Background

Marie Audren is a partner and a member of our Commercial Litigation Group. She is the Regional Leader of BLG's Montréal Class Actions Group. Marie was admitted to the Québec Bar in 1992 and is a graduate of the Université de Montréal Law School. She also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in translation from Concordia University.

Areas of Practice

• Marie defends corporate clients in class actions suits on matters of product liability, insurance, securities litigation, pension funds, professional liability, consumer law, defamation and Charter of Rights.
• She also acts as counsel to in-house lawyers defending class actions targeting their corporations.

Rankings and Recognitions

• Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012 (Class Action Litigation)
• Recognized in the 2011 Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Litigation – Class Actions)

Professional Experience

• Her clients include the Professional Liability Insurance Fund of the Québec Bar, telecommunication companies, financial institutions, bankruptcy trustees, pharmaceutical companies, mutual funds, insurance companies and manufacturers.
• In addition to her defence work, Marie acted as Plaintiff lawyer in two class action suits seeking the reimbursement of municipal taxes before the Supreme Court of Canada.
• She obtained the first dismissal in Québec of a class action in an industry-wide litigation involving a multiplicity of defendants. Marie has recently obtained the only dismissal in Québec on a summary motion of an authorized class action. She has also obtained the only judgment in Canada dismissing a motion to authorize a class action for sexual abuses. At the appellate level, she has successfully argued the impossibility for Plaintiff to appeal a Superior Court decision to broaden the scope of the class.
• Marie also has extensive experience in general commercial litigation, more specifically in the areas of banking litigation and insolvency.

Publications

• Marie AUDREN and Marc-André GROU, Quebec Class Actions Update : A Renewed Sense of Commonality, Canadian Institute, Toronto, 2009.
• Marie AUDREN and Emmanuelle ROLLAND, Commentaire sur l'affaire Option consommateurs c. Pharmascience : l'importance des faits en recours collectif, in Repères, June 2006, EYB2006 REP 489.
• Marie AUDREN and Yves LAUZON, Le règlement d'un recours collectif, Congrès du Barreau du Québec – 2006, Service de la formation permanente du Barreau du Québec, Montréal, 2006.
• Marie AUDREN and Emmanuelle ROLLAND, Class Action: Navigating the Provincial Legislative Landscape, Canadian Institute, Toronto, 2005.
• Marie AUDREN, Article 1048 C.p.c. : une disposition d'exception, Développements récents sur les recours collectifs au Québec, au Canada et aux États-Unis – 2005, Éditions Yvon Blais, Cowansville, 2005.
• Marie AUDREN and Yves LAUZON, Le règlement d'un recours collectif et le processus d'approbation d'une transaction, Canadian Institute, Montréal, 2005.
• Marie AUDREN and Emmanuelle ROLLAND, La multiplicité de défendeurs en l'absence d'intérêt et de cause d'action: le recours collectif est-il à la dérive?, Développements récents sur les recours collectifs au Québec, au Canada et aux États-Unis – 2004, Éditions Yvon Blais, Cowansville, 2004.
• Marie AUDREN, Un recours collectif contre une industrie, est-ce possible?, Le Monde Juridique, vol. 15, no. 3, August 2004.
• Marie AUDREN and Stéphane PITRE, Les saisies avant jugements, Association du Jeune Barreau de Montréal, Montréal, 2000.

Speaking Engagements

• Canadian Institute 10th Annual National Forum on Class Actions Litigation, A Renewed Sense of Commonality, Toronto, September 2009.
• Preside the Fourth Canadian Bar Association Conference on Class Action, Montréal, April 2009.
• Quebec Bar Continuing Legal Education, Latest Trends in Class Actions in Quebec, Montréal, October 2008.
• Preside the Third Canadian Bar Association Conference on Class Actions, Montréal, May 2008.
• Quebec Bar Continuing Legal Education, Recent Developments in Class Actions in Quebec and Canada, Montréal, October 2007.
• Moderator, Work-Shop on Specific Issues Raised by Class Actions, Canadian Bar Association, Montréal, May 2007.
• Preside the Second Canadian Bar Association Conference on Class Actions, Montréal, March 2007.
• Canadian Defence Lawyers / CICMA Joint Conference, Toronto, Quebec Ice Storm Class Action: Pushing the Boundaries for Economic Loss, February 2007.
• Quebec Bar Annual Meeting – 2006, Moderator for the workshop Class Actions, intended for in-house counsel, Montréal, May 2006.
• Preside the First Canadian Bar Association Conference on Class Actions, Montréal, March 2006.
• Canadian Institute, Conference on Insurance Litigation, Class Actions in the Insurance Industry: Risks and New Trends, Montréal, November 2005.
• Quebec Bar, Continuing Legal Education, Section 1048 C.C.P.: An Exception to the Exception, Montréal, October 2005.
• Canadian Institute, 6th Annual National Forum on Litigating Class Actions, Navigating the Provincial Legislative Landscape, Toronto, September, 2005.
• Canadian Institute 2nd Advanced Conference on Class Actions: Settlements of Class Actions: Winning Strategies for Plaintiffs and Defendants, Montréal, February 2005.
• Quebec Bar, Continuing Legal Education, The Multiplicity of Defendants in Class Actions, Montréal, October 2004.
• Junior Bar Association of Montréal, Seizures Before Judgment (Mareva Injunctions), Montréal, March 2001.

Media

• Marie is regularly called upon to provide class action expertise in the media, including The Globe and Mail, The Financial Post, La Presse, The National Post, Droit et Affaires, Montreal Business Magazine and Le Devoir.

Professional and Community Activities

• Founder and president of the Class Actions Section of the Canadian Bar Association - Québec Division
• President, Sub-Committee on the Superior Court Rules of Practice - Québec Bar Advisory Committee on Class Actions
• Member of the Québec Bar Advisory Committee on Class Actions
• Member, Canadian Bar Association National Working Group for Coordination of Class Actions between Provinces (National Civil Litigation Section)
• Guest Lecturer, McGill University Law School, Practical Perspective on Class Actions, Montréal, November 2008
• Lecturer, Continuing Legal Education, New York State Bar, Class Actions in Canada : Comparison of Our Experience and Yours, New York, November 2007
• Guest Lecturer, Concordia University 's John Molson School of Business, Quebec Class Actions: Management Strategies, Montreal, October 2007 and November 2008
• Instructor of trial advocacy skills for lawyers employed by the Federal Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration
• Member of The Advocates' Society
• Member of the Université de Montréal Law Graduates' Association
• Member of the American Bar Association
• Member of The International Finance Club of Montreal
• Member, Clarity, an international association promoting plain legal language