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.

The Montréal office of Borden Ladner Gervais is identified by peers as “one of the strongest of a national firm in this city in what they do.” The “what they do” particularly references class actions, construction and insurance, all areas in which this office is said to have excelled. “BLG just has the sheer strength in numbers,” observes one Montréal peer. “They just have so many litigators that they can take on anything. Karine Chenevert just got her Ad. E [lawyer emeritus of the Québec bar] two weeks ago [in October 2023]. She’s a young class action practitioner, she and [fellow class-action practitioner] Anne Merminod are a formidable duo.” Another concurs, “BLG has done exceptionally well in class actions, with a new generation of people. Karine Chenevert and Anne Merminod are now lead counsel on these class actions. Anne is working on cases concerning opioids, and we also see Stephane Pitre working with Anne a lot.” Still another insists, “I have a case against Anne right now, so we’re fighting all the time, but I recognize talent when I see it.” Beyond these primary practice calling cards, Borden Ladner demonstrates strength in other areas. All-purpose trial lawyer Mathieu Piché-Messier continues to be a perennial favorite among peers. A noted “fixer” and 2018 entrant into the American College of Trial Lawyers, Piché-Messier’s litigation palette covers a broad spectrum, with many of his most recent high-profile cases touching on “extraordinary remedies,” which have gained media interest. “Mathieu is still ‘the man’ over there,” asserts one peer, “which is extraordinary, as he’s still quite young! He can do it all, but especially injunctions, he’s the ‘the guy.’” The Montréal office also demonstrates talent development at an even younger scale. One peer testifies, “I’m having cases against all lawyers of BLG, and I would refer you specifically to Hugo Saint Laurent. He was recently called to partner, and I think he deserves it. We’re involved in a case concerning the Montreal transit, related to a major project at the Societe Transport of Montreal involving the integration of a talent-management software. Hugo represents Bell Canada in this, and I think he’s doing a great job and is on the right path to victory.”

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.

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.”

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 the Toronto office of McMillan, Brett Harrison represents Citibank in bringing an application before the Ontario Superior Court for certain relief against a high-profile Mexican high net worth individual and his related-investment vehicles. The bank sought disclosure regarding a global investment structure that includes Canadian partnerships, Delaware LLCs and Cayman segregated portfolio corporations to hold Spanish real estate investments. Jeffrey Levine, along with Stephen Brown-Okruhlik and Samantha Gordon, represents cannabis market entity iAnthus in defending a secondary-market securities class action alleging misrepresentations arising from public disclosure. The case involves allegations of various misrepresentations by iAnthus and its leadership. The claim involves alleged losses to investors during a period when iAnthus’ market capitalization fell by over $100 million. The McMillan team successfully opposed a motion seeking broad pre-discovery production in connection with the plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed with the statutory claim.

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 Sohmer makes its debut in this edition of Benchmark Canada on the strength of some vibrant peer and client review attesting to the gravity of its activity and visibility. “Spiegel Sohmer is a respected commercial litigation firm that have some senior officers that have been around,” testifies one peer. “They specialize in corporate law and also do some tax work. They get a lot of Anglophile work in Montréal. We see Jason Novak and Barry Landy a good deal.” Novak, a “versatile and personable” commercial litigator, is lauded by a client as someone who “provides excellent service, goes beyond and moves fast.” Charlotte Oger-Chambonnet brings a high-stakes family law element, a burgeoning practice that has gained increasing traction among clients. One client offers effusive praise on her behalf: “Charlotte represented me in my divorce. I received excellent services and advice to my difficult times. She is now helping me with a custody dispute. She is very available despite my demanding work hours. She has made herself available several times for several hours on Saturday nights. For urgent matters, she was able to go to court quickly and get a court ruling to help protect me. She counseled me very well – I just wish I had listened to her more closely and followed her instructions! Charlotte is very efficient and organized and is an excellent writer in both French and English. She works well as a leader and team player, she is calm but aggressive when she needs to be.”

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 Beaudreault-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.”

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.” A client declares, “Woods is the firm to go to for the cases that tend to go the distance and don’t settle.” With an enviable degree of bench strength – with a healthy percentage of its staff ranked as litigation stars – Woods has also demonstrated its ability to reinvent and reinvigorate itself, with many of its stars “at the younger end, only in their forties.” One peer observes, “The beauty of firms like Woods is that the founding partners, all of whom have either retired or are close to it, have built something that can visibly outlast them.”
     Indeed, the firm made a substantial coup this past year when it brought on Cara Cameron, a versatile marquis litigator who left the Montréal office of Davies to join. “Cara is a good lawyer and goes to trial often,” states a peer. “She’s not afraid to go to court, and she does a lot of a white-collar work.” Cameron is acting as co-counsel representing Innu Nation in an intervention in a proceeding before the Superior Court of Montreal instituted  by several Québec Innu bands seeking more than $2 billion in compensation from Hydro-Québec and Churchill Falls for the adverse impact on their aboriginal title lands and rights resulting from the Churchill Falls hydro-electric project. Marie-Louise Delisle and Sebastian Pyzik are representing AECOM in a legal action against the City of Montréal and the City of Gatineau. This case, valued at $11 million, centers on allegations of collusion, an area that the Quebec Government enacted legislation to remedy in the wake of the high-profile Charbonneau Commission inquiry concerning cities affected by collusion in the construction industry. A team composed of Delisle, Louis Seveno and Richard Vachon is acting for Health Montreal Collective CJV, L.P. in over 30 disputes against a variety of commercial parties, concerning the construction and design of the CHUM mega-hospital PPP project, valued at more than $2 billion CAD. These disputes involve project delays, alleged defects and remedial works, security packages and project certification, as well as associated penalties, deductions and contractual claims. Eric Bedard represented the National Bank of Canada before the Supreme Court of Canada in November 2023 against a Greek bank seeking to enforce a letter of counter-guarantee issued at the behest of Bombardier for firefighting aircraft and an offset contact, against a backdrop of conduct that has been qualified of fraudulent by courts below regarding the Greek Ministry of Defense and of a high-profile ICC arbitration seated in Paris. The Québec courts below ruled in favor of the respondent Bombardier confirming the arbitration award. A peer weighs in on behalf of Alex Dobrota, confirming, “I work with him a lot, and clients have been very happy with his work.” Stephen Drymer is a longtime lauded figure in the arbitration arena, with much of this being international in nature. “Stephen is the best, and is doing a lot of neutral arbitrator work,” insists a peer. “Ask him 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 than 300 years ago.)