General

You should let us know who you are (name, position, name of business), who you are contacting us for (yourself, your business, or on behalf of someone else), why you are contacting us/the nature of your problem. Provide any other details you think are necessary to explain. If you are an executive or manager please also tell us your position title, your current salary, how long you have been employed there, the name of your employer, and whether you were recruited. If you are uncertain, here is a list of things you should include.

 If you are an executive or administrator at a school, please tell us the name of the school before giving us any other information including your name. We represent a number of schools in Montreal, and we do not want you to give us any information if we are already representing your employer. If you are an executive who thinks we might be representing your employer, you should do the same.

There is a list on what you should bring to the first meeting. If you are an executive, manager, or administrator you should gather and/or send us the following:

• A brief summary of what you were earning and how it is broken down:
  • base,
  • bonuses/STIP,
  • RSUs/PSUs/Stock options/LTIPs,
  • benefits,
  • car allowance,
  • RRSPs,
  • other perks or advantages,
  • etc…
• Your T4’s and RIs for the last two fiscal years
• Any copies of your employment contract

If you are an employer of any kind contacting us about problems with a specific employee you should give us the above information about that employee. You should collect any information we may need regarding whatever circumstance you have contacted us about (ex: for collective bargaining negotiations bring us the current contract and any information you have already exchanged with the union, etc…).

Contact a lawyer immediately anyways. There are a number of areas where you can be barred by statute if you don’t file within a very short delay. This means, if you have a case based on circumstances but you simply don’t act quickly enough then you no longer have a case at all. Constructive dismissal is an excellent example. Due to the short delays in a number of situations, if you suspect you have a case you should always contact a lawyer. This is the best way to preserve your rights. If you don’t have a case or we can’t help you, we will not take you on, so you lose nothing by getting in touch.

If it’s about your case or relevant/related to your case, you should probably tell your lawyer. It can be very difficult for a non-lawyer (and even non-specialized lawyers!) to distinguish between what’s related but not relevant & what’s related and relevant. Generally in employment law, even if it makes you uncomfortable to tell your lawyer something, you should tell them anyways. It can hurt your chances if you don’t and prevent your lawyer from getting ahead of any potential problems or complications.

No. No one can guarantee a good result at the outset. If any lawyer tells you that they can you should run away very fast. What we do is try to negotiate for a good guaranteed result.

 A successful negotiation requires the agreement of both parties and, barring spectacularly exceptional circumstances, cannot be appealed. This means, for the legal system, it is a guaranteed known result. Litigation on the other hand leaves the result entirely up to the arbitrator/judge, and then can still be subject to the possibility of an appeal.

 No one can guarantee a good result at the offset, but we do our best to get you a guaranteed good result for the duration of our mandate. That is the most any law firm can honestly guarantee.

Tell us you have already seen a lawyer about your situation and let us know why you’re contacting us. Depending on circumstances (if your file is already in progress), if we accept your case, you may also need to give us the other lawyers’ name so we can transfer your file.

That depends on the advice and the lawyer. You should consider the opinion of a specialized lawyer giving advice in their area of practice (ex: labour lawyer on labour law) to be the opinion of an expert. If they are giving you advice or information outside their field of expertise (ex: a family lawyer giving advice on labour law), then you should consider the advice as far less expert. Generally speaking, the more specialized the advisor, the better the advice.

 With that said, you should not have a lawyer’s opinions supplant your own. It is your case. You have choices. However, if you are unwilling to take your lawyers’ advice or vehemently disagree with your lawyer then you may want to consider going to a different lawyer. This is not common practice but it does happen.

 You do not have to take your lawyers’ advice, but likewise no lawyer is strictly required to act against their own advice. Lawyers can, and have, told clients that if they are unwilling to take their advice that they should seek out another lawyer. This is not as harsh as it sounds. In order to better the chances of your case and increase your satisfaction and faith as a client, you should be in agreement with your lawyer on how you move forward. Otherwise, what’s the purpose?

We are working remotely. Currently, we will not have any in person meetings. All information to be submitted to us must be done remotely.

 As for the legal system, most meetings and even most arbitrations are happening remotely. Aside from that, there have been a number of delays in the court system so it can take longer to have a date for a hearing.