Québec

A new entry into Benchmark Canada in this edition (and, with only 25 years of history a relatively young firm), BCF Business Law has made inroads in the Québec market via its offices in Montréal, its larger office, as well as Québec City. A full-service business firm, its litigation practice is considered an “umbrella” group, divided into several relatively independent teams and decidedly focused primarily on mid-market and more entrepreneurial clients. “They are known for taking entities from the basement to the IPO,” states a peer. On a more recognizable level, the firm acted on behalf of Hydro-Québec and Société d’énergie de la Baie-James in a $33 million claim by a general contractor for various claim posts including, but not limited to, different geological conditions, additional requests, unforeseen works and additional equipment maintenance. (The case was closed when the Supreme Court denied hearing it in December 2020.) Montréal-based Andre Ryan chairs the litigation umbrella group and maintains his own practice that blends class action and arbitration work. “Andre has been around the block forever and he’s very talented. He’s a recent (2017) ACTL member,” testifies a peer. Ryan acted on behalf of a former executive officer of a publicly traded pharmaceutical corporation in connection with statutory and civil securities actions brought against him by individual shareholders and major institutional investors following a drop in share price and the issuance of corrective disclosures by the defendant company. Statutory and civil actions have also emerged as opt-out claims following the authorization (certification) of a class action that raises substantially similar claims. Ryan is also acting on behalf of a Canadian natural resources company in an arbitration proceeding instituted pursuant to NAFTA, whose foraging licenses were revoked without compensation by the Government of Québec. The arbitration proceedings are ongoing, with supplemental written and oral submissions scheduled for 2021.

Montréal boutique Belleau Lapointe has seen a rising profile of late, with a growing chorus of peers weighing in on its behalf. “They act in the plaintiff capacity often, particularly on class actions,” voices one defense-oriented peer, “so you would think we'd view them as an irritant but no, they are one of the good ones. They don't try to play stupid tricks, they are very strategic and selective.” Clients concur; “The firm is dedicated to the consumer's point of view and defending their rights. They have great expertise both in consumer rights and class action suits.”

Name partner Daniel Belleau, a noted class action authority, has been cheered by peers all over Canada. One in particular, located well outside of Quebec, simply addresses him as "the best." "This guy just has unquestionable sincerity. Even defense counsel, while maintaining an adversarial stance to him, find it difficult to counter some of his arguments because is so persuasively sincere. I love watching him at work." Another class action specialist Maxime Nasr is also viewed as "very strong, with a big brain, bright and quick." Nasr represented Option Consommateurs, a leading Québec consumer advocate, in the class action against Volkswagen that settled for more than $2.5 billion. He also represented this client in a class action against Leon's Furniture that resulted in landmark decision on the merits that establishes for the first time that attorney-client fees can be claimed on top of damages in application of section 36 of the Competition Act. Nasr represented this client once again in an antitrust class action matter concerning foam, a matter that settled for over $38 million. Nasr is also leading a securities litigation against embattled Canadian pharmaceutical entity Valeant.

Borden Ladner Gervais’ Montréal office is home to a team dedicated to work that has been recognized as some of the firm’s key calling cards, such as construction, insurance and labor and employment. The latter practice is particularly deep in Montréal. Justine Laurier is the regional manager for this practice and has been particularly visible as one of its top advocates. Laurier triumphed on behalf of Lightspeed Commerce in May 2024, when the Superior Court of Montréal ruled in the client’s favor in a dispute concerning compensation being sought be a senior executive of the company who allegedly suffered losses in options and equity during his termination period. Karine Chênevert continues to garner acclaim for her practice that balances a diverse array of class-action matters.
     The Montréal office lays claim to a particularly high-profile and multifaceted win in an investor-state arbitral award dispute for shareholders in private India-based entity Devas, who in November 2021, initiated recognition and enforcement proceedings of two such awards mandating the Republic of India to pay over US$110 million before the Superior Court of Quebec. Because of India’s failure to honor the obligations of this award, Devas successfully seized Montréal-based assets valued at US$37.5 million. The case wound its way through a serpentine path of several court proceedings and decisions, before three appeals were heard at the Quebec Court of Appeal in December 2023. A year later, this Court issued a landmark decision in favor of the Devas investors. The case was led by Montréal luminary Mathieu Piché Messier, who remained involved until his judicial appointment in September 2024, after which Montréal future star Karine Fahmy and Toronto’s Ira Nishisato, a commercial litigator with a noted niche in injunctions, asset freezes and other extraordinary remedies, commandeered the proceedings. “If this isn’t the biggest case in Montréal at the moment, it’s certainly in the Top Three,” ventures one local peer, echoing the sentiment of others.

A Montréal plaintiff class-action shop, Consumer Law Group is largely the vehicle of Jeff Orenstein, a prolific class-action filer. “Jeff is definitely popping up in the mix, filing a lot of class actions and getting better and better at them,” claims one peer. Another notes, “Jeff takes complicated cases and is a reasonable guy. I had him in a few pharma cases, and I noticed he has become a lot more focused and pretty impressive.” Clients are equally impressed. One testifies, “All the cases that Jeff handled were successful. He was an excellent pleader in front of a judge. [He has] Good reaction time and is quick on his feet. He was an outstanding negotiator.” Orenstein has taken a role in an astonishingly prolific number of cases. Just a sample of several includes his position as one of the lead lawyers in the class action representing victims from the town that was destroyed by the oil spill and explosion, which killed 47 people. Through the bankruptcy court, the case was settled with almost all of the defendants for a global settlement amount of $460 million. Orenstein is also the lead lawyer in a class action against Amazon for sales tax charged on basic groceries, where there should be no sales tax charged (though it was for approximately seven years). Amazon has challenged the court’s jurisdiction and Orenstein recently won on this issue in the Court of Appeal. An appeal by Amazon has been filed with the Supreme Court of Canada. Orenstein is also lead counsel in a class action instituted in Québec against Ford for its miscalculation and misrepresentation of certain road-testing factors during vehicle certification testing and its use of a “Mileage Cheat Device” to misrepresent and conceal the true kilometrage of certain Ford vehicles and the vehicle emissions.

Montréal outfit Degrandpré Chait is a full-service shop that, in the litigation space, is especially noted for its real estate, tax, municipal and expropriation practices. A client voices appreciation for the firm’s “planning, preparation, analysis, strategic priorities, and communications.” In particular, Jonathan Fecteau is praised by a client as, “a great communicator who plans well, [is] organized, [is a] problem solver and a fine negotiator, [with] great anticipation of an adversary.” Fecteau represents Propriétés Sommet Prestige Inc. et Sommet Prestige Canada in proceedings for the payment of an expropriation indemnity as a result of the adoption of municipal by-laws that have the effect of blocking the creation of a residential development project and of unlawfully expropriating private land. A judgment was rendered by the Superior Court 2023 by which the disguised expropriation of the clients’ land was recognized, as well as their right to the determination of an expropriation indemnity at a second hearing. The City of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville appealed this decision by the Superior Court. The hearing with the Court of Appeal was held in May 2024. Eric Lalanne is recognized for his multifaceted commercial practice that also includes an insolvency element. “Eric is a very skilled shareholder dispute and oppression lawyer,” testifies a peer. “I have a lot of files with him. He often pops up on the other side of me and it’s like ‘OK, Eric – here we are on another file together…’, haha.”

