Vanessa Lapointe provides strategic advice to unionized and non-unionized companies. Vanessa acts as a trusted partner on matters including:
- workplace investigations;
- human resources policies and procedures;
- collective bargaining, collective agreements and grievances;
- union-organizing campaigns;
- hiring, employment contracts, discipline and termination;
- human rights; and
- restrictive covenants.
Vanessa advises both federally and provincially-regulated companies and represents them before civil courts (wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal and other civil litigation), and administrative tribunals (human rights tribunals and Administrative Labour Tribunal).
She also assists foreign companies, particularly American and French, with aspects of employment law pertaining to their Canadian and Québec operations.
Vanessa regularly works with BLG’s Mergers and Acquisitions team as an employment law specialist in the context of due diligence processes.
Vanessa is an experienced speaker and trainer. She has given conferences and facilitated training nationally on topics including workplace harassment and discrimination prevention, investigation techniques and cognitive bias.
Vanessa is fluent in English and French and has a working knowledge of Italian and Spanish. She is admitted to both the Quebec and Ontario bar.
Experience
- Retained by employers to conduct workplace training on issues including union avoidance, discipline and termination, workplace investigations techniques, workplace harassment and human rights.
- Lead counsel for a top Montreal tech company with respect to various employment matters.
- Defended a company in the context of an appeal related to injunctive procedures before the Quebec Court of Appeal.
- Defended a company in the context of injunctive procedures before the Superior Court of Québec.
- Defended the confidentiality of a company’s commercial agreements before the Administrative Labour Tribunal.
- Acted as lead investigator in multiple complex harassment complaints for federal and provincial employers.
- Acted as lead investigator sensitive systemic harassment and discrimination investigations.
- Participated in representing various employers in litigation governed by the Act respecting labour standards, the Labour Code and the Canada Labour Code.
- Drafted employment contracts and confidentiality, non-competition, non-solicitation and collective agreements.
- Regularly conducts internal workplace harassment training.
- Assisted the BLG Mergers and Acquisitions team in the context of various transactions.
- Advised a large U.S. company on the onboarding of its Québec employees as it expanded in Canada.
- Prepared lectures advising employers on recent developments in labour and employment law as well as how to prevent in-house fraud and enforce restrictive covenants in employment contracts.
- Retained by employers to conduct workplace training on issues including union avoidance, discipline and termination, workplace investigations techniques, workplace harassment and human rights.
- Lead counsel for a top Montreal tech company with respect to various employment matters.
- Defended a company in the context of an appeal related to injunctive procedures before the Quebec Court of Appeal.
- Defended a company in the context of injunctive procedures before the Superior Court of Québec.
- Defended the confidentiality of a company’s commercial agreements before the Administrative Labour Tribunal.
- Acted as lead investigator in multiple complex harassment complaints for federal and provincial employers.
- Acted as lead investigator sensitive systemic harassment and discrimination investigations.
- Participated in representing various employers in litigation governed by the Act respecting labour standards, the Labour Code and the Canada Labour Code.
- Drafted employment contracts and confidentiality, non-competition, non-solicitation and collective agreements.
- Regularly conducts internal workplace harassment training.
- Assisted the BLG Mergers and Acquisitions team in the context of various transactions.
- Advised a large U.S. company on the onboarding of its Québec employees as it expanded in Canada.
- Prepared lectures advising employers on recent developments in labour and employment law as well as how to prevent in-house fraud and enforce restrictive covenants in employment contracts.
