Québec

Firm overview

Founded in February 2015, Renno Vathilakis Inc. has quickly become one of Montreal’s premier corporate and commercial litigation boutiques. Practising in the fields of corporate litigation and shareholder disputes, class actions, franchise and distribution litigation, commercial arbitration, bankruptcy and insolvency, competition law, family law, constitutional law, privacy law, defamation and freedom of expression, employment law, construction law and securities law litigation, Renno Vathilakis Inc. provides its clients with top flight representation.

Both of the firm’s co-founders have a consistent and impressive track record litigating and resolving corporate and commercial disputes.

Karim Renno was previously a partner in the Montreal litigation department of renown Canadian firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, as well as a partner in the highly regarded Montreal litigation boutique of Irving Mitchell Kalichman LLP. Through his fifteen years of litigation experience, he has amassed a number of accolades. Since 2013, he has been ranked as a Litigation Star in Benchmark Litigation and was cited as an Up and Coming litigator in the 2014 and 2015 editions of Chambers Global. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers Canada as a leading practitioner for corporate/commercial litigation in Québec since 2015. In 2013, Karim was awarded by the Client Choice awards as the top litigator in the province of Québec for client service. Finally, Karim has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as one of Canada’s top 50 trial lawyers since 2015. He is also the founder and editor in chief of the ‘’ À bon droit’’ blog and contributes hundreds of case commentaries every year. In fact, his blog was named best practitioner legal blog in Canada for 2012 by the Canadian Law Blog Awards and was a finalist for Best Canadian Law Blog at the same awards in 2013 and 2014. He is a regular contributor to well-known law blogs such as Canlii Connects, Droit Inc. and Edilex. Moreover, Karim has published numerous articles relating to corporate law, commercial law, evidence and civil procedure.

He has amassed a vast experience and enjoys an excellent reputation with regard to private international law matters and injunctions, having argued before the Supreme Court of Canada on multiple occasions in cases involving such issues. Moreover, Karim has represented some of the most important companies before all levels of Québec courts. Karim has acted as lead counsel in several high profile cases related to the telecommunications, credit card, pharmaceutical, construction, tobacco, software, real estate, airline and transportation industries.

Co-founder Michael Vathilakis has an equally impressive track record. After working for two national law firms, Michael was tapped to lead the in-house team of Future Electronics Inc., one of the world’s largest electronic components distributors. He soon rose to the position of General Counsel, Vice-President Legal Affairs of the company. From that position, he spearheaded and oversaw numerous high profile commercial court trials and arbitrations, as well as a number of significant business transactions. He returned to private practice to found Renno Vathilakis Inc. His practice focuses on dispute prevention, commercial litigation and family law. In fact, Michael is recognized by Best Lawyers Canada (2020) as leading practitioner in Family Law. Michael has acted before all levels of Québec courts as lead counsel in significant cases related to, amongst others, technology, electronic component distribution and real estate industries. A member of the Law Society of Upper Canada - as well as the QUÉBEC Bar - Michael has represented clients in international arbitrations both in Canada and abroad. He has also acted in various employment cases and is presently one of the lead counsel in a number of significant class actions.

Michael holds a master’s degree in law from Harvard University (LL.M.) and has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a Litigation Star from 2016.

Michael lectures to law students on a frequest basis - with respect to international commercial arbitration and class actions - at Harvard Law School, Stanford, McGill Law School and the University of Montreal.

The founding partners are supported by a highly skilled and growing team. The young firm currently consists of six lawyers, two articling students and several summer students - with a view of further growth in the coming years.

Renno Vathilakis Inc. is dedicated to providing its clients with top notch dispute resolution services and to finding creative solutions to complex problems.

Updated April 2024

Firm overview

Miller Thomson LLP is one of Canada’s leading national business law firms with approximately 500 lawyers. We consistently deliver the highest quality advisory and advocacy skills and expertise required by international clients doing business in Canada. We have more Canadian locations than any other national firm, allowing our lawyers to provide our clients with valuable local knowledge. More specifically, with offices in Montreal, Vaughan, Toronto, Waterloo-Region, London, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, we are uniquely positioned to provide ‘on the ground’ insight and knowledge from the country’s key economic hubs, and under both the common law and civil law systems in Canada.

