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Here are the top securities litigation lawyers in Montréal based on Lexpert’s comprehensive yearly peer review. Check out the complete list of Québec’s most recommended lawyers and law firms in the field via our practice area rankings.
In our survey, securities litigation covers dispute resolution and settlement on issues, including insider trading, oppression remedies, shareholder disputes, contested mergers and acquisitions bid and defence work, proxy contests, amalgamations, reorganizations and restructurings, corporate governance disputes, and director, officer, issuer and investment dealer disclosure and liability claims.
Consistently recommended securities litigation lawyers
Stéphanie Lapierre
Law firm: Stikeman Elliott LLP
Year called to the Bar: 2000
Stéphanie Lapierre is a partner at Stikeman Elliott’s litigation and dispute resolution group. She specializes in securities, financial and business law. Lapierre represents clients both in the first instance and on appeal in matters involving hostile takeover bids, contested change of control transactions, shareholder disputes, derivative actions, plans of arrangement, dissidence rights and judicial liquidation. She is also an expert in litigation matters pertaining to securities law. Lapierre regularly represents reporting issuers in connection with internal investigations instituted in response to allegations made by whistleblowers and with investigations instituted by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) and other self-regulatory organizations. She also represents clients following the filing by the AMF of penal or administrative proceedings alleging infractions to the Securities Act, including insider trading, tipping, market manipulation and inadequate or misleading disclosure of material information.
Julie-Martine Loranger
Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1983
Julie-Martine Loranger is a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s litigation group in Montréal. She focuses on class actions related to contractual and extra-contractual matters, product liability, tort, consumer protection and securities. Loranger possesses strong expertise in white-collar crime and investigations. She has acted before courts of all jurisdictions, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Loranger regularly speaks on crisis management and cybersecurity, issues of privilege and best practices for internal investigations. She was appointed by the Minister of Finance to the board of directors of the Chambre de l’assurance de dommages and is a member of the board of the Lise Watier Foundation. Loranger was also awarded the title Advocatus Emeritus by the Québec Bar and named a fellow of American College of Trial Lawyers. She has authored numerous articles published in Finance et Investissement and has co-written the JurisClasseur Québec on Security – Inscription 31.103.
Sophie Melchers
Law firm: Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1994
Sophie Melchers serves a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP. She devotes her practice to commercial, corporate and securities litigation. Melchers has represented clients before the Québec specialized securities Tribunal, the Québec courts and the Supreme Court of Canada in connection with alleged violations of the Québec Securities Act – including insider trading, tipping and market manipulation – and in connection with disputed take-over bids and corporate plans of arrangement. Her broad experience in securities litigation also encompasses representation of reporting issuers and their executives in connection with investigations conducted by the Québec securities regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers. Melchers is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Litigation Counsel of America.
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Louis-Martin O’Neill
Law firm: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1999
Louis-Martin O’Neill is a partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. He boasts extensive experience in high-stakes litigation and special situations. O’Neill has been involved in virtually every recent major mergers and acquisitions and securities litigation in Québec, including the landmark Supreme Court of Canada’s decision relating to BCE’s proposed $52-billion privatization. He counsels clients on a broad spectrum of corporate, competition and insolvency disputes, investigations and white-collar work. He also regularly advises on corporate governance and other sensitive matters. O’Neill is chair of the board of directors of Le Garde-Manger Pour Tous.
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Repeatedly recommended securities litigation lawyers
Fabrice Benoît
Law firm: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1995
Fabrice Benoît serves as a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP’s litigation group in Montréal. He specializes in securities and commercial litigation. Benoît is also the Québec lead of the firm’s national risk management and crisis response group. Prior to Osler, Benoît was investigation director of insider trading and market manipulation at the AMF. He boasts extensive experience in criminal law, white-collar crime and government investigation. Benoît acts predominantly for public issuers and market participants in connection with regulatory investigations, enforcement proceedings and mergers and acquisitions disputes. He is regularly involved in trials and appeals before the courts, arbitrators and tribunals. Benoît’s recent transactions include acting for Amaya (The Stars Group Inc.) in an AMF investigation in connection with the announcement of the $4.7-billion acquisition of Oldford Group Ltd. He speaks at a variety of conferences and writes regularly on securities litigation issues and developments. Benoît has been teaching at the Québec Bar School since 2006. He is also the president of the liaison committee of the Financial Markets Tribunal.
