Canadian Lawyer

38 M A R C H 2 0 1 8 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: 75 Lawyers by office: Montreal, 75 Key clients: BTB Real Estate Investment Trust; Intact Insurance; Weston/Loblaw/Provigo; TD Bank; AGF Group; Walmart Canada Corp; Otera Capital Inc.; First National Financial Core practice areas and notable mandates: real estate; litigation; taxation; construction; business law Recently, De Grandpré Chait has represented the Manufacturers Life Insurance Company in a mortgage financing of $148 million in favour of Place Dupuis Commercial Trust and 888 De Maisonneuve Commer- cial Trust for a mixed office and retail complex. The firm also assisted SilverBirch/Leadon in the acquisition and financing of a portfolio of hotels throughout Canada, including two properties in Quebec, for a total of $1 billion. In the past, De Grandpré Chait represented a group comprised of Canderel, the Montreal Canadiens and the real estate investment arm of the FTQ in connection with its participation in the 438-unit, 37-storey Tour des Canadiens 2 residential condominium project in downtown Montreal. The firm is involved in an appeal proceeding before the Supreme Court of Canada on the fundamental issue regarding the possibility for a Quebec court to order the expropriation of a land being taken by pub- lic authority in virtue of its urban planning and environmental statutory powers. De Grandpré Chait protects owners of commercial, industrial and office properties affected by expropriation proceedings as part of the new Rail Network System, a $7-billion project. De Grandpré Chait has represented a client involved in the biggest tax fraud case in Quebec and successfully obtained a Jordan ruling in the file of Revenu Québec against Métaux Kitco. De Grandpré Chait is currently representing the KPH-Turcot con- sortium, the design builder of the new Turcot Interchange, an infra- structure project worth $1.5 billion. Star alumni: ten former De Grandpré lawyers have gone on to become judges, including Québec Superior Court justices Christiane Alary, Martin Castonguay, Carol Cohen, Pierre Labelle and Yves Poirier, and Court of Québec justices Normand Amyot, Daniel Bourgeois, Gilles Lareau, Vincent Piazza and Christian Tremblay. Others have left to pursue notable roles within major organizations, such as Steve McInnes, director of the legal department of the Université de Montréal Affiliations: Interlaw and Lexwork International The firm: De Grandpré Chait is the result of the 1999 merger between De Grandpré Godin and Chait Amyot. In 1928, Samuel Chait started practising real estate law. Following the consolidation of five Montreal- based firms, Pierre De Grandpré founded De Grandpré Godin in 1966. Today, after 90 years of existence, De Grandpré Chait is a full-service firm offering legal services, which include real estate law, taxation, construction law, commercial litigation, business law, bankruptcy, insol- vency and restructuring, municipal law, environmental law, banking law, insurance law, intellectual property law, labour and employment law and debt recovery. "The firm constantly strives for the excellence of its services and the satisfaction of its clients and never stopped to try to upgrade its services and efficiency." "DGP has excellent attorneys, who act quickly and in their clients' best interest!" "The firm has substantial representation of both francophone and anglophone lawyers." Total lawyers: 191 Lawyers by office: Montreal, 37; Quebec City, 37; Saguenay, 36; Alma, 4; Roberval, 3; Saint-Félicien, 2; Sherbrooke, 9; Drummondville, 11; Plessisville, 1; Rimouski, 10; Rivière-du Loup, 7; Sept-Îles, 7; Val-d'Or, 15; Rouyn-Noranda, 5; Amos, 1; Saint-Georges, 3; St-Raymond de Port- neuf, 1; Lac-Mégantic, 1; St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, 1 Core practice areas and notable mandates: Commercial and cor- porate affairs; banking and finance; labour and employment law; trans- portation; municipal affairs; environment law; aboriginal law; public administration The firm's aboriginal law team worked on a number of pre-develop- ment agreements between First Nations and mining companies with regard to the exploration and mining in northern Quebec. The firm was also involved in negotiating various social and economic partnership agreements for First Nations groups. Cain Lamarre also obtained several favourable rulings 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 Inves- tissements Novacap et TELUS Québec inc. c. VIDÉOTRON. Key clients: financial institutions, public administration (health-care institutions, municipalities, public institutions), First Nations, telecom- munications carriers, transportation companies and companies operat- ing in the energy and natural resources sector. Star alumni: Canadian ambassador to France and former Quebec pre- mier Lucien Bouchard; several judges of the Quebec Superior Court, including Isabelle Breton, France Bergeron, Nicole Tremblay, Pierre Simard, Carl Lachance, Robert Dufresne, Jacques Babin, Martin Dal- laire, Michaël Cain and Charles Ouellet 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 Chi- coutimi, was the oldest law firm in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean. Gauthier Nepveu Leblanc Brouillette, which opened its doors in Sept-Îles in 1951, was a player in the development of the North Shore and Casgrain Des- rosiers 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 various sectors in the province. "Outstanding client service and expertise, combined with excellent coverage of the regions of Quebec." "Good client base, best geographical position, full-service firm." CAIN LAMARRE LLP CAINLAMARRE.CA DE GRANDPRÉ CHAIT DEGRANDPRECHAIT.COM 4 5

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