Miller Thomson’s national advocacy practice comprises close to 200 litigators, organized around a comprehensive range of sub-specialties. Our expertise covers complex commercial litigation, class actions, construction litigation, environmental litigation, insurance defence, IP litigation, health litigation, securities litigation, shareholder disputes, tax litigation, insolvency, and labour & employment disputes, among other areas of litigation support. The national group has extensive experience acting for a wide range of clients in all industry segments in trial proceedings, court applications, arbitrations and appeals at the provincial and federal levels. These clients range from sole proprietorships and individuals to some of the largest and most recognized national and international corporations operating in Canada.

Our litigators look for opportunities for efficient and expedient dispute resolutions. In this regard, our litigators are experienced in mediation and arbitration proceedings of all types, whether required as part of the litigation process or undertaken pursuant to an agreement with the other side to a dispute.

The Group also draws on the firm’s discovery capabilities. Our litigators adopt procedures to drive greater case management and discovery efficiency, thereby mitigating the resource intensive, often costly document production phase of litigation.

We have extensive experience acting for clients in litigation concerning:

• Commercial contracts 
• Class actions 
• Constitutional challenges
• Employment and human rights 
• Real property disputes
• Environmental 
• Tax
• Antitrust
• Tort law
• Civil or extra contractual liability 
• Construction contracts, liens, claims
• Patent and trademark infringement
• Insolvency
• Professional liability claims
• Products liability claims 
• Defamation
• Injunctions
• Interim orders and other relief sought on an urgent basis
• Shareholder disputes
• Securities
• Regulatory
• Disciplinary
• Penal and criminal
• Directors’ and officers’ liability
• Breach of fiduciary obligations
• Health
• Medical Malpractice

Updated April 2024

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 five partners from one of Canada’s premier national firms, LCM Attorneys now boasts nearly thirty 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 nine members of its team in its 2023 Edition: Bernard Amyot, Ad. E., Julien Archambault, Sébastien Caron Ad. E. ICD, Olivier Fraticelli, David Joanisse, Dominique Ménard and David Quesnel as Litigation Stars, as well as Marie-Noël Rochon and Nicolas Roche as Future Stars.

Adding to its bench strength, LCM Attorneys can count on the presence of renowned counsel Max Bernard, Ad. E.

Updated April 2024

Firm overview

BLG is widely recognized as Canada’s foremost litigation law firm, with a national team of more than 400 advocates helping clients with everything from appellate advocacy to trade disputes.

• More than 400 advocates
• 500+ trials, arbitrations, tribunal hearings
• Defended 100s of class actions
• 32 specialty areas
• 2022 Benchmark Highly Recommended Firm in all of our regions
• 2022 Benchmark Insurance Firm of the Year
• 2021 and 2022 Benchmark Health Law/Medical Firm of the Year
• Offices in Canada’s 5 largest cities
• Bilingual in English and French
• Celebrating 200 years in 2023

When the stakes are highest, organizations from across Canada and around the world trust us to help solve their problems. From claims that interrupt day-to-day activities to bet-the-company litigation, we understand the issues that keep our clients up at night, using this knowledge as the foundation for responsive, strategic and practical advice. Complex, precedent-setting, novel cases in specialized areas of the law - particularly when they make it to the Supreme Court - are how we’ve built our reputation. We use this experience to advocate for the best outcomes for organizations of all sizes, from tech start-ups defending their IP to global automakers facing a class action. We use mediation, arbitration and eDiscovery technology, when appropriate, to increase efficiency and decrease cost. We are smart, resourceful, creative, driven, humble and always civil.

We are the external partner that feels like part of the in-house team. And clients never get just one of us -because behind every BLG advocate is the most powerful group of litigators and legal staff in Canada.