Woods LLP

Founder

James A. Woods, the founder of our firm, is widely regarded as one of the leading lawyers in Quebec and Canada. A seasoned litigator and arbitrator with 40 years of experience, he has garnered a long history of success before all levels of federal and provincial courts in Ontario and Quebec, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada.

Over the course of his career, he has acted as well as arbitrator, either as chair or member of a panel, in a significant number of commercial and international cases, both ad hoc and under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). James is a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers, Litigation Counsel of America and Federation of Defence and Corporate Counsel. Year after year, clients and peers alike praise his skills and talent; he is consistently listed as a leading practitioner in commercial litigation and arbitration by prestigious legal directories. 

A prominent figure in the field of law, James has contributed generously to training, mentoring and knowledge sharing initiatives in Quebec and around the world. Teaching has been a part of his long-standing commitment to the education of future lawyers. In particular, he developed and taught for almost 30 years the Civil Litigation Techniques course at McGill University’s Faculty of Law, a course that uses a combination of mock trial, evidentiary techniques and tactics to train students in the nuances of civil law. 

French, English

Advocatus Emeritus, Quebec, 2013 Paris, 2013 England and Wales, 2008 British Colombia, 2006 Alberta, 2006 Ontario, 1979 Quebec, 1976

TEACHING AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES 

Chairman, McGill University, Law Faculty Advisory Board (2004-2012)  Member, McGill University, Law Faculty Advisory Board (1991-2012)  Creator and lecturer “Trial Advocacy – Civil Litigation”, McGill University, Faculty of Law (1987-2019)  Sessional Lecturer “The Law for Architects and Engineers”, McGill University, Faculty of Engineering (1993-2002)  Sessional Lecturer “Civil Procedure”, McGill University, Faculty of Law (1984-1987)  International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda: trial advocacy training (2005)  Chairman, sub-committee of the Joint Committee of the Quebec Bar and Chamber of Notaries respecting the English version of the Civil Code of Quebec: Book 7: Evidence (1999-2000)  Governor of the Quebec Bar Foundation since 1998  Co-Editor, Corporate Litigation, Federated Press since 1997  Member of the Task Force on Economic Consequences of Litigation World Wide, International Bar Association (1992-1998)  Canada Co-Chair, International Litigation Sub-Committee, International Bar Association (1990-1998) 

 ASSOCIATIONS 

Quebec Bar  Canadian Bar Association  Law Society of Upper Canada  Law Society of British Columbia  Law Society of Alberta  Law Society of England and Wales  Barreau de Paris  American Bar Association  American Association for Justice  International Bar Association  American Arbitration Association  London Court of International Arbitration  Canadian Commercial Arbitration Centre    The Advocates’ Society 

Aix-Marseille University, MacDonald Travelling Scholarship – McGill University (Comparative Law), 1975 

McGill University, Faculty of Law, Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.) and Common Law (LL.B.), 1974 

Benjamin Robinson Memorial Prize – 1st Place Standing, National Program (1974) 

McGill University, Faculty of Arts, Bachelor of Arts – Economics and Political Science (B.A.), 1970 

Obtained with honours