Sébastien C. Caron
Law firm: LCM Attorneys Inc.
Year called to the Bar: 1998
Sébastien C. Caron is one of founding partners and the managing partner of LCM Attorneys Inc. He focuses his practice on litigation and commercial law. Caron has been involved several major class actions and has extensive experience in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution matters. He regularly acts on behalf of issuers and large financial institutions, including securities brokers and advisors, whom he counsels on the drafting and implementation of compliance policies and represents before civil and regulatory tribunals. Caron is regularly invited to speak at conferences and has taught students from the Faculty of Law of the Université de Montréal taking part in the Pierre-Basile-Mignault Moot Court Competition. In addition to his professional activities, Caron is involved in the community and participates in philanthropic activities, including serving on the boards of the Palliative Home-Care Society Foundation, International Bureau of Children’s Rights and Lawyers Without Borders.
Julie Himo
Law firm: Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1998
Julie Himo is a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP. She practises commercial litigation, with an emphasis on corporate insolvency and restructurings, and corporate and securities litigation. Himo has considerable experience in insolvency and restructuring matters, shareholders disputes and securities litigation, including matters relating to plans of arrangements and extraordinary remedies such as seizures and injunctions and directors' and officers’ liability. She is also regularly involved in multijurisdictional fraud cases that require tracing, freezing, seizures and securing financial assets and property, including frauds perpetrated by means of Ponzi schemes. Himo assists companies with litigation risk strategies, including in relation to cybersecurity, privacy law compliance and corporate risk governance practices. She regularly represents clients before all the courts of Québec, both at trial and on appeal. Himo has acted as the firm’s Montréal chair of the Canadian litigation group between 2013 and 2016.
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Patrick Ouellet
Law firm: Woods LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1999
Patrick Ouellet is a partner at Woods LLP. His practice spans the fields of commercial, corporate and civil litigation and arbitration. Ouellet specializes in litigation involving securities, telecommunications, class actions, construction, and shareholder disputes. He has taught The Law of Evidence at the Québec Bar School for several years. He is also a sought-after speaker on diverse subject matters related to his areas of practice. Ouellet is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Mason Poplaw
Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1987
Mason Poplaw is a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP. He boasts more than 30 years of experience as a corporate commercial litigator. His practice focuses on corporate disputes, governance, securities, internal investigations, crisis management, insolvency and restructuring. Poplaw works with a range of clients, including financial institutions, public and privately held corporations and trustees. He advises clients in securities and banking class actions, financial product liabilities cases, financial frauds, corporate governance issues, plans of arrangement, liquidation, oppression remedies, complex contract disputes and directors’ liabilities.
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Éric Préfontaine
Law firm: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Year called to the Bar: 2001
Éric Préfontaine serves a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, where he is a key contact for the national class actions defence group. He is an experienced class actions practitioner, with specialized expertise in the defence of consumer protection, product liability and securities matters. While leading the firm’s class action matters in Québec, Préfontaine consistently brings his expertise to multijurisdictional matters for firm strategic clients. His commercial litigation practice includes advising clients on complex commercial litigation and representing them before commercial and civil courts, administrative tribunals and in arbitration proceedings. Préfontaine is an expert in disputes in a wide range of areas, including securities, shareholders, product liability, banking and financial services, franchising, consumer protection and insolvency and restructuring. He also has experience in urgent and special procedures such as injunctions and seizures.
Robert J. Torralbo
Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1985
Robert J. Torralbo is the managing partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP’s office in Montréal. He devotes his practice to corporate, commercial, securities, banking, product liability, real estate litigation investigations and arbitration. Torralbo has an extensive class action defence practice, which includes multijurisdictional and multi-defendant class actions involving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, product liability, financial services, consumer fraud, securities, air transport and pension fund litigation. He also has significant experience acting for investment and securities dealers with respect to a variety of civil disputes, including malpractice litigation and securities regulatory compliance issues. Torralbo is an expert in shareholder litigation with emphasis on oppression disputes. He has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada, Québec Court of Appeal and Québec Superior Court. He also sits on the boards of or acts as counsel to several Canadian subsidiaries of European multinational companies. Torralbo is a guest lecturer at McGill University's Faculty of Law advanced advocacy program and a member of the Montréal, Québec and Canadian Bar Assocations, Defence Research Institute, Canadian Defence Lawyers Association and the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel.
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