Christine A. Carron, Ad E

Biography

Christine Carron practises primarily in corporate and commercial litigation and in the areas of banking, privacy, product liability, consumer protection and e-commerce. She is Chair of our Privacy and Access to Information Team. She has been involved in a wide range of commercial litigation, including the defence of class actions in the financial services, retail and tobacco industries and represents corporate clients in disputes involving damages for breach of commercial contracts or for latent defects and in shareholder disputes.

Ms. Carron also acts as defence counsel in major class actions. She has represented clients in parliamentary commissions on the adoption and amendment of Quebec's privacy legislation for the private sector and participated in the consultation process for Quebec's legislation on new technologies.

Year of Call

• Quebec Bar 1978

Law School

• B.C.L., McGill University, 1977

EDUCATION

• M.A., McGill University, 1974
• B.A., University of Michigan, 1972

Selected Client Work

• Counselled numerous financial institutions, including Royal Bank of Canada, HSBC, CIBC and MBNA, with respect to regulatory and general banking issues, and class actions for alleged violations of the Quebec Consumer Protection Act
• Successfully defended Playtex against the certification of product liability class actions in respect of baby bottles containing BPA
• Currently representing Procter & Gamble in several class action certification proceedings respecting product liability
• Counselled numerous retailers including Sears, Dell, Household Finance, HBC and Electrolux with respect to contracts and the validity of provisions relating to advertising, credit, disclosure, discounts offered, etc.
• Quebec counsel to Canadian Bankers Association
• Successfully defended a credit card issuer in one of the first Quebec class actions to proceed on the merits
• Acted for Hydro-Québec with respect to contractual disputes

Publications

• "Distance Contracts and E-Commerce," Internet and E-Commerce Law in Canada, Vol. 8, No. 3, May 2007.
• "Can an Organization Communicate Personal Information on its Clientele Outside Canada?" Canadian Privacy Law Review, Vol. 4, No. 8, May 2007.
• "The Approval of Cross-jurisdictional Settlements for National And International Class Actions - Doing Business in Canada, Passport for Business, Fall Issue 2006.
• "Settling National Class Actions in Canada," Canadian Briefings, ACC Association of Corporate Counsel, October 2006.
• "A Gentle Reminder that Traditional Class Action Principles are not Passé?" Canadian Class Action Review, Vol. 3, No 2, July 2006.
• "Bill 86 : More Protection for Personal Information," Canadian Privacy Law Review, August 2006.
• "Class Action Litigation - Recent Developments of Importance," Lexpert 100 Best Lawyers in Canada, February 2006.
• "Quebec Class Actions," Association of Canadian General Counsel, Chicago, June 2005.
• "Patriot Act raises concerns about reach to U.S.-linked companies,"  The Lawyers Weekly, April 8, 2005.
• "Le recours collectif et la réforme du Code de procédure,"  Le Monde Juridique, Vol. 15, No. 3, May 2004.
• "25 Years of Class Actions: Time to Take Stock?" Irwin Law Inc., January 2004.
• "Quebec's Proposed New Technologies Bill: Let the Light Shine In,"Internet and E-Commerce Law in Canada, Vol. 2, No.1, Butterworths Canada Ltd., Markham, Ontario, March 2001.
• "An Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector: Opening the Door on Privacy?" in  L'administration de la justice et les litiges commerciaux (ed. M.L. Pilkington) ,Montréal, Thémis, 1999, 227.
  
  

Speaking Engagements

• "L'arbitrage des recours collectifs : les limites constitutionnelles des articles 1033.1 et 1039 du C.p.c. et le modèle hybride proposé par Claude Masse" (co-author: Sébastien Jetté), Les Journées Maximilien-Caron, March 31, 2006.
• "Renseignements concernant les professionnels de santé : sont-ils des renseignements personnels?" Canadian Institute, February 25-26, 2002.
• "Sign on the Digital Line, Canadian Insurance Accountants Association,  Montreal, September 17, 2001.
• "Quebec's Proposed New Technologies Bill," University of Ottawa Law School Technology Law Speakers' Series, November 21, 2000.
• "U.S. Strategy," Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto, November 30, 1999.
• "Mergers, Acquisitions & Reorganizations - GST Basics," Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto, November 29, 1999. 
• "Crédits documentaires," Ogilvy Renault, June 30, 1999.
• "Bill c-54 Electronic Commerce," Canadian Payments Association Annual Conference in Ottawa, June 7, 1999.
• "The Notion of Transparency and the Ensuing Recommendations in the McKay Report on the Banking Industry," Strategy Institute for Bankers and Insurers, March 2, 1999.
• Frequent guest speaker of the Canadian Institute, McGill University and the Canadian Bar Association
• Frequent speaker at Insight conferences on banking, insolvency, letters of credit, confidentiality and privacy matters and electronic commerce

Media Highlights

• "Personnalité de la semaine: Christine Carron," La Presse, January 5, 2010.
• "La galerie des affaires," Les Affaires, December 5, 2009.
• "Modification des lois commerciales - Pour y voir clair," La Presse, December 3, 2009.
• "A Bill Encouraging Electronic Eavesdropping?," FM93 (Québec), November 13, 2009.
• "Le zénith des avocates," La Presse, October 15, 2009.
• "Taux horaire : 0 $," Commerce, October 1, 2009.
• "Coping With Product Recalls: A New Urgency," Lexpert, November 1, 2008.
• "Filing Action can Harm Reputation," National Post, June 18, 2008.
• "Clients Need Availability, Expertise, Calming Hand," Law Times, June 16, 2008.
• "Comment prévenir les rappels de produits?," Les Affaires, April 7, 2008.
• "Ogilvy Renault Launches New Product Recall Practice," Ogilvy Renault press release, November 7, 2007.
• "Six Ogilvy Renault Lawyers Named "Advocatus Emeritus"," Ogilvy Renault press release, May 10, 2007.
• "Ogilvy Renault's Experts Excel in International Ranking ," Ogilvy Renault press release, December 7, 2006.

Rankings and Recognitions

• 2010 Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-border Litigation Lawyers in Canada
• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
• Named Advocatus Emeritus by the Quebec Bar
• Lexpert Zenith Awards, which honours the top 25 women in the country
• "Personality of the Week" by La Presse as a leading litigation lawyer
• Lexpert / American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada - Most frequently recommended for Corporate Commercial Litigation and Class Action Litigation
• Best Lawyers in Canada, 2010 - Appellate Law, Class Action Litigation, Corporate and Commercial Litigation
• Leader in the field of Dispute Resolution (Quebec), Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers 2007
• One of Canada's Top 25 Women Lawyers, Lexpert Magazine
• One of "Les 101 Femmes entrepreneurs," Magazine Entreprendre
• Consistently recommended in Litigation - Class Actions; repeatedly recommended in Litigation - Corporate and Commercial, The Canadian Legal Directory Lexpert, 2007
• Listed among Best Lawyers, Montreal for Corporate Commercial Litigation, Banking Law and Class Action Litigation, National Post

Memberships and Activities

• Canadian Bar Association
• Supreme Court Advocacy Institute
• Quebec Bar task force on pro bono services
• Bar of Montreal
  • Liaison Committee with the Court of Appeal
  • Deliberations Committee
  • Former member, Council

Directorships

Former treasurer and director, Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice