Québec

Firm overview

The story of IMK has been unfolding since 1997. Today, our team of 21 lawyers includes 6 former law clerks, 5 of whom clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada. We have lawyers licensed to practice in Quebec, Ontario and New York. All IMK lawyers and staff are fluent in Canada’s 2 official languages, and members of our team speak a total of 7 other languages.

The strength of our team lies in the diversity of its members. We come from a variety of different backgrounds and work together to respond to our clients’ needs. IMK is a firm on the cutting edge and is a place where gender parity exists at all levels of the firm, including the partnership.

Our versatility combined with top-flight professional expertise helps our firm deliver outstanding value.

Our areas of expertise include administrative law, appellate advocacy, arbitration and mediation, civil and commercial litigation, class actions, constitutional law, construction litigation, employment law, estates and trusts law, insurance law litigation, municipal law, real estate litigation, securities and banking litigation and shareholder disputes.

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

IMK advises on questions of administrative law and represents clients in this area on a regular basis. Representative mandates include civil proceedings, judicial review, representing clients in administrative investigations, and disciplinary actions before various professional orders.

We are in the rare position of having acted both for investigative bodies such as the Autorité des marchés financiers and for investigated parties such as pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies. We also represent lawyers, notaries, doctors, pharmacists, psychologists, accountants and real estate agents in the context of disciplinary proceedings.

APPELLATE ADVOCACY

Appeals require different skills than trials. Our team of experienced appellate lawyers knows how to put your best case forward on appeal.

IMK has been involved in more than 20 appeals on the merits at the Supreme Court of Canada, either as a party or as an intervener. We regularly argue before the Quebec Court of Appeal and have also argued before the Federal Court of Appeal and the Courts of Appeal of Ontario and Newfoundland.

Both the Supreme Court of Canada and the Quebec Court of Appeal have named IMK as amicus curiae in major appeals.

Many of our partners and associates started their careers as clerks at the Supreme Court of Canada or other appellate level courts, giving them invaluable insight into appellate-level decision-making. Whether you are looking to change counsel or simply for a second strategic opinion, our team can help you win.

CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL LITIGATION

IMK has distinguished itself in the areas of civil and commercial litigation including real estate, construction, insurance litigation as well as contract and shareholder disputes. A large portion of our mandates directly or indirectly involves one of these fields.

In addition, IMK acts regularly in extraordinary procedures such as seizures, injunctions and Mareva and Anton Piller orders.

CLASS ACTIONS

Class actions have been part of our stock in trade since the firm was founded in 1997. Our work touches on a number of different areas, including civil law, constitutional law and administrative law. Requiring significant collaborative effort, these files have been instrumental in the development of one of our firm’s hallmark qualities: teamwork.

Class actions can arise in a range of industries and areas of law, and our team can handle them all. In particular, we have experience in class actions involving advertising practices, consumer protection, environmental law, financial products and services, price-fixing, product liability, public law, retiree benefits and securities law.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Our firm has extensive experience in constitutional law. Clients have entrusted us with files involving governmental division of powers, violation of fundamental rights and the constitutionality of numerous laws and bills.

Our representative files include a precedent-setting case before the Court of Appeal permitting the legalization of gay marriage in Quebec. In another case, our lawyers represented the Barreau du Québec in a matter where a number of media organizations were contesting the validity of regulations limiting the recording of images and sound by the media in Quebec courthouses. A number of our lawyers were also involved in the case of the estate of Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi, contesting the constitutionality of state immunity in civil proceedings for torture all the way to the Supreme Court.

Many of our partners and associates started their careers as clerks at the Supreme Court of Canada or other appellate level courts, giving them invaluable insight into major constitutional cases.

SHAREHOLDER DISPUTES

IMK regularly represents clients in shareholder disputes and oppression remedies. Our lawyers have handled cases involving companies of all sizes, across a variety of industries, including start-ups as well as established companies.

We represent both minority and majority shareholders and have experience dealing with a range of oppression remedies, including orders for the communication of documents, damages, and the repurchase of shares.

OUR BENCHMARK LITIGATORS

Audrey Boctor — Litigation Star and 40 & Under Hot List

Jean-Michel Boudreau — Future Star

David Grossman — Litigation Star

Raphaël Lescop — Litigation Star

Catherine McKenzie — Litigation Star

Doug Mitchell — Top 50 Trial Lawyers and Litigation Star

Eleni Yiannakis — Litigation Star

WHEN IT REALLY MATTERS, GET US THINKING FOR YOU.

Last updated March 2020

Firm overview

As Canada’s law firm, BLG provides high-value advice and advocacy to address our clients’ business challenges and problems. We go beyond legal to anticipate, consult and advise in a rapidly changing digital world.

We have extensive experience acting in specialized and complex deals and disputes. Vigilant, curious and collaborative, we harness technology and innovation to offer our clients exceptional service and value.

With over 750 lawyers across Canada, we serve clients throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Offering expertise in intellectual property, disputes and corporate transactional matters, our connectivity gives our clients the next-level service required to achieve success in complex and international matters. BLG advises businesses and institutions across all of their legal needs, including M&A and capital markets, complex disputes, financing, and trademark and patent registration.

At BLG, we regularly challenge our thinking to find better, smarter ways to enhance our services and find new ways to practise law. We recently announced a suite of innovative services called BLG Beyond that delivers value-driven, cost-effective solutions to our clients’ most pressing business challenges. Under the category of Managed Services, BLG Beyond offers Beyond eDiscovery, Beyond Leasing, and Beyond Lending. Under the category of Advisory Services, BLG Beyond provides Beyond IP Strategy and Beyond Consulting.

Fully bilingual throughout all practice areas and sectors, BLG excels in Canada’s common and civil law systems. Our five offices operate in Canada’s largest city centres. We offer our clients an established national presence and a global reach through our international network.

The firm continues to build a legacy of ‘firsts’: it was Canada’s first founded law firm, one of the first in North America to implement client service standards, and consistently receives legal industry recognitions for innovation in client service delivery and value.

International Work: We understand the needs of our international and domestic clients and the legal challenges that can affect their opportunities and operations in Canada or abroad. Whether seeking to do business in Canada or internationally, you require a legal partner that will help identify potential risks and provide guidance through any challenges that may arise.

With centuries of combined expertise, our International Group is peerless in our diversity and experience. Our multidisciplinary team of lawyers and intellectual property specialists provides efficient and effective advice to our business, individual and governmental clients.

We represent a diverse range of clients in over 30 languages from across the globe, including China, India, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa).

We serve governments and private and public companies in numerous sectors. Our long history as Canada’s law firm combined with a global network of leading law firms enables us to resolve our clients’ most complex legal challenges, regardless of location.

Diversity: Diversity and inclusiveness are critical to the firm’s success. The principles of employment equity, diversity and human rights are an integral part of our culture. As Canada’s Law Firm, we work hard to ensure that everyone feels valued, respected and included. Our National Director of Diversity & Inclusion, in consultation with our D&I Council, proactively reviews all policies, processes and practices to eliminate barriers and support inclusion. BLG D&I initiatives include training and education, support for parental leaves, affinity groups, diversity-themed celebrations, and tracking and reporting on progress.

Our firm actively participates in and promote programs aimed at improving and celebrating diversity within the legal profession and the broader business community, including our robust Transgender Accommodation and Inclusivity Policy, BLG’s mental health strategy, unconscious bias training, and the development and continued growth of the Driven By Women™ initiative. BLG is a proud partners of Catalyst Canada, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, Canadian Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and Pride at Work Canada.

Clients & Community: Outside our walls, we contribute to communities across Canada through our pro bono program, our BLG Reads to Kids literacy program, and supporting our members’ charitable efforts through fundraising and volunteer initiatives. BLG supports nearly 200 different non-profit organizations annually, ranging from local charities and grassroots community initiatives to international charitable missions. The firm’s cross-practice and cross-country firm provides more than 20,000 pro bono hours of legal support to nearly 200 not-for-profits and vulnerable individuals.

Firm overview

CONSUMER LAW GROUP is a law firm with offices in Montreal and Ottawa, Canada.

We are actively engaged in complex litigation, emphasizing consumer protection, antitrust, drugs and product liability class actions.

Consumer Law Group’s experience and capabilities in these fields are based upon the talents of its attorneys, who are involved in numerous class action lawsuits.

We have worked in collaboration with several class action firms across Canada and the United States in files with a national and international scope.

Consumer Law Group is committed to practicing law with integrity and in an ethical and professional manner. We also strive to be good corporate citizens and to work with a sense of global responsibility.

Last updated April 2020.

Firm overview

LCM Attorneys Inc. is one of Montréal’s leading litigation boutiques, serving an impressive list of clients in a wide array of matters, including class actions, commercial litigation, shareholders’ disputes, securities law, professional liability, public law litigation, construction disputes, injunctions, arbitration and international matters.

Founded in 2014 by a group of partners from one of Canada’s premier national firms, LCM Attorneys now boasts over twenty lawyers renowned for their in-depth expertise, savvy, hands-on approach and creativity in crafting winning strategies and finding practical solutions to the most challenging legal issues. 

The firm’s lawyers have earned the highest awards and are recognized by their peers for their expertise and the quality of their services. Members of LCM Attorneys’ team have been inducted as Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL), received the prestigious designation of Advocatus Emeritus (lawyer emeritus) by the Bar of Québec, and are consistently ranked among the best lawyers in their fields. 

LCM Attorneys is proud of Benchmark Canada’s decision to recognize ten members of its team in its 2020 Edition: Bernard Amyot, Ad. E., Sébastien Caron Ad. E., Patrick Ferland, Olivier Fraticelli, David Joanisse, Marc-André Landry, David Quesnel and Dominique Ménard  as Litigation Stars, as well as Julien Archambault, and Marie-Noël Rochon as Future Stars.

Adding to its bench strength, LCM Attorneys can count on the presence of the honourable Joel A. Silcoff, one of the founding members of the Commercial Chamber of the Quebec Superior Court, who during his tenure on the bench presided some of Quebec’s most important commercial disputes and rendered several widely recognized landmark decisions, as well as renowned counsel Max Bernard, Ad. E.

Last updated April 2021