New judges appointed in the Federal Court, PEI, and Quebec

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, David Lametti, has announced new judicial appointments in the Federal Court and Prince Edward Island and Quebec courts.

Federal Court

Smart & Biggar LLP principal Ekaterina Tsimberis was appointed a federal court judge. She was an associate, partner, and principal at Smart & Biggar, practising intellectual property law. Her practice encompasses trademarks, passing off, geographical indications and industrial design cases. She earned a law degree from Université de Montréal and was called to the Quebec bar in 1999.

Tsimberis was a fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC). She also served as director and assistant director of the IPIC-McGill Understanding Trademarks Course, where she ensured the updating of course materials in the face of the widespread 2019 amendments to the Trademarks Act.

PEI

Stewart McKelvey's partner Thomas P. Laughlin will serve as the new judge of the PEI Court of Appeal. Laughlin obtained his law degree from the University of New Brunswick and was called to Nova Scotia and PEI bars in 1999. He articled with Stewart McKelvey and was made a firm partner in 2004. His practice focuses on criminal, administrative and health law.

He served as president of the PEI branch of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA). He was a member of the CBA's national board of directors and acting chairperson of the CBA's national policy committee. Laughlin was awarded the CBA's distinguished service award in 2022.

Quebec

Quebec has welcomed four new judicial appointments – Eric Dufour, Eleni Yiannakis, Sebastien Pierre-Roy, and Annie Émond.

Dufour will serve as a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montreal. Before his appointment, he was a justice of the Court of Quebec and deputy coordinator of the administrative and appeal division. He worked as counsel at the Contentieux du Procureur general du Quebec and as defence counsel for the Agence du revenu du Quebec.

Yiannakis is a trilingual lawyer who received her law education from Université de Sherbrooke, McGill University, and the University of Toronto. She was called to the Quebec bar in 2000. She began her career at Fasken as an articling student. Yiannakis later joined IMK, where she became a partner. Her practice focused on commercial disputes in various fields. She also taught the obligations course at the École du Barreau du Québec for over a decade. She was also appointed as a judge of the superior court for the district of Montreal.

Pierre-Roy is a lawyer who earned his degree from the Université de Montréal and was called to the Quebec bar in 2001. He began his career at McCarthy Tétrault's litigation group. He later became a partner at Chenette Litigation Boutique, where he focused on professional law, media law, insurance law, and academic law. He had represented clients before all courts and founded his law firm in 2020. He also taught law at Université de Sherbrooke and the École du Barreau. He will sit as a superior court judge for the districts of Saint-François and Bedford.

Émond earned a law degree and a diploma in notarial law from the Université de Sherbrooke. She started her career at the Bureau d'aide juridique de Montréal before joining the criminal law firm Boro Polnicky Lighter, where she practiced criminal law for over 20 years. She had appeared before various courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and represented clients in disciplinary matters. She has served on two boards of directors and various committees of the Quebec division of the Canadian Bar Association. She has taught legal concepts of cybercrime and electronic evidence at the École polytechnique de Montréal for eight years. Émond will serve as a judge of the superior court for the district of Montreal.