Headquarters:
2000 McGill College Ave., Suite 1700, Montreal, Quebec,
H3A 3H3 Canada
Year founded:
1995
Number of employees:
12 partners, 70 employees including administrative staff
Phone:
514 982 4545
Email:
general@woods.qc.ca
Website:
woods.qc.ca/home
LinkedIn:
ca.linkedin.com/company/woods-llp
“Other firms may be larger, but when you look at those who specialize in corporate or commercial litigation, we’re a top-rated firm”
Caroline Biron,
Woods LLP
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WOODS LLP
Caroline Biron
Managing Partner
Patrick Ouellet
Partner
Stephen L. Drymer
Partner
Leadership
Caroline Biron has been practicing commercial and corporate litigation since her admission to the Quebec Bar in 1992. She has pleaded before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Superior Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court, as well as several administrative and arbitration tribunals. She has successfully represented public and private companies as well as their officers, directors, shareholders, and auditors in the context of complex litigation arising out of complex commercial agreements, breach of contract, false representations, fraud and cybersecurity breaches, shareholders’ disputes, executive terminations, mergers and acquisitions, professional liability, governance, and insurance issues.
Managing Partner
Caroline Biron
A prominent litigator in Quebec, Patrick Ouellet is renowned for his expertise and experience in large-scale litigation and dispute resolution in a variety of industries. He has a reputation for achieving concrete and favourable results before Quebec trial and appeal courts, administrative and arbitration tribunals, and the Supreme Court of Canada. He is active in commercial, civil and corporate litigation. He has extensive expertise in securities, telecommunications, class actions, construction, D&O liability and shareholder disputes, in which he leads several significant cases.
Partner
Patrick Ouellet
Stephen L. Drymer is a partner and head of the firm’s international arbitration practice. A litigator and advocate by background and experience, he now practices almost exclusively in the area of domestic and international arbitration and dispute resolution. Drymer acts as counsel, and serves as arbitrator and mediator, in domestic and international commercial and investment treaty disputes. He also advises parties on a broad range of issues associated with the design, negotiation, drafting and implementation of dispute resolution agreements and strategies.
Partner
Stephen L. Drymer
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WOODS LLP
Richard Vachon
Partner
Patrick Ouellet
Partner
Caroline Biron
Managing Partner
Leadership
Headquarters:
2000 McGill College Ave., Suite 1700, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 3H3 Canada
Year founded:
1995
Number of employees:
12 partners, 70 employees including administrative staff
Phone:
514 982 4545
Email:
general@woods.qc.ca
Website:
woods.qc.ca/home
LinkedIn:
ca.linkedin.com/company/woods-llp
Caroline Biron has been practicing commercial and corporate litigation since her admission to the Quebec Bar in 1992. She has pleaded before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Superior Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court, as well as several administrative and arbitration tribunals. She has successfully represented public and private companies as well as their officers, directors, shareholders, and auditors in the context of complex litigation arising out of complex commercial agreements, breach of contract, false representations, fraud and cybersecurity breaches, shareholders’ disputes, executive terminations, mergers and acquisitions, professional liability, governance, and insurance issues.
Managing Partner
Caroline Biron
A prominent litigator in Quebec, Patrick Ouellet is renowned for his expertise and experience in large-scale litigation and dispute resolution in a variety of industries. He has a reputation for achieving concrete and favourable results before Quebec trial and appeal courts, administrative and arbitration tribunals, and the Supreme Court of Canada. He is active in commercial, civil and corporate litigation. He has extensive expertise in securities, telecommunications, class actions, construction, D&O liability and shareholder disputes, in which he leads several significant cases.
Partner
Patrick Ouellet
Richard Vachon practices predominantly in the fields of civil and commercial litigation, including class actions, securities litigation, defamation, and employment law since his admission to the Quebec bar in 2002. He pleads regularly before the courts of first instance and the Court of Appeal of Quebec, as well as arbitration tribunals. He is praised for his strategic approach to the litigation process in matters of utmost importance to his clients, as well as for his skill in managing legal teams in some of the firm’s largest and most complex cases.
