Annual conference

Marie-France Marin holds a PhD in neuroscience from the Université de Montréal and postdoctoral training from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. She is a researcher at the Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal and a professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She is interested in the mechanisms by which stress and fear affect memory and behavior. She studies various healthy populations, from childhood to adulthood, and is also interested in anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. She is involved in a variety of knowledge transfer activities aimed at equipping the general public with tools for dealing with stress, fear and memory.

After 30 years at the Bar, Allison Turner is developing a corporate and human rights practice based on her years of experience in commercial litigation, insurance law and class actions, as well as almost a decade as trial, appellate and post-appeal counsel in genocide and other international UN cases.s decade as trial, appellate and postappeal counsel in genocide trials and other international cases at the UN. She led the first, and possibly only, successful lawsuit against the UN for breach of a professional services contract. In addition to her litigation practice, Ms. Turner advises companies on new Canadian legislation and other aspects of HRE.

Mike Siméon was educated at Université de Montréal, where he earned a Bachelor of Science (major in political science; minor in Arabic studies) in 2013, followed by a Bachelor of Laws in 2017. He also completed a management degree at McGill University in 2016. Before devoting himself to law, Mr. Siméon served for nearly ten years in the Primary Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces, and was deployed abroad on an emergency humanitarian mission. Called to the Quebec Bar in January 2019, Mr. Siméon began his career with one of the province's largest law firms, where he specialized in civil and commercial litigation and insurance law. He quickly developed an interest in complex litigation, civil liability and constitutional law.

In 2020, Mr. Siméon launched his own practice. He currently practices in civil and commercial litigation and constitutional law. He was counsel to Joseph-Christopher Luamba in Luamba v. Procureur général du Québec, 2022 QCCS 3866, at both trial and appeal levels. He also intervenes in various cases involving government liability, and is passionate about privacy issues.

In 2020, at the very start of his solo career, Me Siméon began working with Étienne Jasmin. Over the years, Mr. Siméon and Mr. Jasmin have developed a strong synergy and have learned to meet the challenges and opportunities of managing the legal affairs of a solo practitioner or a small to medium-sized firm. To share their experience and support other lawyers in the efficient management of their practice, in 2024 they founded NubéLex, a firm dedicated to legal management for solo lawyers and small and medium-sized law firms.

Étienne Jasmin obtained his bachelor's degree in accounting in 2009. During his studies, he held a position as assistant controller in a company specializing in the construction industry, where he managed the accounting of general and specialized contractors. This work experience led him to develop a passion for business management, and he decided to pursue his university training in management accounting.

After serving as controller for a general contractor, he was hired by the Commission de la construction du Québec at the end of 2010. He successively held the positions of auditor and investigator. His role is to ensure compliance with the Act respecting labour relations, vocational training and manpower management in the construction industry, RLRQ c. R -20, (Loi R-20). By visiting worksites and inspecting the accounting records of contractors who fail to comply with the Loi R-20, he contributes to the recovery of substantial sums which are then remitted to construction workers and the State.

In 2017, he founded Régulus, an accounting firm for consultants and SMEs. Early on in his entrepreneurial journey, he saw the enormous potential of digital and cloud accounting applications and their many benefits for small organizational structures. Since November 2020, he has been working with Me Mike Siméon, managing the accounting for his law firm. This hands-on experience, combining the use and integration of various applications and technologies, leads Me Siméon and Mr. Jasmin to found NubéLex in 2024. This new company aims to revolutionize legal management for solo practitioners and small and medium-sized law firms.

Valérie Nové joined Mazars in 2019 in the assurance department and has been involved in mandates for review, audit, financial statement preparation and internal control assignments. In 2020, she chose to take up the challenge of reorienting herself in forensic accounting, where she is constantly in problem-solving mode which allows her to hone her critical thinking and analytical skills. Valérie is involved in analysis mandates relating to the quantification of damages or losses resulting from legal disputes, be they financial issues such as shareholder or partner conflicts, matrimonial disputes or breach of contract. It is also called upon to investigate fraud, economic and financial crime and other commercial offences.

Mélissa Chevalier has over 15 years' experience in forensic accounting, business valuation and auditing with major private and public companies in a wide range of sectors. Mélissa carries out mandates in the context of litigation requiring the analysis of financial aspects, for which she has produced expert reports. She has carried out various mandates involving the quantification of damages related to breach of contract, shareholder disputes, franchisor-franchisee conflicts, matrimonial disputes and insurance claims.

Michèle Frenière focuses her practice on civil and commercial litigation, with a specialty in construction law. She also advises and represents construction industry players at every stage of their projects, with regard to contracts, liability, claims, compliance and tendering processes. She also teaches at Polytechnique Montréal and École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS).

A member of the Quebec Bar since 2016, Michaël Lessard is a professor at the Université de Sherbrooke's Faculty of Law. He is particularly interested in how private law deals with vulnerable or marginalized individuals, and mobilizes critical approaches to reflect on these issues. His current work focuses on sexual and domestic violence, animals, multi-parenting, medical aid in dying and the theoretical foundations of private law.