The Montréal office of international conglomerate Dentons is engaged in several high-stakes disputes touching on elements of construction and infrastructure, class actions and franchise law. The latter of these practices is principally the domain of Margaret Weltrowska, a key member of this office’s litigation team and someone who also handles consumer class actions, privacy class actions and competition work. Weltrowska represents Amazon in the context of a class action seeking the recovery of sales tax charged and remitted to the relevant tax authorities by Amazon on goods purchased by Québec consumers that were allegedly not taxable, as well as the award of punitive damages under the Québec Consumer Protection Act. Weltrowska also defended UPS in a file in which a former client claimed $2.4 million from UPS, representing the anti-dumping and countervailing duties the former client paid to the Canada Border Services Agency following the issuance of 30 detailed adjustment statements for aluminum columns and rails imported from China. The former client alleged that UPS committed faults in providing erroneous custom broker advice and analysis on antidumping duties that misled the former client, which UPS strongly denied. Further to a week-long trial, the Superior Court dismissed the claim, with costs. Over the summer of 2020, this office also welcomed the arrival of Emil Vidracsu, formerly a star with Lavery. “Emil is a brilliant lawyer,” raves a peer. “He is very strong and brings a lot of construction litigation experience. He also has very strong Aboriginal law experience, representing Hydro Québec in several Aboriginal engagements. [There are] Billions of dollars at issue, [these are] huge files.”

A new entry into Benchmark this edition, KRB has been steadily elevating its profile in the Montréal market for its offering of litigation services primarily focused on real estate and commercial disputes. “KRB has been very aggressive in the market,” observes a peer. “I think [firm founder] Chris Karambatsos is building himself an empire! He seems to be building himself quite the firm. That ‘eat-what-you-kill’ culture doesn’t seem to be a thing there, and they all seem like they’re under 50!” Another peer observes, “The litigators there have a lot of service flow from the real estate transactional work, and a lot of these cases that are maturing in 2023 were getting started in the days when KRB was more real estate-centric. Now they are dealing with issues like ‘You close on a real estate deal, and you want to back out of it? Well, it goes sideways…’ The dollar amounts they are dealing with used to be the ceiling, and now it’s more like the floor.” Speaking to the individual litigators, Gabriel Di Genova and Matthew McLaughlin are the two most frequently identified by peers and clients. “I had a shareholder dispute with Gabriel – call him ‘Gab’ – this year, and he ultimately pleasant to deal with,” testifies a peer. A client confirms that McLaughlin “litigated a contract dispute on my behalf as plaintiff. It dealt with finance, due diligence, contracts for purchase and sale of property, corporate structures. Matthew was very detailed, experienced, organized and [used] common sense.”

Montreal’s Kugler Kandestin is noted specifically for its active plaintiff capacity. “They do a mixed bag of plaintiff work on the bodily injury side, with some leading plaintiff class action cases. They also do a lot of residential school cases,” offers one defense-side peer. Another asserts, “For plaintiffs work, they know how to win a case, push it forward and get damages. People will tell you, if you get a demand letter from them, watch out.” Brothers Robert Kugler and Stuart Kugler are observed by peers as being “quite good – they are the sons of the founder and getting some more traction but they are still too much under the radar.” Managing partner Arthur Weschler is called “a very dynamic guy and an excellent lawyer,” with one opponent noting, “I have a big case against Arthur, he is not only good, but he’s also fun to deal with. David Stolow, a prominent partner who was previously with business law powerhouse Davies Ward, leads a proposed class action relating to the massive and unprecedented data breach that Desjardins publicly reported in June 2019. It is reported that the personal data of over four million people, including corporations– comprising names, addresses, birth dates, social insurance numbers, email addresses, and information about their transaction habits – was improperly and unlawfully accessed by a former Desjardins employee and disclosed to third parties. The proposed class action, which includes all Desjardins members whose personal data was breached, alleges that Desjardins did not have a sufficient system or adequate measures in place to adequately protect its members’ personal and highly sensitive information and claims significant compensatory and punitive damages.

In McMillan's Montréal office, Éric Vallières works with Vancouver’s Joan Young for Apple in class actions brought in 2021 that seek to re-characterize the monopolization cases against Google in the US related to internet advertising and search engines into an alleged market allocation agreement with Apple whereby Apple would have agreed not to develop its own search engine. The cases cover all direct and indirect purchasers of internet search advertising services in Canada since 2005. Montréal’s Sidney Elbaz also works with Toronto’s Lisa Parliament and Vancover’s Joan Young for Mitsubishi on a consumer product liability class action that arose from alleged faulty airbag control units found in various models of Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, Honda, and Mitsubishi vehicles. The class plaintiff alleged the airbag control unit defect was common across all the manufacturers vehicles and model years, despite some models having regulatory recalls and repaired.    

