business law
Beyond the legal issues
We offer legal services for all your business needs.
A human approach adapted to your company's needs.
A la carte, or for the duration of a project.
Fees: Hourly, flat rate, daily or weekly rates.
A specific legal expertise, acquired during more than 20 years within private companies (SMEs and multinationals) as legal counsel and then as a lawyer in a law firm.
Working with the managers and the different business units of these companies gives us an excellent knowledge to achieve your business objectives within a legal framework appropriate to your business context.
Small or medium-sized businesses: we are here to help you.
We are down to earth, pragmatic and efficient.
Some of our services
Incorporation and Minutes book Shareholder Agreements
Financing Loan agreement Guarantees Security interests & movable hypothecs
Mergers & Acquisitions Business Transfers Restructuring Governance
New Technologies (IA) Commercial Leases Contract: Sale of Products & Services
Intellectual Property Marketing Labelling Website Certification
Import-Export Franchise agreement, Distribution and Partnerships
Licensing or Territory Development
Litigation Prevention & Management Mediation Facilitator Negotiation
Development of products and new markets. International support
We also handle all non-legal elements in development projects and thus articulate a legal framework and an operational structure appropriate to the achievement of your objectives.
Your know-how in your organization combined with our expertise in business law: a winning solution.
We have been assisting Canadian and foreign companies for over 20 years with their various legal needs. We work as a team with our clients as well as with professional firms from all over the world in order to offer concrete and complete results at an affordable cost adapted to SME.
We also assist foreign companies ("Retailler et Pharma") doing business in Quebec, by working in collaboration with their in-house lawyers in order to provide them with specific legal expertise in Quebec in relation to their activities
(Civil law & Common law).
Commercial real estate law
The essential: a true specialist
François Ménard combines his practice in business law with commercial real estate law.
He represents the interests of Owners, Management companies and Tenants.
He has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate law for commercial properties located in Quebec, other Canadian provinces, the United States, France and England.
He perfected his expertise by developing, managing and optimizing retail networks namely for the FRUITS & PASSION Group and LG H.H., for more than 15 years through portfolios of more than 125 commercial leases located in 4 countries.
Since then, he has continued to develop his expertise by advising and assisting his clients mainly in the following areas:
Strategies and partnerships for the development of a portfolio of commercial and office buildings.
Non-disclosure agreement Letter of intent
Negotiation of commercial and legal terms and conditions
Financing - Owners and Landlords
Offers to Purchase, Counter Offers, Special Terms Due diligence exercises
Drafting, review and analysis of leases, subleases and related documents - opinions
Negotiations related to commercial construction. (Appendix D)
Conversion, expropriation, repair or alteration of buildings or leased premises
Renewal options, Opting-out, Assignments and Transfers, Forced or voluntary relocation
Eviction, Remedies for Damages, Continued occupancy, Estopel, etc.
Publication of notices of registration of a lease or other in the Quebec Land Registry
Regular participation in the ICSC: International Council of Shopping Centres
SPECIALIST IN FRANCHISING & LICENSING
Franchise & Master Licence
We offer legal services for all your franchise needs, whether for networks located in Quebec, elsewhere in Canada or elsewhere in the world.
We have more than 30 years of experience in franchising in Quebec, other Canadian provinces, the U.S., France, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, as well as in Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and China.
Fruits & Passion TheFaceShop Nature Collection Belief
Club Voyage Chrismar Docteur du pare-brise
We offer legal services to franchisors and franchisees: here are some examples of mandates we have completed for our clients:
Evaluation, start-up and development of a new franchise network: from the ideation (concept) to its realization.
Drafting of all required documentation according to the territory, the concept and the needs of the network such as:
Franchise agreement Letter of intent Operations manual
Preparation or review of pre-contractual information documents required in some provinces and in many countries.
Drafting and negotiation of related documents such as
Offer to lease Leases and sublease agreements Guarantees
Purchase agreement for products and services Lease agreement for equipment
Management contract Transfers, purchases and sales of a franchise
Dispute resolution procedures and mechanisms. Mediation Facilitation Negotiation
Termination Agreement - Franchise Agreement and Network
Omnibus Assignment Agreement - Intellectual Property
Copyright License Agreement
expanding globally
Leverage for growth and profitability for SME
We offer business, legal and administrative support for your international expansion projects.
