Lawyer
LIGUE OF ACADEMIC RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS (June 2024-present)
Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

• Promoting the defense of the rights and freedoms of the university community

• Surveilling and critically analyzing university and judicial practices regarding the rights and freedoms of members of the university community

• Denouncing unreasonable, abusive, arbitrary, or discriminatory practices in the university environment

• Conducting jurisprudential and doctrinal research concerning labour relations in unionized and academic settings, including applicable labour laws, their interpretation and application by the courts, namely the Act Respecting Labour Standards, the Labour Code, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Civil Code of Quebec, the Act respecting equal access to employment in public bodies, the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information, etc.

Lawyer
Judicco Bureaux d’Avocats (November 2022-June 2024)
Magog, Quebec, Canada

• Managing labor law and rights and freedoms cases in unionized university employees from Quebec

• Managing cases related to discrimination, equal employment, harassment, reprisals, academic freedom, and other matters

• Managing cases related to compliance with provincial laws relating to the protection of personal information and data management

• Analysis, interpretation, and application of collective agreements in universities

• Drafting grievances, complaints, legal proceedings, notices of appeal, appellant’s factums, leaves to appeal (Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada), and other related documents

• Drafting access to information requests, inquiries, and complaints to the Quebec Access to Information Commission

• Preparing cases for court hearings

• Managing and administrating evidence before the courts

• Representations before various administrative, quasi-judicial, and judicial bodies, including the Grievance Arbitration Tribunal, the Administrative Labour Tribunal, the Superior Court of Quebec, and the Quebec Court of Appeal

• Conducting case law and doctrinal research concerning labor relations in union and academic settings

• Working with applicable employment laws, their interpretation, and their application by the courts, including the Act Respecting Labour Standards, the Labour Code, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Civil Code of Quebec, the Act respecting equal access to employment in public bodies, the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information, etc.

• Developing the firm's criminal and penal law branch

• Writing legal articles on criminal and penal matters

• Mentoring law students : introduction to the practice of law, court training activities, writing legal articles, and other activities

Lawyer
ACP | Avocats (March 2016-December 2019)
Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

• Legal services in criminal and penal law, including matters relating to the Canadian Criminal Code, the Canada Evidence Act, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and relating to invasions of privacy under the provisions of the Canadian Criminal Code, the Civil Code of Quebec, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms

• Analysis and negotiation of cases involving economic crimes, property crimes, and crimes against the person

• Analysis of the essential elements of the alleged offenses, available defenses, the right to remain silent, the right to liberty, the Crown's obligation to disclose all relevant information in its possession or control, the presumption of innocence, protection against arbitrary detention, exclusion of evidence under section 24 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and other matters

• Evaluation of evidence in the case (relevance, probative value, admissibility)

• Evaluation of case law sentencing ranges based on the facts in the case and the alleged offenses

• Legal services on a case arising from the Commission of Inquiry on the Awarding and Management of Public Contracts in the Construction Industry ("Charbonneau Commission")

• Analysis and interpretation of legislative provisions

• Drafting of civil pleadings and other legal documents

• Office management and administration

Consultant
Private Practice (Summer 2014; Summer 2015; Summer 2016, June 2020-September 2022)
Romania, Europe

• Consulting on cybersecurity, digital data management, and cybercrime

• Analysis and interpretation of applicable legislative provisions, particularly those related to privacy breaches, technology-based offenses, and offenses involving technology as the instrument Risk assessment of cybercrimes, privacy factors, and breaches of personal information security

• Consulting on cybercrimes, including cyberfraud, data theft, personal information theft, phishing, identity theft, cyberbullying, cyberextortion, etc.

• Assessment of the criminal and penal liability of companies and their managers, as well as employees who may have been involved in a privacy incident or an activity that constitutes a cybercrime

• Penological analysis of alleged offenses, sentencing ranges, and case law trends

• Jurisprudential and doctrinal research on cybercrime, possible defenses, and challenges to warrants and court orders targeting digital infrastructure, including computer and digital data search warrants, wiretap warrants, video surveillance warrants, production orders, etc.

• Review of policies and programs governing the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information

• Consultation on obtaining digital evidence using various legal instruments, including judicial authorizations, orders, and warrants provided for in national and international privacy laws (e.g., the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation)

• Consultation on the protection of rights and freedoms, criminal law, penal law, and civil liability

Articling - Quebec Bar
Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (2013)
Quebec, Canada

• Full-time employment contract, paid according to the salary scale applicable to public sector positions

• Preparation and conduct of substantive trials, court representations, and pleadings, particularly in matters of breach of condition and probation, misdemeanor, theft, impaired driving, drug possession and trafficking, fraud, assault, etc.

