ZSA Quebec General Counsel Awards 2014
Photo: Véronique Lewandowski
The sixth edition of the ZSA Quebec General Counsel Awards (QGCA) took place last night at the Fairmount Queen Elizabeth Hotel. At the event were the legal and general counsel of leading companies as well as lawyers from some of Montreal’s largest law firms. The charming Michel Lalande, Senior Vice-President – General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at BCE Inc. & Bell Canada, was the master of ceremonies. His comic flourishes and showmanship kept the crowd of more than 300 leaders in the Montreal legal world entertained over the course of the evening.
The ZSA Quebec General Counsel Awards serve to honour the talent and the exceptional work of in-house counsel. A jury comprised of fifteen lawyers, mainly managing partners of major firms, joined together to analyse the profiles of the legal counsel who have particularly distinguished themselves in the last two years. More than fifty profiles were presented to the executive comity, which shortlisted the finalists and elected, through a confidential vote, the winning counsel in six different categories.
The Lifetime Achievement category recognizes the impressive career of a general counsel who has made a mark in the business world through exceptional accomplishments attained over a lifetime of work. This year, the QGCA paid hommage to Pierre Gagnon, Vice-President – Legal Affairs & Corporate Secretary of Aéroports de Montréal.
It was in a festive mood that the winners of the five other categories, each one counting five finalists, were given their awards :
Award for Tomorrow’s Leader : Josée Kouri, Director, Legal Affairs & Assistant Corporate Secretary, Dollarama;
Award for Small-Midsize Legal Department: Julie Normand, Senior Director – Legal Affairs, Énergie Valero;
Award for Litigation and Risk Management: Valérie Beaudin, Assistant General Counsel – Head of Litigation, Bell Canada;
Award for Business Achievement: Janie Béïque, Senior Vice-President – Industries, Entertainment and Consumer Goods, Fonds de solidarité FTQ;
Award for the General Counsel of the Year: Renaud Coulombe, Head of Legal Affairs, Mouvement Desjardins.
Obtaining one of these awards is a great honour for any in-house legal counsel, whose valuable work can sometimes be overshadowed. Each winner stressed their pride and thanked their private practice colleagues for the recognition of their work. The hosts of the evening, Dominique Tardif, Vice-President of ZSA and Christopher Sweeney, CEO and co-founder of ZSA, thanked the entire legal community for their continued involvement and contribution to making this evening a resounding success, cordially inviting them back in two years!