Partner
Richard Vachon
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Woods LLP
Bogdan Catanu
Partner
Patrick Ouellet
Partner
Caroline Biron
Managing Partner
Leadership
Headquarters:
2000 McGill College Ave., Suite 1700, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 3H3 Canada
Year founded:
1995
Number of employees:
12 partners, 70 employees including administrative staff
Phone:
604 891 2405
Email:
general@woods.qc.ca
Website:
woods.qc.ca/home
LinkedIn:
ca.linkedin.com/company/woods-llp
SPECIAL REPORT
Home
Bio
Managing Partner
Caroline Biron
A prominent litigator in Quebec, Patrick Ouellet is renowned for his expertise and experience in large-scale litigation and dispute resolution in a variety of industries. He has a reputation for achieving concrete and favourable results before Quebec trial and appeal courts, administrative and arbitration tribunals, and the Supreme Court of Canada. He is active in commercial, civil and corporate litigation. He has extensive expertise in securities, telecommunications, class actions, construction, D&O liability and shareholder disputes, in which he leads several significant cases.
Partner
Patrick Ouellet
Richard Vachon practices predominantly in the fields of civil and commercial litigation, including class actions, securities litigation, defamation, and employment law since his admission to the Quebec bar in 2002. He pleads regularly before the courts of first instance and the Court of Appeal of Quebec, as well as arbitration tribunals. He is praised for his strategic approach to the litigation process in matters of utmost importance to his clients, as well as for his skill in managing legal teams in some of the firm’s largest and most complex cases.
Partner
Richard Vachon
Richard Vachon
Partner
Richard Vachon practices predominantly in the fields of civil and commercial litigation, including class actions, securities litigation, defamation, and employment law since his admission to the Quebec bar in 2002. He pleads regularly before the courts of first instance and the Court of Appeal of Quebec, as well as arbitration tribunals. He is praised for his strategic approach to the litigation process in matters of utmost importance to his clients, as well as for his skill in managing legal teams in some of the firm’s largest and most complex cases.
Partner
Richard Vachon
Stephen L. Drymer
Partner
Stephen L. Drymer is a partner and head of the firm’s international arbitration practice. A litigator and advocate by background and experience, he now practices almost exclusively in the area of domestic and international arbitration and dispute resolution. Drymer acts as counsel, and serves as arbitrator and mediator, in domestic and international commercial and investment treaty disputes. He also advises parties on a broad range of issues associated with the design, negotiation, drafting and implementation of dispute resolution agreements and strategies.
Partner
Stephen L. Drymer
Stephen L. Drymer
Partner
Stephen L. Drymer is a partner and head of the firm’s international arbitration practice. A litigator and advocate by background and experience, he now practices almost exclusively in the area of domestic and international arbitration and dispute resolution. Drymer acts as counsel, and serves as arbitrator and mediator, in domestic and international commercial and investment treaty disputes. He also advises parties on a broad range of issues associated with the design, negotiation, drafting and implementation of dispute resolution agreements and strategies.
Partner
Stephen L. Drymer
Bogdan Catanu
Partner
Bodgan Catanu’s practice focuses on complex commercial disputes with extensive experience in high-stakes contractual matters, class actions, and corporate litigation. He has pleaded before the first instance and appeal tribunals of the province of Quebec. He acted as lead counsel in several commercial arbitrations, notably a $200-million supplier–distributor UNCITRAL arbitration. He was recently co-lead counsel for certain bondholders of Nemaska Lithium in claiming a $93-million make-whole payment. He played a leading role in defending BCE’s privatization worth approximately $52 billion against a challenge by bondholders. He later defended the purchasers sued by BCE for a $1.2-billion break fee. He also participated significantly in the ABCP market litigation.
Partner
Bogdan Catanu
Bogdan Catanu
Partner
Bodgan Catanu’s practice focuses on complex commercial disputes with extensive experience in high-stakes contractual matters, class actions, and corporate litigation. He has pleaded before the first instance and appeal tribunals of the province of Quebec. He acted as lead counsel in several commercial arbitrations, notably a $200-million supplier–distributor UNCITRAL arbitration. He was recently co-lead counsel for certain bondholders of Nemaska Lithium in claiming a $93-million make-whole payment. He played a leading role in defending BCE’s privatization worth approximately $52 billion against a challenge by bondholders. He later defended the purchasers sued by BCE for a $1.2-billion break fee. He also participated significantly in the ABCP market litigation.
