Mr Guy J Pratte Partner Borden Ladner Gervais LLP - Lawyer Biography - International Law Office

Background

Guy Pratte is a partner who divides his time between our Montréal and Ottawa offices. Guy graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History and Philosophy. He obtained both his Masters of Arts in Philosophy and his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto. Guy participated in the Civil Law/Common Law Exchange Program at the Université de Sherbrooke and Dalhousie University.

Guy was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1984 and to the Québec Bar in 2002. He is fluently bilingual in English and French and practises in both official languages.

Firm Responsibilities

Guy Pratte is the national leader of our Commercial Litigation Practice Group. Guy was Managing Partner of the Ottawa office from 1999-2001 and a member of the National Executive Committee from 2000-2002. He was a member of the National Council from 2000-2003.

Areas of Practice

• Civil Litigation — emphasis on commercial litigation, administrative law and constitutional law.

Professional Experience

• Recent appearances in the Supreme Court of Canada: Finney v. Barreau du Québec (Counsel to Mrs. Finney, Decided June 10, 2004); Chaouilli v. A.G. of Québec et al. (Counsel to Intervenor, Canadian Medical Association).
• Numerous appearances in courts in Ontario and Québec, including the Courts of Appeal of Ontario and Québec and the Federal Court of Appeal.
• Counsel to Mr. Jean Pelletier (former Chief of Staff to Rt. Honourable Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien) at the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, 2004.
• Counsel to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission re non-renewal of CHOI-FM licence, 2004.
• Counsel to Mr. Justice Jean-Guy Boilard re Canadian Judicial Council Inquiry, 2003.
• Special legal counsel to the Special Advisory Group on Military Justice (Rt. Honourable Brian Dickson, Chair), 1997.
• Counsel to Special Commission on the Restructuring of the Reserves (Rt. Honourable Brian Dickson, Chair), 1995.
• Counsel to the Liberal Party of Canada regarding the Special Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Commons on Renewed Canada, 1992.
• Counsel to the Liberal Party of Canada regarding the Special Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Commons on the Process for Amending the Constitution of Canada, 1991.

Professional and Community Activities

• Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers
• Member: The Advocates' Society, l'Association des juristes d'expression française de l'Ontario, Canadian Bar Association - Ontario.
• Teaching Experience: Instructor, Training Program for Administrative Tribunal Members; Principal Instructor in Public Law - Bar Admissions Course; Instructor, Law of Evidence, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law.
• Visiting Professor, January Term, 2001, University of Western Ontario; “Chargé de cours”, Contract Law, Université de Montréal, 2002.
• President, Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO), 1993 – 1994.
• Chair of the National Arts Centre Foundation, 2002 – present.

Publications

• “Analyse de la jurisprudence marquante en droit administratif canadien et ses impacts”, presented at the Canadian Institute’s 2nd Annual Administrative Law Conference, 2003.
• The Laws of Evidence as Applied by Administrative Tribunals, presented to the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice Seminar for Administrative Tribunals: Administrative Law and Administrative Writing for the Staff of the Canadian Forces Grievance Authority (CFGA), 2003
• The Judicial Review Process, presented at the Canadian Institute Course on Fundamentals of Administrative Law & Practice, 2003
• Test for Judicial Review: The 2001 Version, presented at the Civil Litigation Updated 2001 Conference, 2001
• Assessing the Credibility of Witnesses: A Practical Guide, 2000.
• Reassessing the Role of Lawyers Appearing Before Administrative Tribunals on the Eve of the Millennium, presented at the CCAT International Conference in Vancouver, B.C., 1999.
• Summary Judgement Motions: Recent Judicial Developments, 1998.
• It's Time to Put Language Rights Where They Belong: At the Top of the Constitutional Hierarchy, delivered on the occasion of the National Symposium on Canada's Official Languages to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Official Languages Act of 1998, 1998.
• So Prove It: The Admission and Assessment of Evidence, presentation at Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals, 1997.
• The Deemed Undertaking Rule: A Critical Note, 1996.
• In Defence of the Adversarial Process: Some Thoughts on the Role of ADR in the Context of Public Utility Regulation, CAMPUT Conference, 1996.
• Principles of Evidence Law Applicable to Administrative Tribunals, presented to the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice Seminar for Administrative Tribunals: The Hearing Process, 1995.
• The Relevance of Comparative Law: A Critique of Alan Watson's "The Making of the Civil Law", University of Toronto Law Review 115, 1982.

Practice areas to which Guy J. Pratte belongs:

• Appeal and Review
• Class Actions
• Commercial Litigation
• Competition and Marketing Law
• Constitutional Law
• Directors' and Officers' Liability
• Environmental, Municipal, Expropriation and Regulatory Group
• International Trade Law
• Municipal Law
• Ottawa General Litigation
• Securities Litigation