Louis Seveno, a partner at Woods LLP, specializes in high-stakes civil and commercial litigation and arbitration. He acts in cases involving Canadian and foreign corporations and dealing with local, cross-border or multi-jurisdictional issues. Admitted to the bars of Québec, Ontario and New York, he appears before trial and appellate courts, as well as before domestic and international arbitral tribunals.
A versatile litigator, Louis practices mainly in contractual disputes, corporate and shareholder litigation, insolvency, employment law, professional liability, class actions, private international law, and injunctive proceedings. He has acquired substantial expertise in construction and PPP disputes.
Louis is recognized as a leading litigator by the Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory and Best Lawyers in Canada and has been listed as one of Canada’s leading infrastructure lawyers in the 2020 Lexpert Special Edition: Infrastructure. In 2020, Louis was named Next-Generation Partner by The Legal 500 and won the prestigious Rising Star award from Lexpert.
He sits on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Canadian Bar Association, Québec Division, including various ad hoc committees. He is a guest lecturer at the Université de Montréal (Civil Litigation Workshop) and McGill University (Law for Architects and Engineers), and he frequently offers pro bono services. Louis is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
Representative cases include:
- Obtained an arbitral award over $450M USD as co-counsel to Bayer in an ICC arbitration (confirmed: US Federal Circuit) against Dow Chemicals for breach of a patent licensing agreement.
- Obtained an arbitration award and judgments totaling more than $20 million against Benjamin News and related persons, notably for misrepresenting the company’s solvency during an asset sale.
- Obtained Mareva-type orders against a complex network of entities and individuals, and the recognition of a bankruptcy in New York. Is overseeing asset realization in several jurisdictions and contesting undervalued transactions for Canadian trustees EY and Houle Roy.
- Obtained, from the Quebec Court of Appeals, a landmark decision clarifying the protections afforded to subjects of Anton Piller seizure orders.
- Representing constructors and facility managers in various claims stemming from three PPP projects, including claims for defects, cost overruns, contractual penalties and security packages.
- Defended against various motions for provisional and interlocutory injunctions seeking to prevent new employees/partners from working for competing employers/businesses on the basis of non-compete clauses, alleged confidentiality or data breaches, and/or the duty of loyalty.
- Obtained injunction orders against a CEO to investigate embezzlement and prevent oppression.
- Defended a forensic accounting firm against a motion seeking to stay an administrative investigation following allegations of conflicts of interest.
Updated April 2024