Partner
Bogdan Catanu
Richard Vachon
Partner
Bodgan Catanu’s practice focuses on complex commercial disputes with extensive experience in high-stakes contractual matters, class actions, and corporate litigation. He has pleaded before the first instance and appeal tribunals of the province of Quebec. He acted as lead counsel in several commercial arbitrations, notably a $200-million supplier–distributor UNCITRAL arbitration. He was recently co-lead counsel for certain bondholders of Nemaska Lithium in claiming a $93-million make-whole payment. He played a leading role in defending BCE’s privatization worth approximately $52 billion against a challenge by bondholders. He later defended the purchasers sued by BCE for a $1.2-billion break fee. He also participated significantly in the ABCP market litigation.
Partner
Bogdan Catanu
Caroline Biron, the managing partner at Montreal-based Woods LLP, is proud of many things about the firm, but she’s perhaps the proudest of its reputation for being the go-to legal adviser regarding complex commercial litigation.
“Other firms may be larger, but when you look at those who specialize in corporate or commercial litigation, we’re a top-rated firm,” says Biron. She points out that Woods regularly appears high on lists of the best litigators in Canada and has a reputation far beyond the country, thanks to its multilingual lawyers trained in civil and common law.
Woods was founded in 1995 by James A. Woods, now senior counsel, a Toronto-based lawyer with Stikeman Elliott, who felt a need for a boutique litigation firm based in Montreal. The firm focuses on significant complex disputes, ranging from corporate liability and governance, shareholder disputes, class actions, commercial contract matters, insolvency, employment law and defamation matters. It is also one of Canada’s only full-time international arbitration practices. Says Biron: “We tend not to do the smaller stuff; our specialty is big and complex.”
“Our strength is the ability to have that capacity and experience in our lawyers to have discussions with our clients and focus on the facts. That makes all the difference”
Caroline Biron,
Woods LLP
Marie-Louise Delisle
Partner
Louis Seveno
Partner
Bogdan-Alexandru Dobrota
Partner
Sarah M Stewart
Associate Vice President,
Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Marie-Louise Delisle has close to 20 years of experience dealing with high‐end commercial litigation matters, in addition to handling matters relating to injunctions. She is involved in several major cases, more specifically those relating to securities, PPP, class actions, and professional liability, including that of accountants and stockbrokers. She has pleaded before the first instance and appeal tribunals of the province of Quebec. Marie-Louise is also known for her various contributions to several publications in arbitration and numerous topics related to commercial litigation. She teaches a Commercial Litigation Workshop and Trial Advocacy Course at the Université de Montréal.
Partner
Marie‐Louise Delisle
Louis Seveno specializes in high-stakes civil and commercial litigation and arbitration. He practises mainly in contractual disputes, corporate and shareholder litigation, insolvency, employment law, professional liability, class actions, private international law, and injunctive proceedings. Called to the Bars of Quebec, Ontario and New York, he is active in cases involving Canadian and foreign corporations and in cases involving cross-border or multi-jurisdictional issues. He represents clients before both trial and appellate courts, as well as before domestic and international arbitral tribunals. He has also acquired substantial expertise in construction and PPP disputes. Seveno sits on the Board of Directors (as vice president) of the CBA, Quebec division.
Partner
Louis Seveno
Alex Dobrota practices complex commercial cases, cross‐border disputes, insolvency matters (domestic and international) and international arbitration. He has extensive experience pleading before all levels of Quebec courts and participating in commercial arbitrations with strategic and/or reputational risks for Canadian and foreign companies in the province of Quebec. He has successfully represented clients in the context of litigations arising from shareholder disputes, construction and mining projects, international sale of goods and service agreements, product liability and defamation. Dobrota’s publications and reference works, including a chapter in Halsbury’s Laws of Canada on bankruptcy assets and order of distribution, are widely cited by the courts.
Partner
Bogdan‐Alexandru Dobrota
Sarah M Stewart has more than 15 years of strategic leasing and customer care experience in residential property management. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Centurion’s national leasing platforms, residential lead generation, and overall customer experience excellence through operation of the company’s internal customer service department.