• Representations on sentencing

• Representing the Public Prosecutor before the Court and in judge’s office when obtaining judicial warrants from the judiciary (e.g., search warrants)

• Conducting bail hearings: presenting evidence for the prosecution in court, conducting examinations and cross-examinations, preparing and making representations before the judge, requesting orders from the judges in specific matters (section 515(12) of the Criminal Code – order re no communication, section 516(2) of the Criminal Code – no contact pending bail hearing, section 517 of the Criminal Code – order directing matters not to be published for specified period, section 524 of the Criminal Code – cancellation of release order), negotiating conditions of release with the defense, and making submissions on sentencing in the event of a guilty plea

• Conducting preliminary inquiries: presenting the prosecution's evidence in court, conducting examinations and cross-examinations, preparing and presenting representations to the judge

• Preparing witnesses and conducting examinations and cross-examinations during trials on the merits

• Negotiating cases out of court: setting hearing dates, admissibility of evidence, pre-hearing admissions, guilty pleas, joint sentencing submissions

• Identifying the essential elements of the offenses in a case, particularly those involving assault, aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a purpose dangerous to the public peace, fraud under $5,000 and fraud over $5,000, sexual assault, robbery, conspiracy, breaking and entering, shoplifting, impaired driving, threats, death threats, and others

• Identifying and evaluating relevant evidence, including evidence related to the identification of the accused, physical evidence, surveillance evidence, documentary evidence, DNA evidence, fingerprint evidence, evidence from interrogations and cross-examinations, voir dires, hearsay, prior testimony, statutory declarations, evidence of flight, post-offense conduct, ballistics expert evidence, psychology expert evidence, and forensic accounting evidence, assessing their probative value and prejudicial effect

• Case analysis, analysis and interpretation of provisions and laws applicable to the managed cases

• Authorization of criminal complaints: breach of conditions and probation, mischief, theft, impaired driving, drug possession and trafficking, fraud, assault, and others

• Expedited assessment of police complaint authorizations regarding accused persons appearing in custody (detainee authorizations): assessment of evidence, authorization of conditional release, preparation of the judicial interim release inquiry and assessment of the appropriateness of opposing release

• Preparing objections to the release of detainees : formulate arguments based on Article 515(10) of the Criminal Code justifying detention in order to ensure the presence of the accused in court, ensure the protection and safety of the public, particularly that of victims (history of similar offenses, history of breaches, psychiatric disorders, probation assessment – ​​domestic violence), avoid the risk of recidivism, maintain public confidence in the administration of justice, assess the objective gravity (minimum sentence, maximum sentence) and subjective gravity (circumstances surrounding its commission, use of a weapon) of the offense, for the benefit of an organized gang, assess whether the charge appears well-founded (state of the evidence), verify pending cases, revoke bail, revoke suspended sentences, etc.

• Evaluate inadmissible evidence (assessment of evidence under section 24(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – seriousness of the infringing state conduct, impact of the violation on the accused's rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter, society's interest in having the case adjudicated on its merits, balancing of various factors)

• Participation in daily management meetings held by the Deputy Chief Prosecutor with the prosecutors on duty in the grid, including the prosecutor in charge of cases in the practice chamber, the prosecutors in charge of negotiations in support of the practice chambers, the prosecutor in charge of detainee authorization, and others

• Assisting the Deputy Chief Prosecutor in managing and organizing the working conditions of prosecutors and in the application of the collective agreement for prosecutors

Legal Intern - Co-op program
Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (2010-2012)
Quebec, Canada

• Three four-month full-time employment contracts, paid according to the salary scale applicable to public service positions

• Worked with a team of 35 prosecutors

• Participated in appeal panels composed of the trial prosecutor, the appellant prosecutor, and the chief prosecutors or deputy chief prosecutors of various districts in southern Quebec to determine whether a case would be appealed by the Crown

• Researched and drafted arguments on a Supreme Court of Canada case (sexual assault and aggravated assault – failure to disclose HIV status, evidence of a realistic possibility of HIV transmission)

• Drafting of appellant’s factum

• Assisting prosecutors in the preparation of several appeal cases before the Court of Appeal of Quebec and the Supreme Court of Canada

• Assisting prosecutors in the preparation of criminal trials, including jury trials

• Assisting prosecutors in court during trials before the Court of Quebec, the Superior Court, and the Court of Appeal of Quebec

• Drafting summaries of inadmissible evidence (assessment of evidence under section 24(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – seriousness of the infringing state conduct, impact of the violation on the accused's rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter, society's interest in adjudicating the case on its merits, balancing the various factors)

• Drafting summaries of appellants' appeal factums in matters of assault (regular assault, assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, armed assault, sexual assault), fraud, theft, breaking and entering, impaired driving, etc.