Like its Ontario counterparts, Miller Thomson’s Montréal office is recognized for a broad range of litigation practices, several of which it is said to have “cornered a market” on. Fadi Amine, managing partner of this office and is a celebrated class-actions based partner, generates considerable acclaim. A peer confirms, “Fadi is on the opioids class actions. He's great!” Adina Georgescu is the head of the administrative law group and is active in expropriation, environmental and energy matters. “She has major class actions in environmental law,” confirms a peer. “She’s in a nuisance lawsuit in Brossard on the South Shore.” Stephane Trihey, a commercial litigation generalist, acts on a matter concerning the annulment of a will of Dickie Moore, the late Canadian hockey player who was also ran a successful construction equipment leasing business. Trihey represents the trustee and liquidator of Moore’s estate. Claudia Desjardins Bélisle is part of the Montréal office’s labor and employment group, a group that is said to “actually go[es] to court more often than many litigators! They act in front of many civil courts but also many administrative tribunals.” Yves Robillard, an all-purpose commercial litigator whose practice emphasizes shareholder’s disputes, is another community favorite. “He’s doing quite well on a case I have with him right now,” testifies a peer, who then concedes humorously, “OK, he’s kicking my ass, if I’m being honest.”

Celebrating seven years in business as of March 2022, Renno Vathilakis is another Montréal litigation boutique but one that follows a decidedly unconventional model. “This is not the cookie-cutter type of firm doing the routine, boring work,” notes a peer. “These guys take on whatever they want.” “Whatever they want” includes a vibrant mix of high-risk/high-reward litigation cases that range from class actions (often in the plaintiff capacity) to contentious family law cases for high-net-worth individuals. Karim Renno, a “maverick” trial lawyer who held posts at Stikeman Elliott and IMK before forging this firm, is called “very good at getting out there and getting his name around town,” by a peer. Renno’s assertive promotion is supported by his aggression in the courtroom. A peer concedes, “If you’re looking to ‘do the dance,’ you’re going to hate going against him because you’re going to get hurt. If you try to dance around him, he will sink his teeth into your legs. You literally can’t go on autopilot for a minute – Karim will always be watching you and waiting for an opening to exploit a weakness.” Renno was lead counsel representing Corporatek in a major securities case in which the opposing party is alleged to have participated in a massive Ponzi scheme and committed fraud. He was also lead counsel for Eurobank in an appeal in a $10 million case against Bombardier regarding the enforcement of international letters of credit. Michael Vathilakis also walks his own line, with a practice that combines class actions, arbitration work (including international work) and a steady stream of contentious divorce work for high-net-worth individuals requiring an independent advocate. The novel nature of Vathilakis’ practice has put him at the forefront of some cutting-edge issues; in addition to quintessential family law issues such as custody, spousal support, child support, patrimony, applicable matrimonial regime etc., the vast majority of his family law files have also entailed corporate/commercial issues. Vathilakis had the opportunity to work on a same-sex divorce between two power clients within the real estate industry. In the class actions capacity, Vathilakis has been advancing existing files and, most recently, filed the motion for bringing a class action against TD Waterhouse with respect to allegations that the bank illicitly limited trading on their platform certain securities including GameStop, Nokia and AMC amongst others. Vathilakis has drawn vocal support from some fiercely loyal clients; one testifies, “I appreciated the initial contact whereby he granted me, as he always does to new clients, a one-hour initial session free of charge, where both of us would be able to assess if our eventual relationship would be positive and hold firm. I consider this policy to be a very noble gesture on his part; I have not heard of this with other law firms in Montréal.” Speaking to Vathilakis’s approach, this client insists, “Michael sees clearly the overall picture, with a cool head, including the chances for an eventual settlement or court action, which counteracts, for the better, the shorter views of his clients, and those of opposing counsel. His sincerity is unquestionable. He has many times told me ‘Let me be upfront with you,’ which means that he has at heart the best interest of his client and the case at hand, above any personal bias for a given course of action. I feel very confident that he will do his utmost to bring about the best possible outcome, for any given case. His unbiased attitude scores very high in my book, as we have so often heard of friends complaining of expensive legal fees for little advancement in their case. This is not the case with Michael or his firm. By the way, his fees are very reasonable and comparable to other firms.” A client the divorce capacity extols, “From the moment I hired Michael, I knew I had the upper hand in what turned out to be the divorce from hell. As emotional as a divorce could be, Michael was always by my side to calm things down and to flip things over to help me see the more intelligent way of moving forward in our case in order to get the outcome we aspired for.” A third client sums up, “Montréal street smarts with Harvard pedigree. Michael is someone you want on your team in any complex litigation file.” A peer also weighs in on Vathilakis’s behalf: “Over the course of the past five years or so, I have had the opportunity to work on several cross-border pieces of commercial litigation with Michael; all with huge stakes on the line. Michael is exactly the lawyer whom you want in those moments. He is calm, rational, vested and practical. He articulates the arguments in a succinct and clear manner. He takes the time to understand everything about the issue and approaches the file with a no-nonsense demeanor. If I was in need of representation - with everything on the line - Michael would be my first choice.”

