Retired Quebec Chief Justice Jacques Fournier joins BLG’s disputes group

Retired Quebec Superior Court chief justice Jacques Fournier has joined Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG)’s disputes group as counsel.

Fournier was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court in 2002 and was designated as coordinating judge for the judicial district of Laval in 2007. He served as a Quebec Court of Appeal judge from 2011 to 2013. He was appointed associate chief justice of the Superior Court in 2013 and sat as chief justice from 2015 to 2022. He specializes in mediation and arbitration of complex litigation matters locally and internationally.

Fournier has joined BLG’s “Professional Excellence Program,” where he has mentored young lawyers specializing in litigation. He has also assisted the firm in preparing for hearings before the Superior Court and Court of Appeal of Quebec.

“With his authoritative background, the Honourable Jacques R. Fournier represents a key addition to our national disputes team. His strategic advice will prove invaluable to our clients,” BLG’s national managing partner and CEO John Murphy said. “In addition to his mediation and commercial arbitration practice in complex cases, he will actively contribute to our Professional Excellence Program and assist in the continuous learning of our legal professionals of all levels.”

The retired judge is also a seasoned educator. He has provided judicial education to Quebec judges since 2008, and Canadian judges since 2015, as part of a joint program of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice and the National Judicial Institute. He has conducted training seminars for newly appointed judges for several years. He has volunteered consistently with the Quebec and Montreal bar associations throughout his career.

Admitted to the Quebec bar in 1978, Fournier obtained his LL.L. from the Université de Montréal in 1977 and a B.A. in History in 1974 from the same institution. He has also served as a Canadian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies board member.