François Grondin

François Grondin has earned a sterling reputation as a litigation lawyer with extensive experience, credibility and drive.  He has a diverse practice encompassing an array of complex civil, commercial and public law matters, including large-scale class actions, highly publicized cases, and thorny constitutional disputes. Well versed in the stringent requirements of commissions of inquiry, he has raised BLG’s profile through his work on the Chamberland, Gomery, and Oliphant commissions.

His exemplary track record and outstanding advocacy skills enable him to represent a wide range of clients, including many prominent companies seeking a seasoned, pragmatic, relentless, and attentive lawyer to handle sensitive matters of critical importance. François also takes on a variety of professional liability cases (both civil and disciplinary), environmental matters, penal proceedings, extraordinary remedies (injunctions, judicial review and declaratory judgment applications, etc.) and defamation files, for both plaintiffs and defendants. His vast knowledge extends to judicial ethics; in fact, he has been representing the Conférence des juges de la Cour du Québec for nearly a decade, and acted on its behalf before the judges’ remuneration committee in 2021 and 2024.

Benchmark Canada recognized his contribution to the legal profession as early as 2015 by naming him a Litigation Star in the General Commercial and Professional Liability categories, and has ranked him as the Local Litigation Star for Québec since 2020. Chambers Canada has recognized his talent in the Litigation:  General Commercial category (Québec) since 2022. François was named Advocatus Emeritus (Ad. E.) by the Barreau du Québec in 2020 and was inducted as a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers in 2022. He was an Excellence Awardee in the Litigator of the Year category of the 2023 Canadian Law Awards, in addition to being highly ranked by Chambers.

On the class actions front, François was involved in some of BLG’s most memorable wins, including:

• Procureur général du Québec c. Compagnie de chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique, which concerned a high-profile rail accident in Lac-Mégantic. Dismissal of the class action was confirmed on the merits by the Québec Court of Appeal in 2025, following an initial victory before the Superior Court of Québec in Ouellet c. Compagnie de chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique et al.;
• Pollués de Montréal-Trudeau c. Aéroports de Montréal, an environmental class action dismissed at the authorization stage by the trial judge, whose decision was confirmed by the Québec Court of Appeal;
• Benabu v. Google, also dismissed at the authorization stage in a decision confirmed on appeal.

François appears regularly before all levels of court, including Québec’s Superior Court and Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. He has been involved in an increasing number of high-profile cases requiring impeccable preparation and unwavering skill even under media scrutiny.

He recently represented the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees before the Supreme Court in the Kanyinda case, which was about refugee claimants’ eligibility for subsidized daycare. He is also representing the Lord Reading Law Society before the Supreme Court in the challenge to Bill 21 (An Act respecting the laicity of the State), which prohibits public-sector employees from wearing certain religious symbols at work.

François is adept at conflict management. Driven by a strong sense of duty and dedication to his clients, he constantly looks for the best and fairest solution in any situation, knowing that sometimes a negotiated compromise is better than going to court. Whether at the negotiating table or in the courtroom, he defends his clients’ interests with the utmost skill. 

François has been sitting on BLG’s Partnership Board since 2020, a national leadership position he obtained after spending a number of years on the Regional Compensation Advisory Committee for the Montreal office. He also served on the board of Mira Foundation for 17 years.