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1 Lavery de Billy Total Lawyers: 170 Lawyers by Office: Montreal, 147; Quebec City, 20; Ottawa, 3 Core Practice Areas: business law; financing and finan- cial services; litigation and dispute resolution; labour and employment law; environment, energy, and natural resources Key Clients: Hydro-Québec, National Bank of Canada, Canadian National Railway Co., SNC-Lavalin Inc., Osisko Mining Corp., Goodyear Canada Inc. Notable Mandates: acted for the purchaser in the sale of the Montreal Canadiens, the Bell Centre, and its related businesses to a group of investors headed by the Molson brothers; helped Osisko Mining complete a pair of prospectus offerings for proceeds of more than $552 million and an offering of convertible debentures for a total capital of $75 million; acted for Industrial Alliance, Insurance and Financial Services Inc. in connection with the issuance of $100 million of debentures and a public offering of shares that brought in $100 million Star Alumni: Justice Lorne Giroux of the Quebec Court of Appeal; Justice Jacques Chamberland of the Quebec Court of Appeal; Sean Finn, executive vice president, corporate services and chief legal officer of Canadian National Railway; Donald McCarty, vice president, law, general counsel, and secretary of Imperial Tobacco Canada; Pamela McGovern, general counsel of Hydro-Québec Affiliations: World Services Group The Firm: Lavery de Billy traces its roots to 1979, when Montreal firms O'Brien Smyth Guilbault Pryde Courtois and Lavery Johnston O'Donnell Clark Carrière Mason & Associés merged to become Lavery O'Brien. In 1991, the firm joined forces with Quebec City's Gagnon de Billy Cantin Beaudoin Lesage & Associés, adopting the moniker Lavery de Billy. More than 30 lawyers from the now defunct Desjardins Ducharme law firm joined Lavery in 2007, bulking up its business law and commer- cial litigation groups. Voters cited a wide range of reasons for supporting Lavery, pointing specifically to the firm's prompt and reli- able service, breadth of legal expertise, and strong client base. "The lawyers I have dealt with at Lavery de Billy have been excellent," wrote one respondent. "They have quickly understood the legal issues raised and have been very responsive in replying to our requests." The firm's chairman, Richard Dolan, says its roots in the Quebec marketplace make a difference when it comes to attracting work. "With our deep understanding of the Quebec marketplace, and our very active partici- pation in the business community . . . I think it gives us a bit of an edge." Langlois Kronström Desjardins LLP Total Lawyers: 90 Lawyers by Office: Quebec City, 53; Montreal, 37 Core Practice Areas: business law; civil and commercial litigation; labour and administrative law; public and private real estate law; maritime and admiralty law Key Clients: AXA Assurances Inc., Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd., Banque Nationale du Canada, BCE Inc., TELUS Communications Co., WestJet Notable Mandates: acted successfully for an intervening shareholder at the Supreme Court of Canada in its deci- sion approving the proposed privatization of BCE; secured the court dismissal of a class action against Canadian Tire, which alleged the company was part of a gas price-fixing cartel; acted for AstraZeneca Canada Inc. in successfully denying a motion to certify a class action lawsuit in the Quebec Superior Court Star Alumni: Quebec Chief Justice Michel Robert; Quebec Court of Appeal justice René Dussault; Quebec Superior Court Justice Bernard Godbout former 2 Affiliations: working relationships with firms across Canada and the world to facilitate referrals The Firm: Established following the 2003 merger of Kronström Desjardins in Quebec City and Lévis, and Langlois Gaudreau in Montreal and Quebec City. Langlois Gaudreau dated back to 1916 as the firm of William Morin, who part- nered with Léopold Langlois in 1957. Kronström Desjardins, as it became known in 1992, was founded in Lévis in 1936 by Roger Kronström. The firm shuttered its Lévis office in June. Voters credited the firm for the quality of its lawyers and mandates. One said its lawyers garner respect for "the excellence of their services in the various fields (insurance, litigation, labour and administrative law, maritime), and their ability to take advantage of the synergies between their vari- ous fields of practice in a particular file." Michel Beaupré, a member of the firm's executive com- mittee, says it turns to its lawyers to continue attracting work. "We rely a lot on the entrepreneurship sense of our lawyers," he says. "We greatly . . . encourage it." www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com JULY 2010 37 (lavery .ca) (lkd.ca)