• Drafting summaries and analyzing aggravating and mitigating circumstances for the purpose of determining the appropriate sentence

• Drafting legal opinions on the identification of the essential elements of several offenses, including assault, aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a purpose dangerous to the public peace, fraud under $5,000 and fraud over $5,000, sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery, conspiracy, break and enter, shoplifting, impaired driving, uttering threats, first-degree murder and attempted murder, invitation to sexual touching and indecent assault, organized crime related to street gangs, second-degree murder before a jury, human trafficking, death threats, unlawful confinement, and others

• Drafting legal opinions on determining the relevance and use of factual evidence in support of information or indictments

• Drafting legal opinions on appropriate sentences (range of sentences) based on the offenses in question

• Drafting arguments on the prosecution's theory, essential evidence, flaws in the defenses raised by the appellant (defense of duress, self-defense, provocation defense, intoxication defense), the assessment of probative force, possible flaws in the respondent's argument, the application of the various provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the summary of relevant judgments applicable in the matter, the assessment of witness credibility, conclusions, and pleadings, all in matters of assault, sexual assault, robbery, conspiracy, break and enter, homicide, public mischief, and other offenses

• Drafting summaries of the evidence presented at trial, particularly in the areas of physical evidence, surveillance evidence, documentary evidence, DNA evidence, fingerprint evidence, evidence from interrogations and cross-examinations, voir dires, hearsay, prior testimony, statutory declarations, evidence of flight, post-offense conduct, ballistics expert evidence, psychological expert evidence, and forensic accounting evidence, and their probative value and prejudicial effect

• Conducting legal research on the interpretation of various provisions and laws

• Drafting state-of-the-law summaries on legal issues in criminal law, including the facts, the issues, the parties’ submissions and relevant points of law, particularly in relation to the identification of the accused, the legality of searches and seizures of property (s. 8 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms), the legality of searches incident to arrest targeting the accused’s cell phone, instructions given by the judge to the jury, the legality of wiretapping, search orders and warrants, the defence of duress, self-defence, the defence of alibi, the defence of provocation, evidence of the complainant’s sexual conduct – use of a prior statement by the victim at the preliminary inquiry, the presentation of a motion without affidavit by the accused, the stay of proceedings at sentencing, the stay of proceedings before trial, new developments in sentencing by the Courts of Appeal of the provinces of Canada, the manner of proving the existence of an individual's criminal record, the differences between assault causing bodily harm and aggravated assault, representation on sentencing (criminal record, criteria for fraud), motion to exclude witnesses, offenses of assault, aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a purpose dangerous to the public peace, fraud under $5,000, fraud over $5,000, sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery, conspiracies, break-ins, shoplifting, impaired driving, threats, first-degree murder and attempted murder, incitement to sexual contact, indecent assault, organized crime related to street gangs, second-degree murder before a jury, human trafficking, death threats, unlawful confinement and others

• Drafting written communications on the legal concepts of judicial or judicial notice, the defence of duress, the defence of duress by threats, the negative inference of the rejection of the accused's alibi, proof of guilty conscience with regard to post-offence conduct – flight, considering criminal personality as being compatible with the commission of the crime, doubtful identification evidence, the standard of intervention of the courts on appeal, the general intent of the accused, excessive sentence, sentencing in cases of assault causing bodily harm, sentencing in cases of break and enter into a dwelling with theft, sentencing in cases of manslaughter committed with a firearm, sentencing in cases of impaired driving causing bodily harm, sentencing for sexual offences by a person in authority, evidence of the complainant's sexual conduct, the presumption of lesser moral culpability enjoyed by young persons in assessing the subjective seriousness of a crime, deterrence as a non-criterion in sentencing under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the less restrictive sentence possible in order to achieve the objectives of s. 38(1) of the Youth Criminal Justice Act

• Drafting of reference materials, including a summary of pleading techniques (trial preparation, jury selection, statement of case, direct examination, production of exhibits, cross-examination, pleadings, objections), aide-memoires for testimony in matters of homicide, breaking and entering, mischief, receiving stolen goods, aide-memoires of the rules to be followed during a criminal trial and criminal procedure (arrest and summons to court, appearance, bail hearing, disclosure of evidence, pro forma and negotiation, preliminary inquiry, trial, plea, sentence, appeal)