Our 20 years of expertise combined with your business know-how allows us to identify and deploy together the best business development strategies for your organization.
And that goes far beyond legal considerations.
- Are you really determined to expand?
- Acquire a foreign competitor?
- Export your products or services?
- Establish your own facilities?
- Licensing your products or services?
- Create an evolving win-win partnership?
- Do you know the resources required to succeed in your expansion project?
- And what about best business practices in other countries?
Know-how
We know, adapt and use the business strategies implemented by thousands of Canadian companies that have successfully expanded internationally before you.
We also use our knowledge of the business strategies of foreign companies (Korea, France, Turkey, USA) that have established themselves in Canada and the USA and for which we have been directly involved.
Our firm usually works on the ground, wherever our clients' needs are.
Our expertise is based on our multiple experiences on 5 continents, our network of collaborators in place, as well as our ability to manage complex files in a cultural, social and legal environment different from our own.
We build bridges.
For more than 20 years, we have been helping companies to structure themselves adequately and to equip themselves with the resources required to succeed in their expansion project. To ensure this, we accompany each of our clients' business units involved in the project until the objectives are reached.
With us, you will learn everything you need to know about expanding your business internationally and that we are well equipped to help you succeed.
Our Services
Negotiation, Representation and Accompaniement in international business
Drafting of contracts specific to international commercial relations:
Consultant - Agency - Distribution - Sale of Produits & Services
Free Trade agreements in place: Application specific to your products or services
Creation and organization of a legal and operational structure abroad for your expansion
Negotiation and Drafting of Contracts, Partnerships, and Strategic development Joint ventures or Alliances.
Export - Manufacturing outside of Canada
Master license - Franchise
Intellectual Property
Privacy and Protection of Personal Information
transitional management
a logical extension of our expertise
We offer interim and transitional management services for key positions and special projects. Here and elsewhere in the world.
We also act as in-house legal counsel for an organization during a leave of absence or reorganization.
We also carry out mandates for organizations undergoing M&A processes in order to structure and optimize relationships and operations between stakeholders.
Our clients include foreign companies and a Crown Corporation - Canada.
Missions carried out :
Assume transition management following the acquisition of a Canadian company by a foreign company.
Advise and support foreign executives and their teams in all areas of the company's activities on a daily basis.
Mentoring and coaching on the cultural differences in the business world between the two countries. North American business practices and Quebec law.
Ensure the integration of the foreign company's practices, norms and standards into the business and legal context of the Quebec company.
Representation and assistance of senior executives with Public Authorities, key business partners, and professional groups and associations related to the company's operations.
Build the efficiency of daily operations by establishing and reinforcing mechanisms of rapprochement and communication between the Canadian business units and the management employees of the foreign company.
Ensure all legal logistics (transfer of knowledge and processes) between the foreign company's lawyers and the Canadian subsidiary's external lawyers.
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Leading a special project to reorganize the warehousing and distribution operations in the context of an outsourcing of services. (325,000 sq. ft. - 17 million in inventory - international distributions)
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Participate in a comprehensive Business -Customer -Product -Competition -Distribution Channels -Resources -Results analysis project as part of an overall assessment of the company's situation.
Evaluate the commercial stakes, propose a repositioning strategy and participate in its implementation.
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Ensure a transitional management: to take over a procurement department of a public company following the departure of a manager.
Carry out a major restructuring of the procurement department; ensure the transition, rebuild the team and ensure a post-implementation follow-up.
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ACCREDITED MEDIATOR, CONCILIATOR & FACILITATOR
BUILDING BRIDGES FOR PROMOTING MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND MUTUAL BENEFITS
A human approach to address with competence and professionalism issues in companies or organizations. A proposal of services adapted to the particular needs of each situation, to each client.
François offers neutral and independent expertise in dispute prevention and resolution (ADR) that is effective, reliable and confidential, ensuring much faster and more enviable results than resorting to legal proceedings before the courts.
