For each mandate, our goal is to provide high calibre service at a fair cost while ensuring the greatest level of professionalism. We reach this goal by using necessary resources efficiently, selecting from our team members the best qualified lawyers in the circumstances to do the particular work, and by maintaining regular contact with our clients to advise them and keep them informed, and by carrying out each of our mandates according to the timeframes and constraints involved.

Litigation

We represent and advise owners, real estate developers and contractors before all judicial bodies (civil and arbitration) for all types of disputes (civil, contractual or labour relations) that may arise during the pre-contractual or contractual phase, when setting up financing, during construction or once a project is completed.

Litigation is often a costly process which should be avoided. Therefore, we give our clients strategies on how to organize their business. For this purpose, we have developed special expertise in alternative dispute resolution. However, in cases where litigation cannot be avoided, our litigators use their talents aggressively and effectively to protect the rights of our clients. Our determination is recognized in the industry.

In our diversified practice of business financing, we have developed skills in construction financing, which we have applied in a large number of construction and development projects in the industrial, commercial (retail and offices), institutional and residential areas.
In a field of practice characterized by very short deadlines and sometimes highly complex financing packages, our negotiating talents, in-depth knowledge of financial products and ability to bring creative and practical solutions are why our firm is sought-after for a broad range of financial transactions in Canada and elsewhere.

We represent and advise a number of players in the Canadian real estate sector involved in the construction industry, such as banks, pension funds, private investors and investment funds, public corporations and trusts, construction companies, managers, developers, tenants and other real estate users.

The construction-related services we offer include the following, which involve commercial, industrial and residential construction projects, as well as public utilities (electricity, gas, cable):

• negotiation, drafting and revision of various types of construction contracts, professional services and management contracts;
  
  
• negotiation, drafting and revising of financing and security documentation;
  
  
• negotiation, drafting and revising of emphyteusis, superficies, co-ownership, servitude, use of public land and lease contracts; and
  
  
• counsel respecting municipal by-laws and, in particular, zoning, variances, sub-division, assessments and real estate taxes.

Careful tax planning meeting a client's needs can make a difference to the success of a project. Tax is therefore an important service in the Montréal Construction Group. Our specialists help choose the most appropriate legal vehicle (corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, etc.) depending on the project and the applicable financing in order to minimize income tax, tax on capital, consumption tax, real estate tax, transfer tax, etc.

We have developed several restructuring techniques which allow the consolidation of results from a tax point of view between different affiliated entities. Also, our specialists are at the forefront of syndication and public financing methods, such as income trusts, applicable to national or trans border transactions.