Background

Daniel Ayotte is a partner at our Montréal office. Daniel was admitted to the Québec Bar in 1972 and is a graduate of the Université de Montréal Law School. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1968 from the Externat Classique de Longueuil.

Areas of Practice

• Daniel specializes in litigation, arbitration and mediation: he acts mainly in the areas of construction claims, products liability, professional liability, and commercial litigation. He represents multinational corporations, governments, insurers and bonding companies, contractors, engineers and manufacturers.

Rankings and Recognitions

• Recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada^® as the 2010 Montréal Construction Lawyer of the Year
• Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012 (Construction Law; Legal Malpractice Law)
• Recognized in the 2011 edition of PLC Which lawyer? (Construction)
• Martindale-Hubbell BV® Distinguished™ 4.4 out of 5 Peer Review Rating
• Recognized in The 2012 Lexpert® American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada (Construction Law)
• Recognized in the 2011 Canadian Legal Lexpert^® Directory (Construction Law)
• Recognized in the 2012 edition of The International Who's Who of Construction Lawyers
• Recognized in the 2013 edition of The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers (Construction)
• Recognized in Who's Who Legal: Canada 2011 (Construction)

Professional Experience

• Daniel is specialized in complex litigation and has pleaded before civil tribunals of all levels.
• He successfully pleaded the landmark case of Bank of Montréal vs. Commission hydroélectrique du Québec (1992) in which the Supreme Court of Canada defined the “duty to inform” in contractual matters, in the context of a large infrastructure contract.
• Daniel assists also our clients in identifying their business risks, in the drafting of contracts and in developing risk prevention and training programs.
• He promotes and uses mediation and other ADR techniques.

Professional and Community Activities

• Co-founder of the Construction Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association (Québec Division) and member of its first executive committee
• Ex-president of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers
• Member of the Québec and Canadian Bars Associations
• Author of many articles dealing with construction law, professional third party liability, and mediation
• Speaker at various conferences and seminars organized, among others, by professional associations, businesses, and the Association de la construction du Québec