Associate Vice President, Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Sarah M Stewart
Marie-Louise Delisle
Partner
Sarah M Stewart
Associate Vice President, Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Bogdan-Alexandru Dobrota
Partner
Louis Seveno
Partner
Marie-Louise Delisle has close to 20 years of experience dealing with high-end commercial litigation matters, in addition to handling matters relating to injunctions. She is involved in several major cases, more specifically those relating to securities, PPP, class actions, and professional liability, including that of accountants and stockbrokers. She has pleaded before the first instance and appeal tribunals of the province of Quebec. Marie-Louise is also known for her various contributions to several publications in arbitration and numerous topics related to commercial litigation. She teaches a Commercial Litigation Workshop and Trial Advocacy Course at the Université de Montréal.
Partner
Marie‐Louise Delisle
Louis Seveno specializes in high-stakes civil and commercial litigation and arbitration. He practises mainly in contractual disputes, corporate and shareholder litigation, insolvency, employment law, professional liability, class actions, private international law, and injunctive proceedings. Called to the Bars of Quebec, Ontario and New York, he is active in cases involving Canadian and foreign corporations and in cases involving cross-border or multi-jurisdictional issues. He represents clients before both trial and appellate courts, as well as before domestic and international arbitral tribunals. He has also acquired substantial expertise in construction and PPP disputes. Seveno sits on the Board of Directors (as vice president) of the CBA, Quebec division.
Partner
Louis Seveno
Alex Dobrota practices complex commercial cases, cross-border disputes, insolvency matters (domestic and international) and international arbitration. He has extensive experience pleading before all levels of Quebec courts and participating in commercial arbitrations with strategic and/or reputational risks for Canadian and foreign companies in the province of Quebec. He has successfully represented clients in the context of litigations arising from shareholder disputes, construction and mining projects, international sale of goods and service agreements, product liability and defamation. Dobrota’s publications and reference works, including a chapter in Halsbury’s Laws of Canada on bankruptcy assets and order of distribution, are widely cited by the courts.
Partner
Bogdan‐Alexandru Dobrota
Sarah M Stewart has more than 15 years of strategic leasing and customer care experience in residential property management. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Centurion’s national leasing platforms, residential lead generation, and overall customer experience excellence through operation of the company’s internal customer service department.
Associate Vice President, Leasing and
Call Centre Operations
Sarah M Stewart
Marie-Louise Delisle
Partner
Bogdan-Alexandru Dobrota
Partner
Louis Seveno
Partner
Sarah M Stewart
Associate
Vice President, Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Marie-Louise Delisle has close to 20 years of experience dealing with high-end commercial litigation matters, in addition to handling matters relating to injunctions. She is involved in several major cases, more specifically those relating to securities, PPP, class actions, and professional liability, including that of accountants and stockbrokers. She has pleaded before the first instance and appeal tribunals of the province of Quebec. Marie-Louise is also known for her various contributions to several publications in arbitration and numerous topics related to commercial litigation. She teaches a Commercial Litigation Workshop and Trial Advocacy Course at the Université de Montréal.
Partner
Marie‐Louise Delisle
Louis Seveno specializes in high-stakes civil and commercial litigation and arbitration. He practises mainly in contractual disputes, corporate and shareholder litigation, insolvency, employment law, professional liability, class actions, private international law, and injunctive proceedings. Called to the Bars of Quebec, Ontario and New York, he is active in cases involving Canadian and foreign corporations and in cases involving cross-border or multi-jurisdictional issues. He represents clients before both trial and appellate courts, as well as before domestic and international arbitral tribunals. He has also acquired substantial expertise in construction and PPP disputes. Seveno sits on the Board of Directors (as vice president) of the CBA, Quebec division.
Partner
Louis Seveno
Alex Dobrota practices complex commercial cases, cross-border disputes, insolvency matters (domestic and international) and international arbitration. He has extensive experience pleading before all levels of Quebec courts and participating in commercial arbitrations with strategic and/or reputational risks for Canadian and foreign companies in the province of Quebec. He has successfully represented clients in the context of litigations arising from shareholder disputes, construction and mining projects, international sale of goods and service agreements, product liability and defamation. Dobrota’s publications and reference works, including a chapter in Halsbury’s Laws of Canada on bankruptcy assets and order of distribution, are widely cited by the courts.
