Former Quebec Premier Jean Charest has joined McCarthy Tétrault LLP as a partner at the Montreal office, the firm announced yesterday. Charest, who was also the former deputy prime minister of Canada, will join the firm’s business law group.
“We are honoured that Mr. Charest is starting a new chapter in his career with our firm’s talented team,” said Kim Thomassin, McCarthy Tétrault’s Québec region managing partner, in a statement.
“He had many options, and the fact that he wanted to work with us as much as we wanted to work with him is a testament to the leading position of our firm and our ability to attract talent who will provide insights and truly add value for our clients.”
Charest’s long experience in public policy, international affairs, and corporate Canada will add to the law firm’s capacity serve its clients, the firm said.
“In 28 years of politics, the diversity of initiatives he has led in Québec, Canada and abroad, the scale of projects he has developed, the scope of agreements he has negotiated and concluded as well as the many challenging files he has had to manage, make him a unique resource to our clients,” said Marc-André Blanchard, the firm’s chairman and CEO.
Charest was first elected to House of Commons in 1984. In nearly three decades in politics, he has severed as the minister of the Environment and of Industry, as well as minister of state for youth, and for sports.
For his part, the three-term former provincial premier said he is joining the firm with “great enthusiasm.” He described McCarthys as “the first Canadian law firm to establish a national presence and whose history is intimately linked to the development of Québec and Canada.
“My association with such a prominent business law firm is an opportunity for me to contribute to the business and economic development of Québec and Canada,” said Charest.
Also in Quebec, Miller Thomson LLP is welcoming three more lawyers to its Montreal office.
Michel La Roche, who specializes in business restructuring and finance, is joining the national firm with colleagues Michel D’Amours and Jean-Francois Gauvin.
The area of business restructuring and finance is seeing continued demand in Quebec, the firm said, adding the trio’s addition is a “strategic move.”
“The expansion of our Montréal office will extend and deepen our presence in Québec, and strengthens our footprint as a truly national law firm,” said Gerald Courage, chair of Miller Thomson in a statement.
“Our goal is to offer the broadest network of specialized local knowledge and expertise among national law firms in the country.”
Miller Thomson will move to a new and larger downtown office to accommodate the expansion.
