quebec over the last year in the field of employment law. The chapter in question, Chapter 16, is entitled “Employment Law and Practice: Current Issues". For more information or to order the publication, click here.  Guy Lavoie, Brittany Carson and Élodie Brunet

On October 30, 2014, Mr. Guy Lavoie, a partner in Lavery’s Labour and Employment team, spoke at this year’s Association des centres d’urgence du Québec (ACUQ) Conference in Quebec City. His presentation was entitled Joies, périls et futur de l’internet et des réseaux sociaux dans le milieu de travail (The Joys, Perils and Future of Internet and Social Media in the Workplace). Since the advent of the Internet in the workplace at the beginning of the 90’s, employers have faced ever-changing challenges. With the arrival of social media and the popularity of smartphones, things got even more complicated. Where does this leave us in 2014? What are the challenges, the rights and the obligations of employers and employees in a digital workplace? What are the best practices under the circumstances? How can freedom of speech for employees coexist with an employer’s right to preserve its reputation? What are the effects of social media on labour relations? Those are some of the issues Mr. Lavoie addressed during his presentation. 

Lavery is pleased to announce that 40 of the firm’s lawyers have been listed as leading Canadian practitioners in their respective areas of expertise in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2015. "We are delighted that 40 lawyers of our firm are included in the 2015 edition of this prestigious directory. This recognition acknowledges the expertise, quality of work and dedication of these lawyers and the entire Lavery team. I would like to congratulate our 40 colleagues who have been singled out for their contribution to our clients’ success and the development of our service offering", said Don McCarty, Lavery’s Managing Partner. Among the Lavery lawyers listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2015, Jean-Philippe Lincourt, François Parent and Philippe Tremblay are first-time honourees. The following lists the names of all Lavery lawyers included in the directory as well as their practice area(s): Pierre-L. Baribeau Labour and Employment Law Yvan Biron Environmental Law Michel Blouin Natural Resources Law René Branchaud Natural Resources Law Marie-Claude Cantin Insurance Law Louis Charette Aviation Law; Product Liability Law; Transportation Law Gérard Coulombe, c.r., Ad. E. Corporate Law Eugène Czolij Corporate and Commercial Litigation; Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Pierre Denis Equipment Finance Law Raymond Doray, Ad. E. Administrative and Public Law Louis-Martin Dubé Real Estate Law Josée Dumoulin Employee Benefits Law Nicolas Gagnon Construction Law Michel Gélinas Labour and Employment Law Marie-Andrée Gravel Mergers & Acquisitions Law Odette Jobin-Laberge, Ad. E. Insurance Law Jean Hébert Insurance Law Pierre Marc Johnson International Arbitration Bernard Larocque Class Action Litigation; Insurance Law Guy Lavoie Labour and Employment Law; Workers’ Compensation Law Guy Lemay Labour and Employment Law; Class Action Litigation Jean-Philippe Lincourt Class Action Litigation Robert W. Mason Director and Officer Liability; Insurance Law; Personal Injury Litigation; Product Liability Law Patrick A. Molinari Health Care Law Philip Nolan Tax Law François Parent Employee Benefit Law Luc Pariseau Tax Law Jacques Paul-Hus Mergers & Acquisitions Law Louis Payette, Ad. E. Banking and Finance Jacques Perron Transportation Law Élisabeth Pinard Family Law Marc Rochefort Securities Law Louis Rochette Health Care Law Ian Rose Director and Officer Liability, Insurance Law Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E. Class Action Litigation Raphaël H. Schachter, c.r., Ad. E. Criminal Defense Jean-Yves Simard Corporate and Commercial Litigation; Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Gerald Stotland Family Law Philippe Tremblay Construction Law André Vautour Corporate Law, Information Technology Law; Technology Law For more information, please visit the Best Lawyers’ website at www.bestlawyers.com.

