René Paquette

René Paquette is a partner in Langlois Lawyers’ Montréal office.

Frequently called upon to represent educational and healthcare institutions in both the public and private sectors before all administrative tribunals and courts, René has the experience to fully meet the needs of both education and healthcare clients as well as private sector employers. His expertise in fields such as labour relations, occupational health and safety and human rights and freedoms makes him a much sought after advisor, litigator and speaker.

In the field of labour relations, René is well-known for his expertise in disciplinary matters and has been involved in a number of complex cases involving large numbers of witnesses and many days of hearings. He represents various employers in dismissal or disciplinary cases against executives or union representatives and won a precedent-setting case in the Supreme Court of Canada involving the dismissal of a labour union president. He has also acted as a spokesperson in collective bargaining contexts.

In the field of occupational health and safety, he was centrally involved in a case dealing with air quality that required complex expert evidence and the preparation of numerous witnesses. The case was before the court for some 100 days.

In the field of human rights, he has represented clients in a number of discrimination cases before the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Quebec human rights and youth protection commission), the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal, and the Quebec Court of Appeal.

His expertise in cases involving complaints of psychological harassment is also well known. In addition to representing clients before the courts in such matters, he has also given conference presentations and training sessions in this area.