Headquarters:
Montreal, QC, Canada
Year founded:
1916
Number of employees:
322
Phone:
514 842 9512
Email:
info@langlois.ca
Website:
langlois.ca/en
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/langloisavocats
“PFR at Markel is making important structural changes to support more defined product differentiation between professional liability and management liability”
Christopher Kelen,
Markel Canada
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LANGLOIS LAWYERS LLP
Jean-François Gagnon
Chief Executive Officer
Sophie Perreault
Partner and Chair of the Board
Pierre-Hubert Séguin
Head of Capital Markets, Securities Law
and Special Advisor to the CEO
Leadership
As CEO of Langlois Lawyers since 2007, Jean-François Gagnon has brought instrumental leadership and vision to the firm’s transformation and growth over the past decade. His ongoing commitment to women in law and mentoring of junior lawyers within the firm have been commended several times by industry and peers alike. A strategic advisor to his clients, Jean-François is a prominent figure in insurance law and professional liability with a practice focusing on complex commercial litigation, corporate governance, strategy, crisis management, ethics and deontology.
Chief Executive Officer
Jean-François Gagnon
Sophie Perreault is an accomplished litigator recognized for her ability to lead complex files in a wide range of commercial disputes. A trailblazer in her field and a great mentor to the firm’s junior lawyers, Sophie is regarded by her peers as a leader for the advancement of women in law. She has earned the trust and respect of not only clients, but also opposing counsel and the judiciary for her handling of all aspects of commercial litigation and extraordinary proceedings from case inception to completion. She became a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2022.
Partner and Chair of the Board
Sophie Perreault
Langlois Lawyers’ partner Pierre-Hubert Séguin specializes in corporate finance, including acquisition and divestiture. Over the past 20 years, he has built considerable expertise, particularly with reverse takeovers and private investments. He represents public issuers, multinationals, venture capital firms, funds, and private investors as part of his practice and has been involved in over 60 IPOs, stock exchange listings and reverse takeovers.
Head of Capital Markets, Securities Law and
Special Advisor to the CEO
Pierre-Hubert Séguin
SPECIAL REPORT
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Bio
Aaron Z Makovka
Member of the Board
Aaron Z Makovka specializes in labour, employment law and administrative law. As a skilled negotiator with particular expertise in labour standards, employment contracts, grievance arbitration and occupational health and safety, he regularly represents his clients before various labour tribunals and other administrative bodies across Canada, as well as before the civil courts. He has considerable experience in claims made under the Act Respecting Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases, as well as in those involving human rights issues and labour and employment standards.
Member of the Board
Aaron Z Makovka
Guy Bisaillon
Lawyer and Mediator
Guy Bisaillon, a partner at Dunton Rainville, practices primarily real estate law, banking law, insolvency law and construction law, serving a clientele composed of financial institutions and small to medium-sized businesses. He is also an accredited mediator working in alternative conflict resolution.
Lawyer and Mediator
Guy Bisaillon
Langlois Lawyers LLP offers a complete range of highly regarded legal services spanning civil and commercial litigation, employment and labour law, insurance law and business law. The firm’s seasoned teams provide counsel in several sectors such as mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, cross-border transactions, construction and infrastructure, financial institutions and services, governance and ethics, insolvency and restructuring, taxation, maritime law and intellectual property.
As a leading Québec law firm with over 165 professionals, Langlois distinguishes itself not only by excellent service and leadership but also by continued dedication to organizational wellbeing, all of which contribute to clients’ success in and out of the courtrooms. The firm’s flexibility and the team’s agility enable Langlois to benefit from cross-practice and industry synergies, allowing the firm to develop tailored business solutions.
The firm’s client-centric approach ensures that it provides the accessibility and proximity of a small or medium-sized firm with the full legal services of a large one. It was named Regional Law Firm of the Year in Canada by Chambers and Partners (2020) and has consistently ranked among Canadian Lawyer’s Top 10 Regional Firms in Québec over the past decade.
Chris McDonald
AVP,
Professional Liability
Paul Mayer
Executive Vice President,
Investment Sales
Karen Bannister, CM
Vice President, Marketing
Sarah M Stewart
Associate Vice President,
Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Chris McDonald joined Markel Canada in October 2018 as a senior underwriter, bringing over 15 years of underwriting experience to his role. Since then, he has progressed to his current role of AVP, professional liability, managing a national team and providing council and mentorship to the entire PFR team. Chris has a deep and technical understanding of professional and management liability and has both underwritten and helped develop products in emerging industries, including cyber and fintech.
Prior to his role at Markel, Chris had a lengthy career with Encon (now Victor) where his roles progressed from underwriting to managing various divisions within their professional and management risks department. He brings an incredible skillset to his role and is well-versed in underwriting complex risks. A team player, Chris is generous with helping develop his team and brings positivity to all of his endeavors both internally and with Markel’s national broker networks. His certifications include RIBO, CRM and RPLU.
AVP, Professional Liability
Chris McDonald
Paul Mayer has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience at the vice president level. He is a graduate of Queen’s University and has an MBA from IESE Business School in Spain. He speaks English, French, and German, and has an understanding of Spanish.
Executive Vice President, Investment Sales
Paul Mayer
Karen Bannister has over 20 years of marketing expertise and has a Chartered Marketer designation from the Canadian Marketing Association. She is a strategic marketing leader with a career record of success in developing and executing effective marketing strategies, growing revenue, and overseeing multi-talented teams. She also holds five certifications for marketing and brand management.
Karen has successfully completed the Mini-MBA, Essentials of Management program at Schulich School of Business, and most recently completed the Communications and Leadership Program at The Ivey Academy.
Vice President, Marketing
Karen Bannister, CM
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
Furthermore, growth has empowered the PFR team to acquire some of the best and brightest underwriting talent in Canada.
Kelen heads the PFR team and has underwriting representation and authority across all provinces and territories. With domestic capacity and claims handling being one of the strongest benefits of choosing to bind business with Markel Canada, they’re equally backed and supported by Markel International, their professional indemnity team, and have access to knowledge and resources from experts in the PFR landscape. This allows Markel Canada to seamlessly integrate and enhance new products, policyholder services and underwriting practices into their offering with confidence. This enables Markel Canada’s brokers and clients to feel informed, protected and supported from the moment they approach them for a quote.
What’s in the near future for the Markel PFR team? “PFR at Markel is making important structural changes to support more defined product differentiation between professional liability and management liability,” Kelen says. “Part of this change includes underwriters and leadership dedicated to professional liability, which includes fintech, tech E&O and cyber, as well as a similar structure dedicated to management liability and financial institutions.”
Chris McDonald was promoted to AVP, professional liability in 2021 and manages 4 underwriters as part of that team. The team is also hiring for the AVP, management liability and FI position.
“Our ultimate goal is to add products to our PFR repertoire that make sense and that we can offer a truly unique perspective and value to. However, our ambitions do not merely lay in expansion, and the PFR team is more committed to bettering the service and underwriting we currently offer. By remaining agile and on top of the market, we are building trusting and benevolent relationships with our amazing broker force – that is the plan now and forever,” says Kelen.
“By remaining agile and on top of the market, we are building trusting and benevolent relationships with our amazing broker force”
Christopher Kelen,
Markel Canada