Mr. Lessard holds a double bachelor's degree in civil law and common law from McGill University.D. in law from the University of Toronto. Before becoming a professor at the Université de Sherbrooke in 2023, he completed a research residency at Cambridge University's Centre for Animal Rights Law.

Marie-Andrée Plante has been a professor at the Université de Sherbrooke's Faculty of Law since 2023. She teaches Foundations of Law, Property Law, Legal Methodology and Legal Writing. Her main interests lie in the construction and operation of categories of legal thought, and in the resonances of these categories on the imaginary of law. She investigates the modes of thought and histories on which these categories are based, with a view to questioning their self-evidence and truth. Her current research focuses on how such a category - the "victim" - manifests itself in contemporary Canadian legal discourse.

A member of the Quebec Bar since 2015, Ms. Plante holds a double degree in civil law and common law from McGill University, a master's degree from Oxford University and a joint master's degree from the University of Toronto.She also holds a Master's degree from the École normale supérieure de Paris, the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) and Université Paris Nanterre. She was a lawyer-researcher at the Quebec Court of Appeal and Associate Director of the Paul-André Crépeau Centre for Private and Comparative Law, before pursuing her doctoral studies at McGill University.

He was a Superior Court judge from 1996 to 2015, including Chief Justice from 2004 to 2015. The Honourable Rolland has presided over numerous trials in all areas of law, including commercial matters, class actions, insolvency and corporate reorganization, as well as matrimonial disputes.The Honourable Rolland was also actively involved in setting up the Chambre des conférences de règlement à l'amiable, creating the Chambre des recours collectifs and actively contributing to the development of the Chambre commerciale.

Since retiring from the bench, he has once again become a member of the Quebec Bar. The Honourable Rolland was appointed Senior Administrator of the Voluntary Reimbursement Program, set up by the Quebec government under the Act to facilitate the recovery of sums unjustly paid as a result of fraud or deceit in the context of public contracts. This mandate ended in December 2017. He also presides over mediations and acts as arbitrator in commercial matters, including multi-jurisdictional class action cases. On November 27, 2020, he was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada.

Jean-François L. Denis is practice leader for legal business solutions in Eastern Canada at PwC. After 5 years as an in-house litigator and 20 years as a corporate counsel, he was one of the first lawyers in Quebec to devote himself full-time to legal operations management, a field that is now experiencing strong growth worldwide. As part of his duties, Mr. Denis assists corporate legal departments and law firms seeking to optimize the delivery of their services, in particular through the use of cutting-edge technological tools, such as generative artificial intelligence, as well as the development of new technologies.artificial intelligence, as well as through the implementation of transformative practices likely to increase the impact of lawyers with their internal or external clients. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Quebec chapter of the Association des conseillers juridiques d'entreprises(ACC) for 5 years, including 3 as President.

Inna Khlystova has a solid academic background in legal translation and interpreting, complemented by a current MBA at the University of Illinois. Her professional career has taken her to Europe and Canada, where she has gained significant experience in both law firms and corporations. This experience enabled her to develop specific expertise in the fields of legal operations and innovation.

Waseskinokwe Eva Ottawa is an Atikamekw Nehirowiskwew researcher originally from Manawan. On January¹, 2020, she was hired as a professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law - Civil Law Section, where she played a central role in the development of the Certificate in Aboriginal Law program, which she has been directing since 2022. This innovative program aims to welcome Aboriginal learners in a more respectful way, using their own legal orders as a gateway to gradually accompany them towards the study of state law in certain key areas of law. Inclusion through a comparative approach to aboriginal and state legal orders promotes understanding of different legal systems, and leads to better thinking, social cohesion and better practice. Her research program focuses on the emergence of aboriginal legal orders, including Atikamekw nehirowisiw law, in various fields (customary code, childhood, youth, family, mental health and territorial).

Marie-Claude André-Grégoire is a partner at O'Reilly, André-Grégoire & Associés S.E.N.C. She joined the firm as a student in 2013 and as a lawyer in 2014, with one goal in mind: to help Aboriginal communities, like her own, assert their rights and interests and protect their lands.

A member of the Innu community of Uashat mak Mani-utenam herself, Marie-Claude quickly established herself in the field thanks to her passion for aboriginal law. She works closely with First Nations on issues of governance and self-determination in areas such as land, education and childhood.

Marie-Claude also has experience in litigation, having participated in proceedings before all provincial courts, the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Miguel Coocoo-Chachai is a member of the Atikamekw de Wemotaci First Nation. In 2023, he completed his university studies in the Baccalauréat en droit - cheminement général program at the Université de Sherbrooke. He will begin his training at the École du Barreau next September. Since April 2023, he has been an elected councillor for the Wemotaci Atikamekw Council. Committed to his community, Miguel is currently working on territorial and governance issues, notably self-government.