Montréal’s Spiegel Ryan rebranded from its former iteration as Spiegel Sohmer this year, continuing its position as respected commercial litigation firm that specializes in corporate law and tax work. “They get a lot of Anglophile work in Montréal,” confirms a peer. Jason Novak is viewed as one of Spiegel’s most active partners. Novak acts for the plaintiff in an action for breach of contract with a US-based defendant involving amounts exceeding $6.5 million for the plaintiff and a cross-application by the defendant exceeding $10.5 million. David Banon acts for a staffing agency in the healthcare field accused of collusion and fraud, in which he obtained a stay of execution of a decision issued by the Authorité des Marchés Publics in Québec that had removed the client from the registry of companies ineligible to enter into contracts with government entities. Novak and Banon represented two brothers in a defamation lawsuit against a Montréal lawyer and real-estate developer who accused them of stealing and living of millions of dollars in gold bars allegedly belonging to victims of the Holocaust. The Spiegel pair secured a favorable judgment by which the defendant was ordered to pay the clients several hundred thousand dollars in damages for the reputational harm.

Stikeman Elliott saw its genesis in Montréal and continues its reign as one of the city’s premier players in the commercial litigation arena. The general consensus among those in the Montréal community is summed up by one peer’s assertion: “Stikeman is by far [at] the top out of all of the national firms in Montréal, especially in the corporate commercial litigation space.” A client testifies, “They prepared a very complex case, [and it was] against an aggressive and plaintiff that used selective information to distort the truth massively.” The Montréal litigation group, widely considered one of the strongest, deepest and most consistent, is helmed by Éric Mongeau, who is universally beloved by peers and clients. One such client addresses Mongeau as “[someone who is] excellent at diving into the details of the case and leaving no rocks unturned. [He is a] Master at putting together the facts in a compelling and truthful story, and attacking (more like surgically discrediting) the opponent's logic and position.” Mongeau led a major commercial matter for a consortium of conservationist businessmen in a dispute concerning the purchase of a wilderness reserve. Mongeau triumphed on his clients’ behalf in August of 2023. Yves Martineau is another perennial favorite in the Montréal office. While Martineau has long been a leading figure in the class actions space, he has also earned his stripes as a trial lawyer, a status that was further cemented when he was welcomed as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers within the past year. “Yes, he mostly does class actions, which rarely go to trial, but Yves cut his teeth doing trials and is still considered one of the top pleaders in Montréal,” summarizes one contemporary. Peers also advise, “Keep an eye on Guillaume Boudreau-Simard. He is the younger foil to Yves in class actions.” Another peer ventures, I worked with Éric Azran on estate litigation work, and he was very involved, so although he is recognized for insurance and securities, he does more than that!” Another peer declares, “I had a very heated debate with Joseph Reynauld in an insolvency dispute and he was very sharp, very strong.” Enthusiasm is also vibrant for Pierre-Paul Daunais. “Oh, this guy is at the top of his game, without a doubt,” extols one peer. “He had a great result in a case for RBI Tim Hortons concerning an alleged privacy breach on their app.”

