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w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A P R I L 2 0 1 8 9 He also chairs the Barreau's committee on class actions, which has been quietly lobbying for the creation of the new divi- sion, and organizes Canada's most high- profile annual conference on the subject, which took place in March in Montreal. According to Saint-Onge, the 10 judges who have been tapped for the new group are the most experienced Superior Court justices in class action cases in Montreal. He says several of them, includ- ing Donald Bisson, Chantal Chatelain, Gary Morrison and Chantal Tremblay, also worked extensively in class actions before being named to the bench. "They are the most comfortable with class actions," says Saint-Onge. The new division, he adds, will help the 10 judges deal with the specific rules of proce- dure that make the first certification or authorization stage a complex area of law in of itself. "The growing number and complexity of cross-border and multi-jurisdictional cases means case law is evolving all the time," says Saint-Onge. "We need judges with an up-to-date, overall picture of class actions and who know the players." He says a letter sent to the justices in early February by Quebec Barreau presi- dent Paul-Matthieu Grondin that praises the initiative and offers the regulator's "col- laboration to help ensure its success" also reflects the positive reactions he's heard from Quebec lawyers in the field of class action. "I haven't heard anything negative," says Saint-Onge. For Vincent de l'Étoile, a partner in Langlois's litigation group, who works almost exclusively defending class actions for large corporate clients in Quebec and across Canada, the new division will almost certainly help the system deal more efficiently and predictably with the increasing number of cases. But he says there is a risk that over time the 10 judges could develop a stringent jurisprudence that could "do away with the legal intricacies of cases and formulate an approach that will not be applicable to all cases." He also believes the advent of the new division — and the fact that the judge will change if and when autho- rization is granted — means lawyers will likely change their courtroom approach in the pre-authorization stage. "I think lawyers will feel less a need to build relationships with judges from day one and educate the court by explaining what the case is all about," says de l'Étoile. "Arguments will likely become more succinct." — MARK CARDWELL \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP Vincent de l'Étoile A World Leader in Lifelong Law School Learning Osgoode Professional Development brings together top legal and professional experts each year to deliver over 100 programs on the latest legal issues. Find your program at osgoodepd.ca/2018cpd OSGOODE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION Learn from leading minds. ntitled-1 1 2018-03-14 10:36 AM

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