Partner
Bogdan‐Alexandru Dobrota
Sarah M Stewart has more than 15 years
of strategic leasing and customer care experience in residential property management. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Centurion’s national leasing platforms, residential lead generation, and overall customer experience excellence through operation
of the company’s internal customer
service department.
Associate Vice President,
Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Sarah M Stewart
“In-person learning was not an option at that time so implementing this government directive was a challenge for workplaces,” says Warner. “Our three-part Training the Fit Tester for Respiratory Protection program ensured more healthcare workers were compliant and safe on the job. The program continues to this day.”
PSHSA prioritizes excellence through customer-centric frameworks and outcome-based initiatives. Their consultants prepare workplaces to be compliant with legislative and regulatory requirements, and address needs and concerns specific to workplaces, industries, locations, or employees.
PSHSA health and safety consultants working in the field are experts in everything from ergonomics to psychological health and safety. They conduct webinars, offer in-person and online instruction, and provide e-learning modules that allow students to study at their own pace. Many of these opportunities are available free of charge.
“As an organization, we continue to innovate and learn from the latest in the occupational health and safety sector to meet the needs of evolving workplaces. Evidence-based and effective workplace health and safety solutions are more important than ever, and these solutions need to be – and are with PSHSA – accessible, integrated and optimized for the end user across a variety of platforms.”
PSHSA is equipped and ready for whatever the future holds. It encourages organizations looking to adjust or improve workplace health and safety protocols to reach out.
She adds that the firm uses a team approach that clients appreciate. “We have the capacity to put together as many lawyers as needed to deal with a certain file,” she says. Sometimes there have been as many as seven lawyers of all levels of experience on a case, “ranging from junior associates to senior partners”.
Biron emphasizes that the Woods team is composed of well-versed dispute resolution practitioners such as litigators Marie Louise Delisle, Patrick Ouellet, Bogdan Catanu, Richard Vachon and the more recently appointed partners Louis Seveno, Alex Dobrota, Eric Bédard and Laurence Ste-Marie. Moreover, highly regarded arbitration practitioners like Stephen Drymer have contributed greatly to developing the firm’s international arbitration practice and reinforce Woods’ ability to serve, in addition to counsel, as arbitrators with the Honourable Clément Gascon, James A. Woods and the Honourable Joseph R. Nuss.
Sylvain Rigaud and Sylvain Vauclair are leading the insolvency and restructuring practice. Along with the other lawyers and support staff, their strength, reputation and expertise as litigators keep Woods on top as a “first-rate litigation firm,” Biron says.
“Litigation is about the law, but it is also about the facts,” notes Biron. “You have to be able to understand the facts and determine which are crucial, which are important, and which you don’t have to focus on.” Then, it is a matter of doing legal research and making arguments based on those facts. “So, our strength is the ability to have that capacity and experience in our lawyers to have discussions with our clients and focus on the facts. That makes all the difference.”
Having the bench strength in experienced lawyers, Biron says Woods also thinks it is crucial to make sure the up-and-coming generation of lawyers receive the proper training and experience to become experienced litigators themselves. “It has to be more than shadowing a senior lawyer,” she says.
Biron adds that she often asks clients’ permission for a younger associate to examine a witness in court or at an examination for discovery to gain valuable hands-on experience, with Woods absorbing the cost. And the firm also makes sure someone sits beside the associate to help if needed.
“It’s not by listening that you gain experience,” she says. “It’s by doing.”
To meet our other Partners, visit http://www.woods.qc.ca/team.
Caroline Biron has been practicing commercial and corporate litigation since her admission to the Quebec Bar in 1992. She has pleaded before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Superior Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court, as well as several administrative and arbitration tribunals. She has successfully represented public and private companies as well as their officers, directors, shareholders, and auditors in the context of complex litigation arising out of complex commercial agreements, breach of contract, false representations, fraud and cybersecurity breaches, shareholders’ disputes, executive terminations, mergers and acquisitions, professional liability, governance, and insurance issues.