Background
Catherine Guertin is a partner at our Montréal office. Catherine is a graduate of the Université de Sherbrooke. Catherine was admitted to the Québec Bar in 1997 and joined the Real Estate Group during that year.
Areas of Practice
Catherine is the regional leader of our Commercial Real Estate Group. Catherine's practice involves all aspects of real estate including the following:
- Real Estate Developments
- Acquisitions and dispositions
- Commercial Leases
- Agreements creating Rights of Superficies
- Emphyteusis Agreements
- Servitudes
- Title searches and correction of title defects
- Mining Law
- Telecommunication work
Professional Experience
The following significant transactions serve to highlight Catherine's capabilities and expertise:
- Lead lawyer of BLG team that participated in the development of the new Montréal campus of BCE Inc. This development is one of the largest and most prestigious single-tenant developments to have been built in the private sector in Montréal for the last thirty years. The new campus comprises an approximate total area of 800,000 square feet and will be the workplace of approximately 4,000 employees of BCE Inc.
- She represents both Bell Canada and Nexacor Realty Management Inc. in the management of Bell Canada's real estate portfolio.
- She represents Canada's largest real estate investment trust in the preparation and negotiation of its leases in the province of Québec.
- Lead lawyer of the team that participated in the transfer of over 300 properties and of all leases w hen Bell Nordiq Group Inc. privatized the Bell Nordiq Income Fund. In addition, Catherine coordinated and prepared all the documents pertaining to the transfer of over 250 properties when Bell Nordiq Income Fund completed an initial offering of its units on April 23, 2002, the first of its kind in the telecommunications sector.
- She actively participated in an acquisition of a real estate portfolio composed of shopping centres and strip malls for a consideration exceeding $70,000,000.
- She has developed an expertise in mining law and participated in various transactions involving proceeds of $15.2 million and $250 million.
- Catherine actively participated in various acquisitions and dispositions of commercial properties worth, in some cases, more than $135,000,000.
- Catherine participated in the sale of seven Canadian hotels which, inter alia , included The Fairmont Le Château Montebello and The Fairmount Kenauk at Le Château Montebello.
Professional and Community Activities
Catherine is active in various professional organizations. They are as follows:
- The Canadian Bar Association;
- International Council of Shopping Centers;
- Urban Development Institute of Quebec;
- BOMA Québec; and
- Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network.
Catherine is also an active member of the Board of Directors of CREW Network. CREW Network is an association for women in commercial real estate, and it exists to help members excel in the industry by providing networking, business development opportunities and professional education. Catherine is the director of the Sponsorship Committee of CREW Network.
In addition, Catherine is the director of our 'BLG Reads to Kids' program. This national program supports literacy for young children in schools located in economically disadvantaged areas across the country.
Finally, Catherine is a member of BLG's Business Development Committee.