Canadian Lawyer

32 M A R C H 2 0 1 6 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m Total lawyers: 182 Lawyers by office: Montreal, 39; Quebec City, 34; Saguenay, 35; Alma, 4; Roberval, 3; Saint-Félicien, 2; Sherbrooke, 10; Drum- mondville, 7; Plessisville, 1; Rimouski, 10; Rivière-du Loup, 7; Amqui, 1; Sept-Îles, 7; Val-d'Or, 12; Rouyn-Noranda, 6; Amos, 2; Saint-Georges, 2 Core practice areas: Commercial and corporate affairs; bank- ing and finance; labour and employment law; native affairs; public administration (health and social services, municipal affairs, and institutional affairs) Key clients: Financial institutions, public administration (health- care institutions, municipalities, public institutions), First Nations, telecommunications carriers, transportation companies, and com- panies operating in the energy and natural resources sector Notable mandates: The firm's native affairs team worked on a number of pre-development agreements between First Nations and mining companies with regard to the explora- tion and mining of rare earth deposits in northern Quebec. The team was also involved in negotiating various social and economic partnership agreements for certain First Nations groups. Cain Lamarre also obtained several favourable rul- ings in high-profile defamation, labour law, education law, procedural law, contractual law, and constitutional lawsuits. In addition, the firm won a Superior Court ruling in the highly publicized case Investissements Novacap et TELUS Québec inc. c. VIDÉOTRON. Star alumni: Canadian ambassador to France and former Que- bec premier Lucien Bouchard; a long list of judges of the Quebec Superior Court Affiliations: TAGLaw The firm: Cain Lamarre is the result of the merger in 1999 of three well-established firms. Cain Lamarre Wells, founded in 1928 in Chicoutimi, was the oldest law firm in Saguenay/ Lac-Saint-Jean. Gauthier Nepveu Leblanc Brouillette, which opened its doors in Sept-Îles in 1951, was one of the most important players in the development of the North Shore, and Casgrain Desrosiers Lévesque Bujold Villeneuve, a trusted name in Rimouski since 1877, was one of Canada's oldest law firms. The new firm that emerged set up shop in Montreal and Quebec City before opening offices across Quebec, positioning itself to serve all clients working in vari- ous sectors in the province. The lawyers at the firm, formerly known as Cain Lamarre Casgrain Wells LLP, possess "atten- tion to detail combined with excellent legal skills," according to a survey respondent. Total lawyers: 153 Lawyers by office: Montreal, 107; Québec City, 41; Sept-Îles, 2; Barbados, 3 Core practice areas: Mergers and acquisitions; domestic and international taxation; real estate; commercial litigation; intellectual property Key clients: Distech Controls Inc.; Librairie Renaud-Bray Inc.; Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. Notable mandates: BCF represented Distech Controls Inc. in the sale of all of its issued and outstanding shares to Acu- ity Brands Lighting Inc. It also represented a subsidiary of Groupe Renaud-Bray Inc. with respect to its acquisition of the 14 Archambault stores and Paragraphe Books from Groupe Archambault Inc. The firm also acted for Premium- Beat.com in connection with its sale to Shutterstock. Star alumni: Bernard Tremblay and Simon Ruel, puisne judges of the Superior Court of Québec Affiliations: Meritas The firm: BCF was established in Montreal in 1995 as Brouil- lette Charpentier Fournier. Its nine founders were "deter- mined to transform the way business law was practised," says BCF. The firm grew quickly and launched a second office in Québec City in 2001, and four years later, it changed its name to BCF. In 2011, BCF opened an office in Barbados, and expanded again last year when it took on a group of 26 former Heenan Blaikie LLP lawyers. The firm says it's gained the trust of clients across a range of sectors in Canada and internationally. Survey respondents pointed out quick turn- around and commitment to clients as two of BCF's strongest suits. BCF LLP BCF.CA 3 4 CAIN LAMARRE LLP CLCW.CA

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