Lavery is pleased to announce that 20 partners of the firm are ranked among the most recommended lawyers in Canada in their respective practice areas in the 2014 edition of Thomson Reuters’s Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory is the most comprehensive publication to legal talent in the country. It is a reference guide for Canadian and U.S. corporate counsel and law firms in need of specialized legal services. The 2014 edition of the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory identifies the best lawyers in 64 practice areas based on the results of a thorough annual peer-review survey completed by more than a thousand respected legal professionals and a wide range of well-informed clients. Lavery lawyers are recommended in a vast array of fields, including banking, asset finance, mining law, mergers and acquisitions, employment law and labour relations, pensions, class actions, construction law, family law, and commercial insurance litigation. "In the 2014 edition of this legal directory, 20 Lavery partners were recognized for their first-rate expertise. I congratulate our 20 colleagues for this recognition and for their continued commitment to serving the needs of our clients", said Don McCarty, Lavery’s Managing Partner. The following Lavery partners are listed in the 2014 edition of the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory : Pierre-L. Baribeau - Labour (Management) Yvan Biron* - Environment Michel Blouin - Mining René Branchaud – Mining Louis Charette* - Aviation Gérard Coulombe, Q.C., Ad. E. – Corporate Commercial, Mergers & Acquisitions Pierre Denis - Asset Equipment Finance/Leasing Josée Dumoulin - Pensions (Management) Nicolas Gagnon - Construction Jean Hébert - Litigation – Commercial Insurance Odette Jobin-Laberge, Ad. E. - Litigation – Commercial Insurance Guy Lavoie* - Labour (Management) Guy Lemay – Class Actions Robert W. Mason - Litigation – Commercial Insurance François Parent* - Pensions (Labour) Louis Payette, Ad. E. – Banking Élisabeth Pinard* - Family Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E. - Class Actions; Litigation – Commercial Insurance; Litigation - Product Liability André Vautour - Technology Transactions Sébastien Vézina* - Mining *New postingFor more information, please visit Lexpert’s website at: www.lexpert.ca/directory.

Lavery is pleased to announce that 36 of the firm’s lawyers have been listed as leading Canadian practitioners in their respective areas of expertise in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2014. "We are delighted that 36 lawyers of our firm are included in the 2014 edition of this prestigious directory. This recognition acknowledges the expertise, quality of work and dedication of these lawyers and the entire Lavery team. I would like to congratulate our 36 colleagues who have been singled out for their contribution to our clients’ success and the development of our service offering", said Don McCarty, Lavery’s Managing Partner. Among the Lavery lawyers listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2014, Raymond Doray, Ad. E., is a first-time honouree. The following lists the names of all Lavery lawyers included in the directory as well as their practice area(s): Armstrong, Marie-Claude Family Law Baribeau, Pierre-L. Labour and Employment Law Biron, Yvan Environmental Law Blouin, Michel Natural Resources Law Branchaud, René Natural Resources Law Cantin, Marie-Claude Insurance Law Charette, Louis Aviation Law; Product Liability Law; Transportation Law Coulombe, Gérard, Q.C., Ad.E. Corporate Law Czolij, Eugene Corporate and Commercial Litigation; Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Denis, Pierre Equipment Finance Law Doray, Raymond, Ad. E. Administrative and Public Law Dubé, Louis-Martin Real Estate Law Dumoulin, Josée Employee Benefits Law Gagnon, Nicolas Construction Law Gélinas, Michel Labour and Employment Law Gravel, Marie-Andrée Mergers & Acquisitions Law Hébert, Jean Insurance Law Jobin-Laberge, Odette, Ad. E. Insurance Law Larocque, Bernard Class Action Litigation; Insurance Law Lavoie, Guy Labour and Employment Law Lemay, Guy Labour and Employment Law; Class Action Litigation Mason, Robert W. Director and Officer Liability; Insurance Law; Personal Injury Litigation; Product Liability Law Nolan, Philip Tax Law Pariseau, Luc Tax Law Paul-Hus, Jacques Mergers & Acquisitions Law Payette, Louis, Ad. E. Banking and Finance Perron, Jacques Transportation Law Pinard, Élisabeth Family Law Rochefort, Marc Securities Law Rochette, Louis Health Care Law Rose, Ian Director and Officer Liability; Insurance Law Saint-Onge, Jean, Ad. E. Class Action Litigation Schachter, Raphaël H., Q.C., Ad. E. Criminal Defense Simard, Jean-Yves Corporate and Commercial Litigation; Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Stotland, Gerald Family Law Vautour, André Information Technology Law; Technology Law For more information, please visit the Best Lawyers’ website at www.bestlawyers.com.