De Grandpré Chait

Chairman & Managing Partner: Eric Lalanne
Number of partners: 36
Number of lawyers: 34
Languages: Chinese-Cantonese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Vietnamese

Firm Overview:
DE GRANDPRÉ CHAIT is a leader in all areas of the law with exceptional recognition in real estate, zoning/land use, environmental law and construction law and distinguished strengths in commercial and civil litigation, dispute resolution, business and taxation, intellectual property, project financing, insurance, insolvency and restructuring. It represents clients that include companies of all sizes, both private and public, financial institutions, as well as industry associations. De Grandpré Chait has comprehensive knowledge of client industries which enables the firm to provide seamless and personalised quality service. The firm is committed to building a solid and long-term business relationship with clients across Canada and worldwide through the firm’s affiliation with two international legal networks, Interlaw and Lexwork International.

Practice Areas: 

Labour & Employment

Main Areas of Practice:

Real Estate:
De Grandpré Chait’s real estate lawyers, notaries and paralegals represent developers, owners, investors, contractors, lenders and borrowers at each stage of a project, including planning, financing, development and construction, the acquisition or sale of real estate assets, and leasing or operational issues.

Zoning/Land Use/Environmental Law:
De Grandpré Chait is involved in property assessment disputes, zoning, subdivision and construction municipal by-laws, as well as the issuance of certificates of approval, environmental liability arising from the exercise of commercial and industrial activities, and environmental due diligence.

Construction:
De Grandpré Chait’s construction lawyers provide thorough advice to all participants in the construction industry, such as drafting contracts, financing, calls for tenders, bids, construction hypothecs, security bonds, and protecting claims.

Taxation:
De Grandpré Chait’s taxation lawyers provide practical and innovative tax solutions, including financing, personal and estate planning, mergers and acquisitions, succession planning, commodity taxes, voluntary disclosure, and administrative and legal contestations.

Business:
De Grandpré Chait represents businesses of all sizes in various corporate and transactional matters, including business structuring, mergers and acquisitions, commercial and shareholder agreements, business succession, project financing, corporate governance, and securities.

Intellectual Property:
De Grandpré Chait provides strategic advice to clients on various matters, such as the registration of intellectual property rights (IP), the management of IP portfolios, IP property disputes, compliance with privacy laws, as well as consumer protection.

Commercial Litigation:
De Grandpré Chait’s litigation and conflict resolution strategies are among its major strengths, as demonstrated by the size and number of disputes, insolvencies, insurance and liability cases, as well as debt collection matters the firm handles year after year.

Insurance:
De Grandpré Chait represents the interests of both insurers and insured, as defendants or plaintiffs, for a wide range of matters, such as the interpretation of insurance contracts, commercial liability insurance, civil and professional liability insurance, and surety bonds.

Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring:
De Grandpré Chait provides clients with a wide range of legal services, including formal and informal arrangements or restructuring, oppression remedies, priority disputes, fraudulent conveyances, and proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Winding-up and Restructuring Act.

Banking:
De Grandpré Chait touches upon all aspects of banking law, including the restructuring of businesses in financial difficulty, bankruptcy, real estate, movable and immovable collateral security, shareholders’ disputes, commercial disputes, and all types of financing.

Debt Recovery:
De Grandpré Chait’s knowledge of creditors' rights, consumer law and collection enables the firm to particularly distinguish itself in mortgage recovery and priority disputes, consumer debt collection, leases and leasing debt collection, and recovery in cases of commercial fraud.

Labour & Employment:
De Grandpré Chait advises clients, namely with regards to union negotiations, hiring, workplace privacy, workplace attendance management, workplace harassment, the use of social media, dismissals, as well as the drafting of complex agreements, workplace policies and codes of conduct.