Usually alone, but sometimes accompanied by a support team (interpreter/translator, local guide) François Ménard intervenes in companies and organizations on a national and international scale to develop and deploy mechanisms for the prevention and resolution of disputes; to generate with the parties alternative methods of conflict resolution.
François Ménard also offers its services by acting as a team (duo) in mediation - conciliation - negotiation processes in cases that require a different field of expertise, professional discipline or ethnic and cultural origin. The complementarity of expertise and individuals in order to promote as much as possible the resolution of conflicts.
François offers its services where needed. Although it is occasionally desirable to conduct conflict resolution sessions on neutral ground, he travels nationally and internationally, in civilian and controlled areas.
MEDIATION
Mediation is a flexible, informal and voluntary process that restores the relational quality of the parties in order to prevent or allow the resolution of a dispute, a conflict or an interpersonal disagreement.
The mediator is neutral: i.e., he or she is free of any legal, moral or cultural influences and is not the judge of the solution chosen by the parties. He accompanies the parties in a free process to enable them to find a satisfactory solution for them. The mediator acts independently and impartially with respect to the parties and respects strict confidentiality of all aspects of the mediation process between the parties.
Types of mediation offered by François Ménard
Mediation facilitating negotiation based on the needs and interests of the parties
Evaluative mediation negotiation of a settlement according to the rights and obligations of the parties
Transformative mediation transformation of interactions from negative and destructive to positive and constructive
Settlement-oriented mediation promoting and encouraging the negotiation of a compromise between the parties
François has extensive expertise in facilitative and evaluative mediation developed within franchise (national) and master license (international) networks. To date, it has been directly involved in the mediation of more than 75 different conflicts in this sphere of activity.
CONCILIATION
Conciliation is the process by which the conciliator reconciles the parties in order to find an amicable solution. The conciliator strongly suggests a solution to the parties based on law and morality. He listens to the parties and proposes a solution. He is not neutral. He tries to imagine the best solution that a judge could have chosen if he had been seized.
François Ménard acts as a conciliator mainly in the community / self-help organization helping individuals.
DOING BUSINESS IN CANADA
Informations
For those foreign businesses wishing to do, establish or acquire a business in Canada.
The Canadian economy is influenced by free-market activities and private companies. It is quite easy to commence or expanding business in Canada. The country is also party to several Free Trade agreements governing and facilitating exports to Canada.
There is no general insistence that foreign companies operate only on a joint venture basis with Canadian-controlled businesses.
According to United Nations, Canada rank among the best countries in the world in terms of overall quality of life. It reinforces Canada's position as a very best place to make investments.
Canadian legislation affecting companies’ activities may be national, provincial or municipal in origin, depending on the nature and scope of the companies' activities.
The province of Québec is an important market for foreign companies as its population of 8 million persons represents almost 25% of Canadian citizens.
Unlike other Canadian provinces governed by Common law, Quebec' companies are generally governed by the Civil Code of Quebec.
In Québec, there is also a series of specific laws, such as Consumer Protection Act, Liability of manufacturers, distributors and professional sellers and French language requirements. It therefore requires expertise in both Common law and Civil law to properly advise foreign companies.
We offer business, legal and administrative support to US and European organizations doing business in Québec.
For more than 20 years, we have been working to set up legal structures for our clients that allow them to do business in Canada while meeting and mastering the requirements of each legal system (doing business in all provinces).
Our Services
We currently act as external legal counsel for a U.S. Retailer. We mainly handle the negotiation, review and drafting of the company's commercial leases in Quebec. We also provide legal and commercial advises on other legal matters, such as products Packaging and Labelling legislation.
We assist foreign companies with all legal and business aspects related to opening a place of business in Quebec
Incorporation, Agent, Registration, Annual filling and Reports, etc.
Drafting of contracts specific and adapted to Quebec's legislation, such as Employment or Agent contract, Licences, Franchise, M&A, Distribution, Sale of products and services, Manufacturing and 3rd Party suppliers, etc.
Import - Manufacturing in Canada and Québec - specific key points OEM must keep in mind when conducting business in Québec.
We assist company with Free Trade agreements in place: Application specific to your products and services.
Advice and support foreign executives and their teams in all areas of the companies’ activities in Canada; both Best Business Practices and the legal framework in which they operate their business.