While a smaller and more recently forged operation, Torys’ Montréal office has been swiftly gaining profile, a phenomenon largely credited to Sylvie Rodrigue, who launched Torys in Montréal and now splits her time between the firm’s two offices. “Sylvie is still a leader in class actions,” voices a peer. “She is regarded as a senior litigator and has a reputation where she will take charge.” A client extols, “Sylvie is an excellent client-relationship manager and a great communicator. She always had a response to the opposition, and she did an incredible job representing me.” Rodrigue is representing Laurentian Bank in a proposed securities class action in Québec alleging primary and secondary market misrepresentations by the bank concerning disclosures related to irregularities in its securitization activities, quality-control processes and underwriting procedures. Torys made a substantial augmentation to its Montréal office and its overall class actions capacity with the addition of Anne Merminod, a rising star in the class actions bar who joined the firm from Borden Ladner Gervais in mid-2024. “This is a big deal,” voices one peer, summing up the general consensus. “Anne has become a real force in class actions. She will be there to eventually take over from Sylvie and will be a powerful duo with her in the meantime.” Julie Himo is the group’s specialist on privacy and cyber-security issues. A peer confides, “It’s not necessarily fun to be against Julie – she is a fierce advocate!”

Montréal boutique Woods is revered not only as one of the strongest boutiques in the city but one of the strongest litigation groups of any firm in Québec. Perhaps even more impressive is how the firm has etched itself this position while remaining the most unanimously revered in terms of collegiality as well. “Of course, we see Woods all the time,” states one peer, “but they are really more friends than competitors.” Another concurs, “Woods will always be there, small dispute, big dispute – it doesn’t matter. They always seem to be on mandates all the time.” Speaking to the firm’s individual team members, one peer sums up, “I see them a lot, and you can always spot a Woods lawyer. There’s just a level of confidence there.”
      One such individual standout, Cara Cameron, who joined the firm last year, is unanimously cheered. “She’s a great hire, [has] great personality, but make no mistake – she is a trial force.” Cameron is co-counsel representing Innu Nation in an intervention in a proceeding before the Superior Court of Montreal instituted  by several Quebec Innu bands seeking more than $2 billion in compensation from Hydro-Québec and Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation Limited for the adverse impact on their aboriginal title lands and rights resulting from the Churchill Falls hydro-electric project. A peer offers, “Cara is not known as an ‘aboriginal lawyer,’ right? It doesn’t matter – with her skills, she can handle this work as well as anyone with more subject-matter expertise.” Eric Bedard and Richard Vachon representation of Quebecor Media and Videotron before the Supreme Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal in appeals from a regulatory policy decision of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission related to the development of 5G wireless networks. “That’s a big deal for Eric,” states a contemporary, who goes on to quip, “He’s giving me FOMO because I’m not even doing Supreme Court work, and I’m older than him!” Three future stars – Alexandre Baril-Furino, Marie-Pier Cloutier and Olivier Archambault-Lafond – make their debut in this edition, adding further evidence to the firm’s strategy of generational growth. “Olivier is one of the few people who does defamation,” declares a peer. “He also has an expertise with technical matters.” One of the firm’s more senior partners, Stephen Drymer is still active in a practice that juggles counsel and neutral work on a diverse array of novel matters. One peer ventures, “Stephen Drymer is one of Canada’s – and the world’s – top arbitrators for investment treaty work!” Another peer insists, “Ask Stephen about his sunken treasure case!” (This matter involves a US company that is pursuing a US$10 billion investment treaty claim against Colombia over treasure in the wreck of a Spanish galleon that sank off the coast of Cartagena more than300 years ago.)