Torys

Marie-Ève Gingras

Marie-Ève’s practice involves a broad range of civil and commercial litigation, including in the context of class actions. Marie-Ève has been involved in a wide range of matters, including in matters relating to product liability, consumer complaints, securities, price-fixing allegations and public law matters. She has represented clients in the pharmaceutical, banking, construction, technology, communication, manufacturing, railway, aviation and mining industries. Marie-Ève has appeared as counsel before all levels of court in Québec and in the Federal Court. Marie-Ève also practices labour and employment law. She assists clients with employment matters, including compliance with Québec laws and regulations, employment contracts, employment termination, human rights, non-solicitation undertakings and non-compete undertakings. Marie-Ève also assists clients regarding labour and employment implications of corporate transactions. Marie-Ève regularly provides advice to Canadian and multinational corporations regarding consumer protection legislation, language requirements and other legal requirements for doing business in Québec. Marie-Ève is fluent in French and English.

Christopher Richter

Christopher is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer who practises in the fields of corporate, commercial and civil litigation and dispute resolution, including advising on litigious aspects of corporate transactions. His practice also includes class actions, securities litigation, professional liability, product liability and employment law. He has appeared before the Québec courts of first instance and of appeal, the superior courts of several other provinces, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada, and numerous arbitration panels and administrative tribunals (including the Québec securities commission and energy board). Leading Canadian and international companies prize Christopher’s risk-analysis advice in litigious matters and conflict prevention regarding their interests and operations in Québec and across Canada. With recognized experience in transnational disputes and matters of private international law, Christopher has also acted as arbitrator in numerous disputes (sole arbitrator, or member or chair of a panel), both domestic and international (including ICC and ICDR arbitrations). Christopher is fluently bilingual in English and French.

Sylvie Rodrigue

Sylvie is one of Canada’s top litigators, recognized for her versatility representing clients across jurisdictions and industries, in all manner of disputes. She is known nationwide for her strong class action, product liability and commercial disputes experience, and she is one of the few counsel in Canada who defends cases in both Québec and common law provinces. With a broad litigation practice and extensive experience defending cases in all provinces across Canada, including class actions both pre-certification and at trial, Sylvie has a formidable track record supporting clients in their highest-profile disputes. Sylvie has been involved in a wide range of litigation matters, including multi-jurisdictional class actions, relating to product liability, drugs and medical devices, banking, privacy, constitutional law, competition law, consumer complaints, civil liability, employment matters, securities, large tort and negligence. She regularly represents clients in the banking, retail, technology, manufacturing, communication, real estate, railway, aviation and pharmaceutical industries in a variety of commercial disputes. Sylvie has appeared before all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2021, she successfully represented the Canadian Olympic Committee and Olympian Mandy Bujold against the International Olympic Committee before the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Switzerland on a pro bono basis. The legal challenge, which led to Ms. Bujold’s participation at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, raised human rights and discrimination issues on the basis of pregnancy and resulted in a landmark decision for the benefit of female athletes worldwide. Sylvie was awarded the designation of Advocatus Emeritus by the Québec Bar, a distinction awarded to a limited number of lawyers to honour an outstanding legal career, remarkable contribution to the profession and dedicated efforts to social or community services. She was also recognized by the WXN in 2016 and 2019 as one of Canada’s Top 100 Women and was named 2021 Litigator of the Year by Canadian Law Awards. She is consistently recognized by Benchmark as one of Canada’s top female litigators and by Chambers and other ranking publications for her work in product liability and class action matters. Sylvie leads our Montréal office, as well as Torys’ national Class Action practice.