Canadian Lawyer

30 N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m of the Quebec City youth wing and of the bar section, presented herself as a voice for the little guy, a reformer who would, as she put it, "open the windows at the bar and let fresh air in." She promised to reduce the bar's $42-million budget by cutting projects, training, and conferences that she said "have nothing to do the needs of our mem- bers [and] always involve the same 500 lawyers who gravitate around the bar." She also promised to make a 40-per-cent cut in the bâtonnier's annual salary — to $185,000 from $303,000 — to bring it more into line with what Superior Court judges in Quebec are paid. Khuong pledged to pass those savings on to members by lowering their $1,200 annual fees by $140 in her first year in office, and to reduce insurance premiums, which can be onerous for small firms. She also promised to make legal fees afford- able, and to pressure government to reduce delays in the justice system. Deshaies, a labour law specialist with the Montreal office of Gowlings who served as bâtonnier of the Barreau du Montréal in 2013-14, presented a five-point platform that notably promised to defend the inter- ests of young lawyers, and to modernize bar practices through a "technological turn." He also headed a seven-member team of candidates for the 12 board positions that included Asselin, Antoine Aylwin (Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP), Thomas Davis (Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP), Rima Kayssi (Bernard Roy Justice Qué- bec), Jamilla Leboeuf Rinow (BNP Pari- bas), Maryse Dubé (Sylvestre & Associés s.e.n.c.r.l. and president of the Richelieu bar section), and Robert Poitras (president of the Bedford bar section). Both camps worked hard to reach law- yers across the province, using e-mails, tele- phone calls, and social media. In late April, a week before the vote, Khuong lodged a complaint after Deshaies e-mailed a list of lawyers who supposedly supported his campaign, but which included the names of a half-dozen prominent Khuong support- ers. The complaint, which led to Deshaies having to send out an erratum update, and a related kerfuffle when two mem- bers of the barreau's electoral committee were found to be friends with Deshaies on Facebook, attracted media attention with sensational headlines like, 'It's war in the bar's election,' and 'A Montreal-Quebec duel at the bar,' a reference to the eternal rivalry between Quebec's two biggest cities. In the end, nearly two-thirds of the lawyers who voted opted for Khuong. "I thought she had more experience and cam- paigned hard," said Louis Fortier, a legal translator in Sherbrooke and a part-time law professor at Université Laval in Quebec City. "I voted for her and was happy to see her elected." Formal legal demand On July 9, Khuong sent a legal notice to the barreau, formally demanding a public apology and reinstatement. But the board wasn't backing down. The same day it passed a resolution to create a three-mem- ber ad hoc committee headed by former Quebec Appeal Court judge Paul-Arthur Gendreau to "study the situation," replac- ing the four-member ethics committee the board had struck with the same task a week earlier, on July 2, but whose members At DW 2 , we pride ourselves on delivering the very best in IP/IT thinking on technology, pharma or copyright matters to your clients. Green really is the new gold. DWW.com Lawyers, Patent & Trademark Agents The gold standard in IP is now Green. Untitled-5 1 2015-10-26 12:17 PM

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